Peeler and Scott’s charges center around a report epidemiologist Cristin Larder prepared last fall showing elevated blood lead testing in Flint residents last July, August and September, according Jeff Seipenko, an investigator in Schuette’s office.
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The people come from two different departments: The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The investigation also revealed that on day the first blood lead level report was created, July 28, 2015, there was communication between MDEQ Defendant Liane Shekter-Smith and MDHHS. News stories displayed here appear in our category for General and are licensed via a specific agreement between LongIsland.com and The Associated Press, the world’s oldest and largest news organization. The AG’s news release gave no indication of how many people would be charged. If found guilty, the misconduct and conspiracy charges are felonies carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison; willful neglect is a one-year misdemeanor. “They put the children of Flint on the backburner, ignored them and ignored the truth”, Schuette.
The struggling city used the Flint River water for 18 months to save money. The charges listed in the lawsuit include professional negligence, public nuisance and fraud.
Authorities in the USA state of MI filed criminal charges Friday against six current and former state officials over lead water contamination in the city of Flint, signaling that their probe is expanding.
Attorney General Bill Schuette announced charges against three people from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services and three staff members at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
“Each of these individuals attempted to bury or cover up, to downplay or hide information that contradicted their own narrative”, Schuette said in a press conference Friday morning. Just six months before the switch from pipeline to river, a General Motors plant stopped using the water because it was causing engine parts to rust. The water, which wasn’t treated to control corrosion, leached lead from aging pipes and fixtures as it flowed into homes and businesses in the city about 55 miles north of Detroit.
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.
The city employee, Mike Glasgow, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and is cooperating with the investigation as other charges were dropped.
On Friday, Schuette announced the charges in the poor, primarily black, city of Flint.
Despite these concerns, there is still time for more and higher level charges.
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