Published: October 11, 2008 03:45 am         

More than slap on wrist warranted

{"Body Text Edit"/}We are disappointed in the outcome of the recent case against William Hrazanek, 61, of Fleischmanns, a junkyard dealer who over a four-year period fraudulently insured and registered cars for illegal immigrants.

Originally, when he was arrested in February, he was charged with second-degree insurance fraud, a felony, and four counts of first-degree offering a false instrument for filing; if convicted, he could have faced up to 15 years in prison. He ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor counts of fifth-degree insurance fraud and second-degree offering a false instrument for filing. He was given a one-year conditional discharge for each and was ordered to pay fines totaling $2,175.

Madison County Judge Donald Cerio noted that Hrazanek had no previous criminal record, and Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup said that parts of the case "could present difficulties if it were to proceed to trial."

It seems to us that the judicial system failed to punish the defendant justly for his crimes.

Hrazanek was, for years, creating a situation in which unlicensed individuals were granted the means to be on the road. The Ulster County Sheriff's Department began to notice an unusually high number of traffic stops and accidents involving vehicles registered to Hrazanek's salvage yard; one such accident in Delaware County involved injury to a child who had been riding a bicycle.

Hrazanek was profiting from creating a dangerous situation, charging his customers, who he was also helping put at risk, $1,800 a year for the fraudulent insurance and registrations while paying $30 to keep them under his salvage yard's insurance policy.

Cerio indicated that Hrazanek still may face civil actions. We hope he faces some hefty consequences in that arena, because that he managed to avoid imprisonment of any kind is unsatisfying.

{"Headline24"/}Good to see DEC hearings

{"Body Text Edit"/}The state Department of Environmental Conservation has begun tentatively scheduling public hearings on natural-gas drilling in the Marcellus shale formation. Meetings, as of now, are set to be held in the Southern Tier and Catskills in November, and locally, one is set for Oneonta in December. Though confirmation about times and venues is pending, the dates are as follows: Allegany, Nov. 6; Bath, Nov. 12; Elmira, Nov. 13; Binghamton, Nov. 17; and Oneonta, Dec. 2.

We're glad to see some forward movement on this issue, which has proven to be of significant concern, and support the DEC's efforts to reach out to those who will potentially be affected by it.