FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | March 16, 2016
Contact: Sandra Steingraber, 607-351-0719, ssteingraber@ithaca.edu
Reading Town Judge Drops 112 Trespass Charges for Seneca Lake Gas Protesters on Eve of Arraignments for 70 Other Protesters
Green Party leader Howie Hawkins, among those facing judge Weds. evening, will speak at rally and press conference
Watkins Glen, NY – In Schuyler County’s Town of Reading Court, Judge Raymond Berry has dismissed 112 violation trespass charges against 110 We Are Seneca Lake protesters, according to an email sent Tuesday afternoon by Reading Town Clerk Joyce Ameigh to We Are Seneca Lake Attorney Sujata Gibson.
This ruling makes official a request to Judge Berry on February 10 by Schuyler County District Attorney Joseph Fazzary. Last month, Fazzary asked the Judge to drop the charges for cases where his investigation determined that the defendants either were not trespassing or there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them for trespassing.
Yesterday’s ruling marks the second round of mass dismissals in the 17-month-old civil disobedience campaign at the gates of Crestwood Midstream. In April 2015, 64 cases were dismissed “in the interests of justice.”
The most recent dismissals come after months of discussions between the prosecution and defense attorneys, who have long argued that most of the protests have taken place on public property and could not involve trespass. In his motion, the District Attorney said that he had reviewed the evidence and agreed that the 112 charges he moved to dismiss should not be prosecuted for trespass.
Defense Attorney Sujuta Gibson said that, while she is pleased with the 112 dismissals, she believes that “all of the trespass charges should be dropped now that it has been established that the property line was unknown and inaccurately marked at the time of the arrests.” Discussions and motions continue for the remaining defendants.
The We Are Seneca Lake campaign opposes the expansion of gas storage in abandoned lakeside salt caverns owned by Crestwood. Since the campaign began in October 2014, there have been 537 arrests. Of these, 234 cases have been adjudicated (resulting in 176 total dismissals to date); 303 cases remain open.
We are Seneca Lake will hold a rally and press conference outside the courthouse in advance of Wednesday night’s arraignments to discuss the recent dismissals and recent ongoing arrests.
What: RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE immediately prior to 5 p.m. arraignments for 70-plus Seneca Lake protesters
When: Wednesday, March 16, 2016, 4:30 p.m.
Where: Town of Reading Court, 3914 County Rte 28, Watkins Glen, NY
Who: We Are Seneca Lake Attorney Sujata Gibson; Green Party leader and former gubernatorial candidate Howie Hawkins; other defendants facing charges.
Individuals whose charges were dismissed on Tuesday are residents of 25 counties:
Albany County
Daniel Micah Morrissey, 28, Albany
Broome County
Bill Huston, 54, Binghamton
Cayuga County
Maryl Mendillo, Aurora
Maribeth Rubenstein, 49, Aurora
Chemung County
Bonnie Chollet, 70, Horseheads
Cynda Poley, 60, Elmira
Clinton County
Lauren Eastwood, 45, Plattsburgh
Columbia County
Kevin Kuenster, 60, Copake Falls
Cortland County
Colleen Kattau, 56, Cortland
Erie County
Charley Bowman, 68, Getzville
Fulton County
Bill Kitchen, 62, Johnstown
Kings County
Rufus Cappadocia, 47, Brooklyn
Josh Fox, 43, Brooklyn
Kim Fraczek, 40, Brooklyn
Lee, Ziesche, 25, Brooklyn
Livingston County
Lyndsay Clark, 54, Springwater
Coby Schultz, 55, Springwater
Bob Thompson, 61, Livonia
Monroe County
Colleen Coss, 60, Henrietta
Paul Flansburg, 47, Rochester
Neely Kelley, 37, Rochester
Arlene Leach-Bizari, 47, Rochester
Barbara Schlierf, 60, Henrietta
New York County
Michael Bucci, 67, Manhattan
Martha Hennessy, 60, Manhattan
Ontario County
Peggy Abbott, 64, Geneva
Cynthia Carestio, 54, Canandaigua
Lynn Cronise, 57, Bloomfield
Hannah Dickinson, 33, Geneva
James-Henry Holland, 58, Geneva
Laura Salamendra, 31, Geneva
Otsego County
Robert Eklund, 63, New Lisbon
Schenectady County
Pete Looker, 64, Glenville
Schoharie County
Elliott Adams, 68, Sharon Springs
Bethany Yarrow, 44, West Fulton
Schuyler County
Shirley Barton, 67, Mecklenburg
Gordon Bonnet, 54, Hector
Melissa Chipman, 57, Hector
Alexandra Doniger, 26, Hector
Lisa Fernandez, 47, Hector
Paula Fitzsimmons, 57, Hector
Lyn Gerry, 59, Watkins Glen
Janet McCue, 64, Hector
Daphne Nolder, 29, Hector
Johnno Potts, 34, Hector
Victoria Rasmussen, 42, Hector
Seneca County
Peter Arena, 50, Covert
Tony Del Plato, 67, Covert
Ben Guthrie, 63, Covert
Kim Knight, 31, Covert
Mariah Plumlee, 36, Covert
Amanda Postma, 30, Lodi
Barbara Smith, 61, Lodi
Steuben County
Nancy Cook, 62, Painted Post
Meg Krywe, 56, Arkport
Stephen Marcus, 60, Arkport
Dianne Roe, 72, Corning
Tioga County
Richard Battaglia, 53, Richford
Jon McNamara, 34, Owego
Tompkins County
Lesley Adams, 57, Trumansburg
Sylvia Bailey, 65, Ithaca
Robyn Bem, 64, Dryden
Dan Burgevin, 68, Trumansburg
Krys Cail, 62, Ulysses
Greg Copeland, 54, Ithaca
Lisa DeBoer, 46, Ithaca
John Dennis, 65, Lansing
Josh Dolan, 38, Ithaca
Karen, Edelstein, 54, Lansing
Rebecca Elgie, 74, Ithaca
Tobi Feldman, 47, Ithaca
Linda Finlay, 76, Ithaca
Martha Fischer, 58, Enfield
Tessa Sage Flores, 66, Ithaca
Zan Gerrity, 64, Ithaca
Arthur Godin, 66, Enfield
Ariel Gold, 40, Ithaca
Neil Golder, 68, Ithaca
Ira Goldstein, 65, Ithaca
Loretta Heimbuch, 65, Trumansburg
Larry Hirschberger, 60, Ithaca
John Hoffmann, 62, Ithaca
Gabrielle Illava, 26, Ithaca
Joan Jedele, 67, Dryden
Rachel Kennedy, 39, Trumansburg
Nancy Koschmann, 72, Dryden
Kate Lamarre, 39, Trumansburg
Keith Liblick, 41, Ithaca
Margaret McCasland, 69, Lansing
Barbara Pease, 69, Ithaca
Mariah Prentiss, 43, Ithaca
Stephanie Redmond, 39, Enfield
James Ricks, 66, Ithaca
Lisa Ripperton, 64, Ithaca
Todd Saddler, 50, Ithaca
Mark Scibilia-Carver, 62, Ulysses
Jim Shaw, 64, Ithaca
Joe Sliker, 33, Ithaca
Ba Stopha, 70, Ithaca
Ann Sullivan, 68, Ithaca
Regina Teasley, 63, Ithaca
Phil Terrie, 66, Ithaca
Camille Tischler, 66, Ithaca
Irene Weiser, 56, Caroline
Ken Zeserson, 67, Ulysses
Ulster County
Andrew Feron, 51, Cottekill
Ryan Solomons, 23, New Paltz
Wayne County
Patty Campbell, 72, Rose
Yates County
Larry Martin, 65, Torrey
Michelle Van Coppenolle, 62, Penn Yan
Read more about the arrested protesters at http://www.wearesenecalake.com/seneca-lake-defendes/.
Read more about widespread objections to Crestwood’s gas storage plans: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/26/nyregion/new-york-winemakers-fight-gas-storage-plan-near-seneca-lake.html?_r=0
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