Ex-Energy Dept. official who pleaded guilty on leave

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A former Oregon Department of Energy official who pleaded guilty to accepting over $291,000 in bribes in connection with the sale of state energy tax credits has been put on leave at his current state job.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported Wednesday (https://goo.gl/o24p1E ) The Oregon Military Department took the action at the direction of Gov. Kate Brown.

Joe Colello is a relatively new to the military department, where he is classified as a Policy Analyst 2, earning $73,152 a year, within the installations operations branch.

Brown has directed the military department to conduct an internal review of Colello’s work.

In exchange for pleading guilty to accepting bribes, racketeering and other crimes, Colello agreed to serve five years in prison, three years on probation and to make restitution of $1.3 million to affected tax credit recipients.