Environmental Law

Toxic Sludge Boss Arrested

By Walter James

This was the headline on the MSN story on the recent environmental disaster in Hungary.  The story continues: ?Police have detained the director of the aluminum company responsible for a flood of caustic red sludge that killed at least seven people in Hungary, the country's prime minister said Monday as he blamed "human negligence" for the spill.?  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39610356/ns/world_news-europe  The police detained ?Zoltan Bakonyi on suspicion of public endangerment and environmental damage . . ..?   

Contrast that with the typical scenario in the United States.  An event occurs (can anyone say ?the gulf oil spill disaster?), the USDOJ ?announces? a criminal investigation, and then nothing is heard from the USDOJ, perhaps for years, then, possibly, an indictment and a voluntary surrender of the defendants. 

Makes you appreciate the civilized process here in the States?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  The USDOJ does have an arrow that it uses periodically, which is the detaining of material witnesses.  Just ask Mike Chalos or Bruce Pasfield.  Both have had clients (foreign nationals) who were detained for months on end in the United States while the investigation is ongoing.  While not quite the same, there is precedent for early arrests and detention.

Makes you think . . ..

More later

As always, feel free to contact me via e-mail at walter.james@jamespllc.com.

WDJiii

Full post as published by Environmental Crimes Blog on October 11, 2010 (boomark / email).