Judge drops some charges in Mohawk landfill case
- Details
- Parent Category: News
- Category: Social Issues & Criminal Justice
- Published: 24 April 2012
Albany, New York (AP) April 2012
A judge has dismissed two of three charges against a Mohawk who dug up part of a toxic landfill near his reservation home in northern New York.
The St. Lawrence County judge ruled last week that 57-year-old Larry Thompson didn’t resist officers after driving a backhoe through a fence at the former General Motors Massena plant. He also said prosecutors didn’t prove that soil Thompson dug up presented a danger.
Thompson still faces a criminal mischief charge.
The landfill was designated a federal Superfund priority in 1984.
Thompson said after his Aug. 11 arrest that he was frustrated by a government decision to cap the landfill instead of removing the chemicals.
He blames toxins at the site for cancers among his family and other Akwesasne residents.
A judge has dismissed two of three charges against a Mohawk who dug up part of a toxic landfill near his reservation home in northern New York.
The St. Lawrence County judge ruled last week that 57-year-old Larry Thompson didn’t resist officers after driving a backhoe through a fence at the former General Motors Massena plant. He also said prosecutors didn’t prove that soil Thompson dug up presented a danger.
Thompson still faces a criminal mischief charge.
The landfill was designated a federal Superfund priority in 1984.
Thompson said after his Aug. 11 arrest that he was frustrated by a government decision to cap the landfill instead of removing the chemicals.
He blames toxins at the site for cancers among his family and other Akwesasne residents.