Better Prosecutions of Environmental Crimes

The W.R. Grace environmental crimes case in Montana was a perfect example of how the Rove Republican Racket bumbled the case by engaging in prosecutorial misconduct. As you may recall, W.R. Grace executives were acquitted in part due to the non-disclosure of the government's relationship with a star-witness.

Now James O'Toole, Jr. (pictured), a prominent attorney from the City of Brotherly Love and Chair of the Environmental and Toxic Tort Group of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is reassuring the public that the failures in Montana won't effect prosecution of environmental crimes in the future. We say, Thank God! O'Toole, in a company news release, states:

"The government took it on the chin with [the star-witness]", O'Toole said. "When a judge says that your main witness can't be trusted, that can't help your cause. This case was difficult when it started but became all but impossible when it came to light that the government had failed to adequately disclose its relations with the star witness." Despite the outcome, some believe — including O'Toole — that this particular case will not set a precedent for future cases dealing with the EPA."I don't believe you're going to see the Justice Department or the EPA shy away from criminal prosecutions in the future simply because of some of these missteps in the past. The agency's proposed budget is going to have at least a $600 million increase, with $32 million for enforcement alone. They're going to hire 30-plus additional positions just to handle enforcement and investigation: When you have a robust budget and a focused agency, and a commitment supported by the administration, you can't help but think there's going to be greater scrutiny and enforcement across all environmental programs."

Read the full release here and more about O'Toole here.