Harrisburg, PA – Attorney General Charges G&G Kosher Poultry Plant Owners With Environmental Crimes

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    Harrisburg, PA – The owner of a former Berks County kosher poultry plant and the pretreatment plant operator were charged today by agents from the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Section with discharging industrial waste including poultry blood, feathers, hearts and gizzards into a Schuylkill River tributary.

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    Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendants as Mayer Grunbaum, 48, of Brooklyn, NY, his former business, G&G Poultry, 1100 Lincoln Road, Birdsboro, and the businesses’ pretreatment plant operator, David Weiszer, 59, of Allentown.

    Corbett said that the investigation began in December 2007 based on a referral from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the illegal discharge of poultry waste into nearby waters.

    According to the criminal complaint, industrial waste from G&G’s wastewater pre-treatment plant is required to be discharged into the sanitary sewer collection system owned and operated by Exeter Township.

    The charges state that on 16 separate occasions between May 2006 and January 2008, Grunbaum or Weiszer permitted industrial waste generated from G&G’s processing operations to be discharged into an unnamed tributary of the Schuylkill River.
    Claims of waste into Schuylkill River
    Corbett said that the water was allegedly laden with poultry parts including; fat, grease, feathers, hearts, gizzards, feet, poultry blood and viscera.

    “Our environmental laws were created to protect and preserve Pennsylvania’s tremendous natural resources for all to enjoy,” Corbett said. “No matter how small the stream, these waterways and tributaries are not dumping grounds for waste.”

    According to an Aquatic Biology Investigation, there was a harmful impact to the Schuylkill tributary from G&G’s untreated process water discharge.

    “Over the course of two years the pollution of one small unnamed tributary ultimately affected species and vegetation that grow and live in the Schuylkill River,” Corbett said.

    Grunbaum, Weiszer and G&G Poultry are all charged with 16 counts of industrial waste discharges, 16 counts of prohibition against other pollutions and 16 counts of unlawful conduct. Grunbaum and Weiszer are also charged with three counts of criminal conspiracy.

    Corbett said that Grunbaum and Weiszer face a maximum penalty of 255 years in prison and $527,000 fine.

    The case will be prosecuted in Berks County by Deputy Attorney General Stevan Portman of the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Section.

    Editors note: (A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.)


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    47 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    We continue to see the emergence of the secret plot to destroy the kosher food industry.

    robroy560
    robroy560
    15 years ago

    Why do we yidden keep trying to skirt the rules? It’s bad enough we have PETA on our case, now we ticked off the environmentalists.

    If these allegations are true, this is bad.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    There is no plot to destroy kosher.

    Meat and poultry processors (kosher and non-kosher) are frequently charged with environmental crimes – somehow kosher processors have more chutzpa than the non-kosher.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    They face a maximum of 255 years in prison!!! A serial killer wouldn’t get that in the U.S. but if you start up with a few birds you’re in for alot of trouble. Just shows how human life is worth alot less than wildlife in our country.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    How about just following the law? Stories like this are why people hate Jews.

    latke
    latke
    15 years ago

     admin “secret plot”? sorry but thats just paranoid. Just like #3 says, both kosher and non kosher food processors get charged similarly.

    @4 If the charges are true, the crime is one that affects people. Dumping of untreated wastes into public waters puts people at risk. These are crimes against the public at large, not just an individual.

    May Hashem guide the investigators and judges in this case to be just and true.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    It just goes to show you… If these thugs believed in Torah values, they would OBEY the laws of the land, and wouldn’t be facing these charges.
    They all think they are above the law.. First, they cry anti-semite, then they cry Kashrus. It’s ALWAYS everyone else’s fault, never their own.

    Dag
    Dag
    15 years ago

    I wonder if the Rubashkin spotlight encouraged the Feds to check the entire Kosher slaughter Biz.

    DAN LEKAF ZECHIS
    DAN LEKAF ZECHIS
    15 years ago

    #7 . I know MR Greenbaum and he is a tzadik from a yid so you all be quiet he follows the torah more then you and he does not browse the internet

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    did he go out on bail or is a flight risk. we know iowa law from rubashkin and new york from berni the ganev now lets see pa.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    I don’t know Mr Grunbaum but its possible that we don’t teach enough our society feelings to other people!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    None of us is flawless. But that does not mean we can’t see something wrong.

    The fact that we all have flaws is the way Hashem created us.
    But it does not excuse bad behavior.

    Sure, I may make a small mistake in my home. Or I may pass a stop sign on a quiet country road.

    But, I am not getting in the news.
    I am not bringing shame on my fellow Jews.
    I am not causing Anti-semitism.
    I am not polluting our Rivers and Streams.

    It is not a matter of “did he get out on bail?” “Is it fair?”
    It is a matter of our stopping doing bad things!!!!

    These are BAD Things.
    These actions cause anti-semitism.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    This is pure loshon hora and should be taken off immediately! You are causing thousands to sin!!!

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    do I miss something here? since May of ’06 till January ’08 there were only 16 times when G&G allegedly dumped the waste. so they were following the law at all times. so what happened at those 16 occasions? maybe they didn’t have any choice. there can be hundreds of explanations if it would affected you or someone you know

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    As far as I know, G&G doesn’t dump their trash by themselves. so they’re not responsible for whatever happened to their waste.
    The authorities usually love to hunt “big fish”, so they’re more interested in charging the company with the crime, rather than the contractor responsible for it.

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    If I’m reading correctly these are charges brought agains G & G. Not that it was proven in court. Usually a person is persumed innocent until proven guilty. Which is not the case here. Yet…so many people here are ready to drop the ax on his fellow jew before he’s indicted (that is if these people here are all of the jewish faith). WHY ???

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    as far as i know they are in bigger trouble then they think they are in . They better get some good lawyers!

    shmiel glassman
    shmiel glassman
    15 years ago

    i dont get it
    does anyone know the area? how populated? where does this stream goto ?how much stuff?
    although he may have broken the codes,the article is also very vague as to WHAT DAMAGE WAS ACTUALLY CAUSED? if a few trees died is that really an issue? I dont see the severity of the offense .

    Jewish Observer
    Jewish Observer
    15 years ago

    G&G was busted in September 2006 for a million dollar drug bust. The reason it wasn’t a major tumult was because it was the same week as the Monsey Shevach scandal.

    http://www.forward.com/articles/2411/

    Ben
    Ben
    15 years ago

    I HAVE CHECKED THE FACTS AND HERE IT GOES:
    1)G&G has operated the plant for close to 10 years:
    2)G&G wanted to build a treatment plant in addition to what they had but was denied to expand it by the locals :
    3) G&G treated all the discharges they had for close to 10 years
    4) Bottom line is that if you really want you can also convict a sandwich:
    The locals were not friendly and they looked hard untill they found something:
    this was a big operation they had to discharge over 10 tons a day and they treated it all for over 10 years.
    This is a case where a local prosecuter went looking and looking untill he found something.

    joeshmoe
    joeshmoe
    15 years ago

    to all you jew haters out there. find out your facts.first in the case with rubashkin, if you have a business. would you hire an investigating firm to do the federals work of doing background checks on everyone to know if the documents they priovide are not counterfeits? let me tell you how these law breakers work. some just borrow their friends ss card. some their friends green card. then there are those that just counterfate the docs. the city just wants everybody to do their work for them. they have laws in place that require you to do their detective work for them. now if you think that our justice system is foolproof. just ask people that have been on the stand. you can’t judge anybody because of your ignorance! or cause you have a personal reason to accuse somebody! now rubashkin has not been charged with tax evasion! hey if those illegals didn’t have any papers and rubashkin didn’t give them their w2 taxes wouldn’t they charge them? now you people are acting like MEDIA that are always there when their is anything anybody could be slandered. cumon we all know that pretty well. when mr. balkany was charged with money laundering all news networks were libeling him with everything possible but when the prosecutor couldn’t find anything on him nobody even cared of trying to clear his name, just ran to the next gossip. that’s how our people yiddin get blamed by everything and the anti semites explain their actions. comes mr. obama and says that places like rubashkin should be shut down. hey he knows nothing about them! now the unions income are getting low (economy) you go out there yelling “who wants to be partners in the business that employ them should sign these papers). hey that’s how they got the biggest car makers out of business. do you know they have this gneive called workers bank! workers they don’t have work for get paid in full (incl. benifits) for sitting home till auto industries find them jobs they like and want to work for. I just saw 5 ppl putting up spikes for birds on a public schools porch.

    Yossi
    Yossi
    15 years ago

    I dont know the charges against them but when you shop next time for meat and seea 10-20cent increase in poultry per pound please dont ask the butcher what happened that prices were increased. To run a plant today that will fit right for the USDA ,Enviromental agencies,and local Municipalities and the Kosher consumer is very costly and will be put on to the final retail price.
    We always wondered how Rubashkins meat was about 5-10% less then their competitors.?Answer ..Rubashkin is out of business r”L and their competitors are working hard and overtime to produce enough meat for the Kosher consumer.
    If you really want to save money then go to 61st Street Live chicken poultry buy a HINDELE take it to the SHOICHET ,take it home FLIK it..SALT it, SOAK it make it kosher and if you have a Shaaleh run to the RUV with the hindele and enjoy it roasted,cooked,or bar-b-que…

    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    15 years ago

    i believe 2 snakes died eating the kishkes of the chicken…Happy Chanukah..
    Lets all watch how many Jelly or Custard Doughnuts we eat before Gov. Patterson will tax the Doughnuts….Chapt arein a Latke….Latkele Latkele HOP HOP HOP..

    annonyms
    annonyms
    15 years ago

    thing it is meat plant they have usda inspector they whould never alout . only thing is by accident a pumb broke & over spill .if they “dep” new why?you pass a red light 3 times you licence are revoket .so here somthing missing