Headed To The Big House

Get this- a Federal Appeals Court has affirmed that the Federal Clean Water Act applies even in Mississippi. And they're sending Lucedale developer Robert J. Lucas Jr., along with his daughter, real estate agent Robbie Lucas Wrigley, and D'Iberville engineer M.E. Thompson to the pokey for violations of it.

As a matter of fact, the Federal Appeals Court upheld convictions on all 41 charges (how 'bout some Mail Fraud for ya?) against the three. Apparently they not only sold uninhabitable wetlands to prospective homebuilders, but they also managed to pollute the Vancleave wetlands by installing malfunctioning septic systems.

If I didn't know better, I'd get the impression that ripping off consumers and destroying the environment is considered a bad thing. How retro.

From The Daily Construction News:

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld the convictions, rejecting the defendants’ arguments that evidence did not show a violation of the Clean Water Act.

“Defendants made misrepresentations that directly contradicted inspecting buyers’ observations,” the 5th Circuit said.

“Wrigley misrepresented the dryness of the site, for example, when buyers noticed wetlands and wetlands vegetation and questioned her about the wetlands.”

Lucas’ two corporations were sentenced to five years’ probation and were subject to the US$1.4 million restitution and more than US$5 million in fines. Thompson, who designed and certified septic systems at the Big Hill Acres subdivision in Vancleave, and Wrigley, who sold the wetlands lots, were sentenced to seven years and two months in prison.

Federal prosecutors said the defendants knowingly polluted federally protected wetlands and area waterways by installing underground septic systems that malfunctioned in saturated soil; thwarted state and federal health and environmental regulators; and defrauded residents into buying uninhabitable land.