Next to Frank Leone’s substantial conflict of interest[1]
between his “day job” and his alleged Democratic Party values during the
evenings and weekends, Brian Moran looks like St. Francis of Assisi.[2]
Given Frank Leone’s reelection bid for the Democratic National Committee (DNC)
on June 2, this point is all the more significant. Do Virginians want to elect an
individual to the Democratic National Committee who protects some of the most
vile environmental and human health offenders, a man whose law firm boasts of
defending “DDT and related pesticides” on its official website?
“Our partners' experience
in the environmental area dates back to the early 1970s, when several of them
were involved in the world-wide defense of DDT and related pesticides as well as some
of the earliest litigation under the then-new federal air and water statutes.
As the number and diversity of state and federal environmental regulatory
programs have grown in the intervening years, so has our practice. “[3]
No longer can or should the Democratic Party tolerate the
type of pseudo Democrat that Frank Leone represents, the type whose greatest
affinity is for Big Business and, by association, the Republican Party.
If you value money, that’s fine, so do I.
If you value the rule of law, that’s great, I do as well. But Mr. Leone’s job
has consistently been to bend and pervert the law for client’s whose dubious
business practices should have been legally punished, not allowed to continue business
as usual.
According to Mr. Leone’s biographical page on his law firms
website:
“Mr. Leone served as counsel for Norfolk
Southern in Avondale
Mills v. Norfolk Southern, Civ No. 1:05-2817-MBS (D.S.C. 2005), the largest
single mass tort case in South Carolina history. Plaintiff Avondale alleged
property damage to its textile plants arising from a January 2005 train
derailment and chlorine release. Mr. Leone led the defense of scientific issues
in the case and participated in the month long trial, which preceded a
confidential settlement.”[4]
While federal prosecutors urged that Norfolk Southern (NS) be fined[5],
the settlement of the case is shrouded in a legally protected black box. Today,
Norfolk Southern’s official website boasts “The future needs us.”[6] I
wonder if those 9 unfortunate individuals killed in NS’s 2005 train crash would
agree?
Virginian’s shouldn’t help reelect a man on June 2 whose values as
an attorney conflict with those as a member of the Democratic Party. There are
other Virginians running for the DNC much more worthy of your vote.[7]
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