DCI investigating alleged sex bribe by Bakken pipeline agent

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said Thursday it is conducting a criminal inquiry into allegations that a land agent working on behalf of a Texas pipeline company offered illicit sex to a southeast Iowa landowner who opposes the project crossing his property.

"I can confirm that we are investigating these allegations. We were asked to assist with the investigation by the Lee County Attorney," said Alex Murphy, a DCI spokesman in Des Moines.

The landowner, Hughie Tweedy, 61, of rural Montrose in Lee County, says he has recorded proof that an agent for the proposed Bakken pipeline offered to secure him the services of young prostitutes. Tweedy has described the offer as a bribe in exchange for allowing the underground pipeline to run through his property.

Murphy said the DCI has obtained portions of the audio recordings, but not the full, unedited version.

Tweedy said he brought a digital voice recorder to a meeting with the land agent on Nov. 20 at Papa's Bar and Grill in Montrose.

During that meeting, Tweedy said the representative offered to take him to St. Louis and pay $1,900 for the services of "a couple" of 19-year-old prostitutes. He said he had talked with the land agent earlier after he saw people on his property doing what looked like a survey. He called the representative and was told that the surveyors were meant to be working on a neighboring property.

"He said, 'Calm down, calm down, let's go to town, let's get a beer and I'll get you a woman,' " Hughie said. "I thought 'this guy obviously thinks I'm a hick and a rube. He's offering me a woman.' "

The Iowa pipeline, which would transport up to 570,000 barrels of oil daily, has been proposed by Dakota Access LLC, a unit of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners. The facility would begin in North Dakota's Bakken oil fields and would pass through South Dakota and Iowa en route to a distribution point in Patoka, Ill. From there, the oil could be transported by pipeline to the Gulf Coast or shipped on railroad tank cars elsewhere. The pipeline would cross 343 miles of land in 18 Iowa counties.

Dakota Access applied to the Iowa Utilities Board in January for permission to build the pipeline and for authority to use eminent domain to acquire easements on private Iowa land. No timetable has been set for the board's decision.

Don Tormey, a spokesman for the Iowa Utilities Board, was asked Thursday if the allegations against the land agent could be considered in the board's deliberations on the pipeline application. He said that in deciding contested cases, the Iowa Utilities Board is required by law to base its decisions solely on evidence in the record in the contested case. A permit will not be granted to a pipeline company unless the board determines that the proposed services will promote the public convenience and necessity, he added.

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Lee County Attorney Mike Short told The Des Moines Register on Thursday he didn't have a timetable for the investigation to be completed but a DCI agent is working on the case.

"We are considering the allegations that were made and the substance of the tape, and we are reviewing it for any number of possible charges," Short said.

David Goodner, an anti-pipeline activist, said the alleged incident involving Tweedy is only one in a long and growing list of complaints by landowners all over Iowa about shady, intimidating, or inappropriate behavior by land agents willing to get a deal anyway possible, by hook or by crook.

"Hughie Tweedy couldn't be bullied or bought, so they tried sweet talking him," Goodner said.

Vicki Granado, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, said the company is aware of allegations that have been made concerning the conduct of an employee of one of its contractors. "We take these types of matters very seriously. We do not conduct business in the manner suggested, nor do we condone any contractors to conduct themselves in any manner other than to treat people with the utmost respect and professionalism. We are committed to maintaining these high standards as we continue to execute the project in Iowa," she said.

The Sioux Falls Argus-Leader contributed to this story.