Recently we were contacted by LaurelLee Roethel with a story of injustice involving her grandmother and three other elderly persons.Tomthumb.info thinks what is happening is absolutley outrageous and that hope to help bring as much attention to this case as possible so that that people affected can get justice agaainst the companies involved and the false allegations they are been accussed of . The original link to the story can be found at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Roethel-in-Chevron-Oil-Cleanup/220957541353024 and after reading the story if you would like to show your support for the cause then please head over to http://www.change.org/petitions/justice-for-roethel-in-chevron-oil-spill and sign the petition. We hope that justice is served.
Justice for Roethel in Chevron Oil Cleanup
Heres the story
Mrs Roethel
Mrs. Roethel is 85 years old and in failing health. Mr. Forsythe is 85 years old and a WWII veteran. Mr. Wilder is 86 years old, also a WWII veteran with Purple Heart. They DID NOT pollute the properties they purchased… but are being forced to pay. hundreds of thousands of dollars to the State while Chevron gets fined only $15,000.
“When Laurel B. Roethel and her late husband, Thomas G., bought their commercial property at 1801 Ford St. in 1984, they had no idea that the site might be contaminated, said her daughter, Laurel Lee Roethel. Nearly 30 years later, Mrs. Roethel, under pressure from the state, is being saddled with a bill for more than $100,000 to clean up a mess her daughter says her family didn’t make.”
“In Apri…l 1988, two neighboring landowners, Donald H. Forsythe and Frederick S. Wilder, found oil on their property believed to have been left by a former Chevron gas station and an auto parts store on the site. Mr. Forsythe and Mr. Wilder were business partners dealing in real estate and insurance.”
“The state Department of Environmental Conservation cleaned up the property using $374,153.90 from the state’s oil spill fund.”
Hitting the headlines – Owners pushed to settle spill bill – front page news of Watertown Daily Times, Sunday May 6, 2012
Hitting the headlines – State Forces City Woman To Pay – Front Page of the Advance News, Sunday May 6, 2012
“In 2006, the state Attorney General’s Office sued Mrs. Roethel, Mr. Forsythe and Mr. Wilder to recover the cost of the cleanup, alleging that they were responsible for the contamination. After arguing the case for six years, Mr. Forsythe and Mr. Wilder have settled with the state, and the state is now pressuring Mrs. Roethel to follow suit.”
Read the full story at the link provided and LIKE the page to show your support. We hope to create a combined front of support for this poor woman and bring as much exposure as possible to the shameful story.
Beyond a being a tragic story of an elderly woman, this incident stands as precedence for similar environmental debacles. Who is really responsible here? Why is Chevron not being held accountable for the oil spill rather than a few elderly residents of a small town in Upstate NY? Those are the big questions in this case.
Justice for Roethel in Chevron Oil Cleanup “ Why are the big companies not held responsible for their messes? This is an injustice to all, especially the Earth.” – tombthumb.info thinks this is a very serious question that the big companies and the goverment should be answering immediatley.
Show your support and head over to https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-for-Roethel-in-Chevron-Oil-Cleanup/220957541353024 and sign the petition to show your support at http://www.change.org/petitions/justice-for-roethel-in-chevron-oil-spill
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http://www.lawjournalbuffalo.com/news/article/current/2009/07/02/100630/ag-sues-upstate-retirees-over-old-spill-on-their-land
The above link is a newspaper article dated july 2009 about the chevron oil cleanup, Its sad to think that we live in a world where instead of the laws been there to protect us they seem to be there to persecute us. The laws need to be changed and those that are truly responsible for this injustice need to pay for the mistakes that have been made. Not trying to prosecute three elderly people who all that they have wanted to do is live thier lives and unaware of the situation when the properties were bought.
Thanks for finally writing about > Justice for Roethel in Chevron Oiil Cleanup – Tom ThumbTom
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