"Death By Chocolate" plant had no permits or license to operate!!!!!!
By Wendy
@jerzgirl (9233)
United States
July 9, 2009 10:43pm CST
That unfortunate death by a temp worker at a chocolate factory in Camden, NJ, had been operating without permits or a licence since 1996!!! There is no way that anyone can convince me that the city of Camden, with the utility bills and tax assessments it had to have made annually on this company didn't know it was in operation!!!
They were only licensed to store cocoa when they did have a license. No one noticed machinery being installed? The tax assessor didn't notice employees on the lot? No one noticed semi-trucks going in and out??
http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/OSHA-Investigates-Mans-Death-in-Vat-of-Hot-Chocolate.html
My guess is it was a case of "don't ask, don't tell". They were paying taxes. They were hiring locals. The building was occupied and not being vandalized like so many others. And, someone, somewhere, must have been making a buck or two.
I can't wait until more information comes out. I can almost guarantee it's only going to get better. Camden was so corrupt that the state of New Jersey actually took over operations of the city. Their police department was renting cars, long term with no contract, no purchase order and no city or state authorization from Enterprise Rent-a-Car for undercover work (and often using them for personal as well). Several of their police officers have been arrested for selling narcotics that they stole from dealers. Their former mayor is in jail for pay to play schemes (giving city contracts to businesses who then gave him perks or fixed his house). The current mayor was caught driving a car listed as stolen by a city resident, but somehow listed on city records as unclaimed property. And, the list goes on. I am looking forward to the rest of the story!
So, have you ever lived near so much corruption? Has anyone in your community or a nearby community ever been charged with corruption, accepting bribes, contributing to a criminal environment or generally being unworthy of any respect due to illegal behaviors? Do you think this company should pay for this man's funeral and provide a hefty sum of money to his survivors for their illegal operations which killed him?
3 people like this
7 responses
@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
12 Jul 09
have i ever lived near such corruption?
my state's overfull with it.it runs by it.
they just busted a store one street over from me this week for having no business licence and no tabacco permit either,and the store's been there for 2 years at least.
my guess is somebody didn't get their monthly gift and they told on them.
that can go on easily,but man have 1 yard sale with out a permit (that's right,we need a permit) and the cops are right there.
my state's overfull with it.it runs by it.
they just busted a store one street over from me this week for having no business licence and no tabacco permit either,and the store's been there for 2 years at least.
my guess is somebody didn't get their monthly gift and they told on them.
that can go on easily,but man have 1 yard sale with out a permit (that's right,we need a permit) and the cops are right there.@scarlet_woman (23465)
• United States
12 Jul 09
yup,that's what we get too.
you can get around it with church sale booths,but you still have to pay a table fee.
it's not right.
@dreamweaverjan (3471)
• United States
10 Jul 09
Hey Jerz; Wow!! What a horrible way to die, that poor man!!!
why wasn't there some sort of safety railing or something up on that thing to
where no one could fall in there like that?
I think that company is gonna find themselves with a huge lawsuit and they should if
you ask me; After all they were already breaking the "Rules", Laws, etc...
and then for this to have happened;
They will probably try to "weasel" their way of the law suit too...that's what usually happens...
Sad story though I feel badly for the family and friends of this guy you know??
@beautyqueen26 (16030)
• United States
10 Jul 09
Sounds like a scheme to me.
Surely the city knew what was going on.
@p1kef1sh (45681)
•
12 Jul 09
There are two questions here Jerz. A. How did the chocolate company get away with it for so long and B. How could an entire city council could be so corrupt.
A. There is no suggestion that the chocolate company was preparing a substandard product - although clearly the introduction of a human would have tainted it somewhat - just that they didn't have the proper permits. But it doesn't say which ones it lacked. Clearly the company and the Council were remiss, but to all intents and purposes based on what we know, the company appears to have traded quite legitimately. As for the Council. It only takes on bad apple for the barrel to stink and rot. I suspect that towns and cities the world over are rotten to the core. It's just Camden's turn to get found out. That's the problem when you put people in charge. They get greedy and then think that they are beyond the law.
@revellanotvanella (4033)
• United States
10 Jul 09
Omg, I heard about that.
I was just reading an article about Sylvia Siegel a mother (her parents were activist) who actually taught herself utility law and went to court with the California Public Utility commission because she found they were imposing customer charges even if no electricity was used AND the charges amounted to over 345 million in overcharges! Sounds like the cell phone companies now. They said she helped create an affordable rate called a 'Lifeline' for those with smaller incomes.
Camden is not far from me, a little over 2 hours and Philadelphia I think is full of Corrupt politicians but there might be some promise for Mayor Nutter.
@Meljep (1666)
• United States
10 Jul 09
What a sad situation!
Seems like a classic case of "be sure your sins will find you out".
It's just sad that a person had to die before this corruption and garbage came to the light of day.
Hopefully someone will get in there and clean the place up so the citizens can rest easy at night knowing they live in a safe place.
So sad!!
