West Virginia may be leading the way to make CEO's and other upper-level managers accountable for the actions of the company.
But then too, this may have to do more with fiddling with the bankruptcy-laws than with water pollution...
Quote:
Four Executives Indicted From Company Behind West Virginia Chemical Spill
Climate Progress
Emily Atkin
December 17, 2014
The U.S. Attorney General’s office has filed an indictment against four executives
of the company that contaminated drinking water for 300,000 West Virginians
this past January, alleging violations of the Clean Water Act.
The indictment marks the second time this month that former Freedom Industries
CEO Gary Southern has been charged with violations related to a massive chemical spill
that saw 10,000 gallons of a coal-cleaning chemical called crude MCHM
dumped into West Virginia’s Elk River.
Also named in Wednesdsay’s indictment are company ex-president Dennis Farrell,
former secretary William Tis, and onetime vice president Charles Herzing.
Freedom Industries’ executives are accused of “fail[ing] to exercise reasonable care
in its duty to operate the [chemical storage facility] in a safe and environmentally-sound manner,”
and that their failure to exercise care was the primary reason for the historic spill.
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Then, earlier this month, Southern was arrested and charged by the FBI
with with bankruptcy fraud, wire fraud, and lying under oath during
the company’s bankruptcy proceedings following the massive spill.
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