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Mohawk man arrested after digging into toxic Massena landfill |
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Written by Administrator
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Saturday, 13 August 2011 |
Mohawk man arrested after digging into toxic Massena landfill
DIGGING UP TOXIC WASTE: Site neighbor claims landfill contamination is poisoning his people
By BRIAN HAYDEN
AUGUST 12, 2011
MASSENA — A Mohawk man long frustrated with the cleanup efforts at the General Motors Powertrain site decided to take matters into his own hands on Thursday.
Larry Thompson, who goes by the Mohawk name of Kanietakeron, attempted to remove contaminated soil in the GM site by digging into a 12-acre capped landfill area with an excavator. For more than two hours, he dumped the contents of the landfill in a nearby spot.
His wife, Dana Leigh Thompson, said the plan was for backhoes to take the contents from the landfill and then transport them to rail cars, which would cart the waste to a secure location. A group of fellow Mohawks looked on, and by 11 a.m., about a dozen state troopers were also on the scene.
Mr. Thompson didn’t get to finish his job. By 1 p.m., state police had arrested him. He was charged with two felony counts of second-degree criminal mischief for damage in excess of $1,500, as well as misdemeanor counts of second-degree reckless endangerment and resisting arrest. He was arraigned by Massena Town Justice Gerald P. Sharlow and sent to the St. Lawrence County jail, Canton, on $100,000 bail or $200,000 bond.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20110812/NEWS05/708129921 |
