Chicago, Deratany Law Firm: Criminal Indictment Regarding Crestwood Water Contamination

CHICAGO, IL, August 19, 2011 (Press-News.org) On Thursday, August 11, 2011, criminal charges were filed against two Crestwood officials. The indictment was filed against Theresa Neubauer, the Village of Crestwood's police chief and former water department supervisor, and the former Village of Crestwood's former certified water operator, Frank Scaccia.

For years, it is alleged that the Village told residents and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency it was only using Lake Michigan water after 1985, when it discovered a Village well had been tainted by vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen. But regulators later discovered the Village continued to use the well for as much as 20 percent of its water from 1985 to 2007.

Scaccia was charged with three counts and Neubaur was charged with two counts of making false statements to Crestwood's water customers on annual Consumer Confidence Reports for 2005-07, falsely asserting that Crestwood's sole drinking water source was Lake Michigan water purchased from Alsip, when they knew that Crestwood also regularly distributed water drawn from Well #1. Both Defendants were also charged with 19 counts each of making false statements in the Monthly Operation and Chemical Analysis Reports (MORs) that required Crestwood officials to disclose the number of hours each month that Well #1 operated and the total amount of water pumped from Well #1.

The indictment also alleges that the Defendants acted with "Public Official A" of the Village of Crestwood, an elected government official who exercised authority over the Villages water system.

The Deratany Firm, in Chicago, Illinois, a personal injury and medical malpractice firm, represents more than two hundred former residents and individuals who otherwise consumed contaminated water in the Village of Crestwood. The Plaintiffs have suffered a variety of health problems inclusive of cancer.

The Village of Crestwood also issued a statement after the indictments which oddly stated that the indictment confirms that "the health of our citizens has never been compromised or threatened."

According to Mr. Deratany, who represents injured residents and those who consumed the water, "Justice will be obtained both civilly and criminally for those residents injured as a result of drinking the contaminated water. An Illinois Department of Public Health Study has already shown that there are 'significantly elevated' rates of cancer in the Village of Crestwood and according to the EPA, there is no safe level of the carcinogen, vinyl chloride, one of the chemicals involved here."

(Case Name: United States of America v. Frank Scaccia and Theresa Neubauer
Case Number: 11 CR 533
Jurisdiction: United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division)

Media inquiries can be directed to Jay Paul Deratany of the Deratany Firm at (312)857-7285.

Website: http://www.lawinjury.com/