Tom Selleck Did Not Steal Water – A Construction Company Was Footing The Bill?
Actor Tom Selleck seems to have won reprieve in the alleged water stealing case he could have become seriously entangled in. Apparently, water that the actor had been pulling from a public fire hydrant has been paid for by a third party.
An official has confirmed that actor Tom Selleck wasn’t stealing water, primarily because it was legally purchased, reported MSN. Public works director for the city of Thousand Oaks, Jay Spurgin, informed that the water was paid for as the records indicate a construction company had lawfully obtained a city-approved water meter on the hydrant more than two years ago.
What’s interesting is that the Calleguas Municipal Water District had spent about $22,000 on a private investigator to clandestinely track the deliveries, according to a complaint filed in Ventura County Superior Court. Despite the costly affair, Tom Selleck managed to avoid a costly legal confrontation by suggesting he had purchased the water, that the municipality accused him of stealing and illegally ferrying it over district boundaries from Thousand Oaks to his 60-acre Hidden Valley estate.
The case is still in its infancy primarily because it’s unclear if Selleck or his employees bought the water from the construction company or from another source. Moreover, the Sheriff’s Department hasn’t taken a side. The department is still undecided on whether a crime did take place or not.
Tom Selleck steals thousands of gallons of California water for himself http://t.co/RsIs6HbtQC pic.twitter.com/Yg9kBfbY11
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) July 10, 2015
Notwithstanding the legality of the issue, California is facing one of the longest and most brutal droughts the area has ever faced. Stricter measures are being enforced in order to conserve whatever little water is left. However, there are many affluent folks who do not consider their moral obligation to save water and curtail its uses only for the direst of tasks.
Under such extreme conditions, water taken from a fire hydrant is certainly a big issue. It also highlights how construction companies are allowed to draw water as long as they have paid for it. Additionally, these companies seem to be making a profit reselling the water to affluent citizens.
This is undoubtedly not a singular case as Californians prepare to brace themselves for even more stringent water conservation policies. There could be many more rich people in the region who could be watering their property, while the rest of Californians struggle to get by with severe water rationing.
In 2009, when California was struggling with drought, Selleck and five others gained permission to fill up trucks from a water hydrant in nearby Lake Sherwood, reported Los Angeles Times. Does this mean the water cuts are imposed only for the average citizen?
[Image Credit | Mark Sagliocco / Getty Images, The Mirror]
