It's shameful that the criminal portion of the Cayuga County asbestos removal scandal appears to be over, following last week's sentencing of former county worker John Chick to 15 months in prison.
We have no problem with U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr.'s punishment for Chick, who oversaw the illegal removal of asbestos from the county Board of Elections building in February 2006. Chick clearly knew he was breaking the law and clearly had no regard for the health and safety of the people working for him, or for the people who use the building.
Our problem is that Chick apparently will be the only individual person who's going to bear legal responsibility for this mess, and it's still not clear why that has to be the case.
During the court proceedings last week, Scullin himself noted that this crime does not fall solely on Chick. “It is also clear in the evidence that, Mr. Chick, you were acting at the direction of others,” Scullin said. “They also have a responsibility and it has been pointed out that they are not in court today.”
Chick has pointed to both county legislator George Fearon - who was Legislature chairman at the time of the crime - and former buildings and grounds supervisor Ernie DeCaro as the people who directed him. Those men have denied the charge, saying Chick disobeyed orders to replace a broken boiler without disturbing asbestos. But Scullin has rightfully observed that ultimately they are the ones who ordered a boiler replaced that was known to have asbestos and they put the project under the direction of a man - Chick - with no training in asbestos abatement.
The problem with going after higher-ups, according to the U.S. attorney's office, is that Chick has changed his story over time. The federal prosecutor says he simply doesn't have the proof to go after anyone else.
That's an interesting observation, given that the judge says there's evidence to show otherwise. It's also worth noting that the restitution that Scullin ordered from Chick - $108,000 - is significantly lower than the $262,000 submitted to him by prosecutors, and Scullin noted he was going with the lower amount because the county shares responsibility.
The U.S. attorney's office should be digging deeper to build a case that does not rely on John Chick's testimony. Instead, the many victims in this case are only getting a fraction of justice.
Our problem is that Chick apparently will be the only individual person who's going to bear legal responsibility for this mess, and it's still not clear why that has to be the case.
During the court proceedings last week, Scullin himself noted that this crime does not fall solely on Chick. “It is also clear in the evidence that, Mr. Chick, you were acting at the direction of others,” Scullin said. “They also have a responsibility and it has been pointed out that they are not in court today.”
Chick has pointed to both county legislator George Fearon - who was Legislature chairman at the time of the crime - and former buildings and grounds supervisor Ernie DeCaro as the people who directed him. Those men have denied the charge, saying Chick disobeyed orders to replace a broken boiler without disturbing asbestos. But Scullin has rightfully observed that ultimately they are the ones who ordered a boiler replaced that was known to have asbestos and they put the project under the direction of a man - Chick - with no training in asbestos abatement.
The problem with going after higher-ups, according to the U.S. attorney's office, is that Chick has changed his story over time. The federal prosecutor says he simply doesn't have the proof to go after anyone else.
That's an interesting observation, given that the judge says there's evidence to show otherwise. It's also worth noting that the restitution that Scullin ordered from Chick - $108,000 - is significantly lower than the $262,000 submitted to him by prosecutors, and Scullin noted he was going with the lower amount because the county shares responsibility.
The U.S. attorney's office should be digging deeper to build a case that does not rely on John Chick's testimony. Instead, the many victims in this case are only getting a fraction of justice.
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forrest wrote on Mar 10, 2008 8:26 AM:
movedsouth wrote on Mar 9, 2008 2:14 PM:
lookinon wrote on Mar 9, 2008 12:50 PM:
This smells. Cayuga County Leg's are responsible, too!
This should not go on, those who were 'in charge' should be GONE AFTER.
Maybe letters should be written to the Attorney General asking, "Why did your people not go after those who admitted on the stand fault? "
What is really going on here ?
"
Bill Balyszak wrote on Mar 9, 2008 12:42 PM:
There's really something drastically wrong with the "justice" system - if that's what you want to call it - in Cayuga county. Especially so when Judge Scullin specifically stated that it is "clear in the EVIDENCE" that Chick was "acting at the direction of others." A Judge doesn't just spew out any kind of verbiage but is very careful in his selection of words and I do believe that the word EVIDENCE certainly has a very strict meaning within the judicial system. So why aren't these prosecuting attorneys doing their job by indicting these people - whoever they are - and let a JURY decide if there is enough EVIDENCE to convict. Why are they - the prosecuting attorneys - deciding that THEY will be the JURY too? Something is 'rotten in Denmark' - a/k/a Cayuga County. "
movedsouth wrote on Mar 9, 2008 12:13 PM:
hilltop wrote on Mar 9, 2008 5:04 AM: