“The families of Flint will not be forgotten”, Attorney General Bill Schuette said.
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Schuette said Governor Rick Snyder had been notified of the charges today but Schuette declined to comment when asked about potential charges against the state’s top civil servant. “Their narrative or their story was there’s nothing wrong with Flint water, and it was perfectly safe to use”. Despite notice of citizen complaints about water quality and knowledge of a Legionnaires outbreak and issues with lead levels, Schuette claims Shekter-Smith, not only failed to take corrective action or notify public health officials, but also allegedly took steps to mislead and hide evidence from health officials.
“This water was unsafe as evidenced by presence of E. coli, several boil-water alerts, the excessive TTHM (total trihalomethanes, or organic chlorinated chemical compounds) levels and presence of lead”, he said. Lead contamination has been linked to learning disabilities and other problems.
Schuette alleges Rosenthal, who worked in Shekter-Smith’s section, was warned by Flint Water Treatment Plant officials they were not ready for operations.
Brian Morley, an attorney for Shekter-Smith, said the charges were a surprise, but knows his client was not criminally liable.
Five of the six people charged could not be reached immediately for comment.
AP noted that it left messages for Cook and Miller and could not find listed numbers for Rosenthal, Peeler and Scott.
As The Two Way reported in April, the three people previously charged include Flint’s water quality supervisor and two state officials at the Department of Environmental Quality. Cook is charged with misconduct in office, conspiracy to engage in misconduct in office and willful neglect of duty.
As of today, Schuette has filed criminal charges against nine current and former state and local officials since the start of the investigation, which has included interviews with almost 180 witnesses. Rosenthal is charged with misconduct office, conspiracy to tamper with evidence or engage in misconduct in office, and tampering with evidence as a public officer engaged in a willful neglect of his duty.
The workers (including one former employee) are charged with misconduct for a variety of reasons, including allegedly misinterpreting federal regulations, manipulating reports, and conspiring to misconduct.
Rosenthal “tampered with results of water testing, instructing that he needed more tests to go in the right direction”, Schuette said. “Like organized crime, we are working our way up in the DEQ and expanding the scope of investigation”. “The scope of the investigation is progressing exactly how it should be”.
The public health emergency was preceded by E. coli detections; resident complaints about color, odor and taste; and high levels of a disinfectant byproduct. Residents must use filters to make their water drinkable. Authorities switched the city’s water source to the Flint River for 18 months, attempting to save money while a new pipeline was being constructed.
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