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Should the USEPA have a ?Help Wanted? List Rather than a ?Most Wanted? List?

By Walter James

p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: ArialThat is the opinion of Steven Milloy, a junk science expert and the publisher of Junk Science.com.span style=mso-spacerun: yes#0160; /spanMr. Milloy writes:span style=mso-spacerun: yes#0160; /spano:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifystrongspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: ArialIt?s little wonder why the FBI?s ?Most Wanted? list doesn?t include anyone accused of breaking federal environmental laws.span style=mso-spacerun: yes#0160; /spanIt?s hard to argue that a father-son team accused of illegally importing Alfa Romeo sports cars that don?t meet U.S. tailpipe emissions standards is the criminal equivalent of the likes of Usama bin Laden or the other hardened sociopaths for whom the FBI warns the public to remain on the lookout.o:p/o:p/span/strong/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifystrongspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/strong/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifystrongspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial. . ./span/strongspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: ArialIn addition to the Alfa Romeo Gang believed to be hiding out in Italy (so remain alert on your next visit to Tuscany), the EPA wants us to keep an eye out for Mauro Valenzuela, an airplane mechanic criminally charged for improperly loading oxygen canisters thought to have caused the tragic 1996 crash of ValuJet flight 592.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: ArialBut converting the crash into an environmental crime seems a stretch. The EPA apparently views the canister loading as ?illegal transportation of hazardous material.? In any event, Valenzuela?s boss and co-worker were eventually acquitted of the same criminal counts. The only reason Valenzuela also wasn?t acquitted was because he panicked and fled to parts unknown before trial. He is, in effect, a fugitive from his own innocence -- but he is wanted by the EPA nonetheless.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0.5in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: ArialThe rest of the EPA?s fugitives appear to be mostly hapless immigrants now believed to be ?hiding? oversees in places like Syria, Mexico, India, Greece, Poland and China. They?re wanted for a variety of alleged infractions, including smuggling banned refrigerants, discharging waste into sewers, lying to the Coast Guard about a ship?s waste oil management system, transporting hazardous waste without a manifest, and creating false official documents./spanspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arialspan style=mso-spacerun: yes#0160;/spano:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justifyspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: ArialYou can read the full article at a href=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,469505,00.htmlfont color=#800080http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,469505,00.html/font/a.span style=mso-spacerun: yes#0160; /spanAn interesting perspective, to say the least, and a perspective shared by me.#0160; Perhaps the USEPA should put out the help wanted mat and use its resources to hire more criminal investigators./span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: ArialMore later.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: ArialAs always, feel free to contact me by e-mail with any questions at a href=mailto:walter.james@jamespllc.comwalter.james@jamespllc.com/a.o:p/o:p/span/p p class=MsoNormal style=MARGIN: 0in 0in 0ptspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arialo:p#0160;/o:p/span/p pspan style=FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: #39;Times New Roman#39;; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SAWDJiii/span/p

Full post as published by Environmental Crimes Blog on December 22, 2008 (boomark / email).