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Cleveland, Ohio -- Federal authorities accused a Grafton couple Wednesday of causing a massive fish kill in the Rocky River by dumping 55 gallons of toxic cyanide into a storm sewer last spring.
A grand jury returned indictments against Renato Montorsi, 79, and his wife Teresina, 74, on charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. Renato Montorsi also is accused of violating the Clean Water Act.
"Mr. Montorsi chose to use the river behind us as his own dump," said U.S. Attorney Steven at a news conference at the Rocky River Nature Center. "Nearly every fish in a three mile stretch -- about 30,000 -- were killed."
On April 22 -- Earth Day -- tens of thousands of dead and dying fish, turtles, crayfish, frogs and other wildlife washed up along three miles of the East Branch of the Rocky River between the Bonnie Park Picnic Area and Wallace Lake in Berea.
Cyanide identified as cause of April fish kill in Rocky River; Grafton couple indicted (video) | cleveland.com
These two own a coin and precious metal business, which uses a lot of cyanide. When waste management refused to collect a 55 gallon drum full of used cyanide, they allegedly dumped the contents into a storm sewer.
WHAT a horrible crime.
If these people are guilty, what do you think should happen to them?
I think they should be punished as per what the law prescribes for the crimes they're guilty of. And then I think they should be civilly sued for the damage they've done to the Rocky River as well as revenues lost because of their criminal acts...I'm thinking sport fishing was effected. There would be clean-up costs, etc. Perhaps there's a way to put a number on that. I also think any wells in the area should be checked for cyanide. If there's even a smidgeon, they should be prosecuted for whatever "endangering the welfare of others" entails...and sued for the costs of clean-up of those as well.
I like nothing better than taking money from those whose greed has harmed others. Taking all of it would be a fine bonus.
Make them eat the fish. You reap what you sow.
Send the toxic avenger after them.
Seriously, the DNR should handle them for killing wildlife. Maybe a nice hefty fine and community service.
Cyanide identified as cause of April fish kill in Rocky River; Grafton couple indicted (video) | cleveland.com
These two own a coin and precious metal business, which uses a lot of cyanide. When waste management refused to collect a 55 gallon drum full of used cyanide, they allegedly dumped the contents into a storm sewer.
WHAT a horrible crime.
If these people are guilty, what do you think should happen to them?
Was there a way they could get it properly handled? If waste management refused to collect it, they could have found themselves in a Catch-22. I don't know enough details to be able to say one way or the other.
But they should likely receive a rather large fine and a lot of community service.
I wonder why waste management refused to dispose of the waste. That's their job.
I'm disgusted and angry, but I wouldn't give them the death penalty.
I do think they deserve prison time, and that'd likely be LWOP for them.
You don't think they should do prison time, helix?
Is it on account of their age?
They should do prison time, but that won't bring the fish back to life. Making them do some serious cleanup would probably be more effective for their age. Why confine them to a space and feed them? Make them go out and do some hard labor.
If I put that much into a public water supply, should I get death? If I knew what harm I was causing? Of course. I think this couple knew exactly what they were doing and just didn't give a ****. They have destroyed an entire ecosystem. It's not just the fish...it's everything that water touched, everything that depends on those fish, etc etc etc. This elderly couple destroyed more than we can possibly grasp. It's high time we make people realize the importance of our environment. They DIRECTLY attacked every single person living along or near that river.
I say death, and ALL of their holdings go towards fixing what they broke.
The article said they could have called for a hazardous waste pick up, at their cost.
I have a question myself: can I get cyanide if I just claim to be a coin dealer? Why isn't this substance more tightly controlled?
Cyanide ions are relatively stable in the environment unless they are oxidized. The fate and behaviour of cyanides in water will be controlled by various parameters of the water body — namely, pH, trace metal levels, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Although there appear to be no specific data, the half-life of cyanides in water is likely to be weeks.
You can get a lot of dangerous stuff very easily, the overwhelming vast majority of people who do get it, don't do anything nefarious with it either.
Most people just really don't know about this.
No I'm not going into detail on the internets about it.
Suffice to say, you'd be surprised.
I would agree if a human had been killed, I think. I have to ponder on that awhile.
I'm still stunned that TWO people did this. We had two psychopaths in Cleveland with 55 gallons of cyanide in their garage?
A few things;
1. If Waste Management refused to pick it up, then why?
That info does not seem to be provided.
2. Did they refuse to pay?
Again, info does not appear to be provided.
3. How long had they been dumping, assuming they refused to pay?
This would indicate the severity of the crime.
Some Cyanide info;
http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/second_addendum_cyanide_short_term _4_.pdf
If they were stuck in a catch-22 situation, where WM refused to pick it up, and they were willing to pay, than a fine and community service would cover it for them. But, in that instance, WM should be liable as well.
Well, they were married....so it's really more like ONE psychopath. Or at least, like one psychopathic purpose...
The Montorsis own a coin and precious metal business, Kennedy Mint Inc., on Pearl Road. They previously owned a metal-plating company at the same location that used cyanide, Dettlebach said.
Montorsi rolled the drum to a storm sewer, punctured the side of the drum with a spike and let the contents drain into the sewer.
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