Apr 29, 2009 6:29 pm US/Central
FBI Raids Crestwood Offices In Water Case
CRESTWOOD, Ill. (CBS) ―
Federal agents raided the Village Hall and other public buildings in Crestwood Wednesday. CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery first reported Monday that officials had launched an unprecedented criminal investigation.
Officials want to know how and why potentially cancer-causing chemicals got into Crestwood's drinking water.
The first stop for investigators: Crestwood's Department of Public Works. Armed with a federal search warrant, they sought records related to a
poisoned well. State regulators say the village kept using it for as long as 21 years after the state warned of the danger.
"We're looking for evidence of environmental crimes," said Randall Ashe, U.S. EPA Special Agent-In-Charge.
As 11 agents from the U.S. EPA, three from the Illinois State Police and one from the U.S. Coast Guard searched his offices,
Crestwood's mayor made a rare statement to reporters.
"We're fully cooperating with the EPA," said Mayor Robert Stranczek. "And at this time that's all the comment we're going to have."
Tying a symbolic black ribbon in front of the Village Hall was
Tricia Krause. She's the mother of three who waged a long crusade to uncover the truth about Crestwood's water.
"At least today, God has given me an answer," said Tricia Krause. "And that's all I've ever asked for."
Although she admits it may be hard to prove in court, she blames her children's illnesses on the vinyl chloride and other cancer-causing poisons found in the well.
"It's been a long, grueling 10 years of finding answers," Krause said.
After Krause unearthed incriminating documents and after violation notices went to longtime village water engineer Frank Scaccia, the Illinois EPA says he confessed that officials had routinely lied about water quality for many years.
Crestwood claimed all its drinking water came from Lake Michigan. Despite that, Mayor Robert Stranczek says the water was still safe, because the well water was mixed with lake water, diluting any poisons it might have contained.
"There is no issue with the water supply right now," Mayor Stranczek said. "And the village doesn't feel there was prior to this either."
Activist Tricia Krause said there's one public official who has not gotten the credit he deserves in this. She said Gov. Pat Quinn was the first high-ranking official to take her complaints seriously, and that he is a hero.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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