How a Convicted Polluter, with Help from a Texas Judge, Avoided Paying Back its Victims
Companies accused of poisoning our air and water typically pay a fine then move on, rarely becoming official criminals. If you want to get arrested for spewing something into the air, you're much better off blowing weed smoke on your front porch than benzene from smoke stacks.
But in 2007, a Houston oil company became a rare exception, when it was criminally convicted for polluting the air in Corpus Christi. What does that mean? Not much, it turns out.
It took the Texas judge on the case seven years to hand down a sentence. He imposed a small fine but didn't include money for the victim's medical expenses, reasoning, in part, that figuring out an exact dollar amount would take too long. As a result, the people who waited seven years for their restitution will get no restitution.
Citgo Petroleum, based in Texas but a subsidiary of a Venezuelan corporation, was accused by the Department of Justice of operating two massive oil-water separators with no emission controls of any kind. For 10 years, from the 1990s until 2003, people in the Hillcrest neighborhood were breathing toxic chemicals like benzene.
More at http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2014/05/not_ready_texas_judge_finds_th.php .
= new reply since forum marked as read
