Tom Selleck stole thousands of gallons of water from a California fire hydrant
I feel sorry for Californians and their drought crisis. I feel sorry for the California firefighters (acres of land are going up like tinder) and farmers especially. Here in Virginia, this is usually the time of the summer that everything starts drying out, but every couple of days we get a crazy downpour (like 2 inches of rain in 90 minutes) and then everything just goes back to being hot and sticky. My yard has never looked more beautiful! But it’s my understanding that many wealthy Californians are having to face the unthinkable: dry, dying lawns. People have been drought-shaming their neighbors if anyone dares to water their lawn, and the authorities have gotten involved too – there are fines involved if you’re using excess water. But this story is next-level. Apparently, Tom Selleck is facing a major municipal lawsuit because he stole a commercial water tank’s worth of public water (from a hydrant!!) to water his 60-acre estate. Whoa.
Has Tom Selleck landed himself in hot water? The Calleguas Municipal Water District has filed a suit against the 70-year-old actor, alleging he used a public hydrant to fill a commercial water tank, which he then brought to this 60-acre ranch in Westlake Village.
E! News has obtained a copy of the complaint filed on Monday in the Ventura County Superior Court, which says that Selleck is barred from using the water in the hydrant because his property is located in Hidden Valley Municipal Water District.
Per the complaint, Calleguas claims it had to pay an investigator $21,685.55 to document the water theft, and a truck was seen transporting water to Selleck’s home a dozen times, as recently as March 2015.
Selleck, whose wife Jillie Mack is also named in the complaint, is also accused of continuing to steal water after the Calleguas Municipal Water District sent him a cease-and-desist letter to two of his Southern California properties in 2013.
California is currently in the midst of one of the most severe droughts on record. Governor Brown declared a drought State of Emergency in January, and residents are being asked to slash their water use by 25 percent. Selleck did not immediately return a request for comment.
This is easily one of the craziest drought stories I’ve read thus far. And it sounds like he’s been doing it for YEARS! I don’t even understand how that works – a giant, commercial water tanker truck pulls up to a public fire hydrant and someone just stands there, working the pipe until the water tank is full (that could take a really long time) and then the truck just drives over to Selleck’s ranch? This is seriously crazy.
Not that this makes the story any less crazy, but the stolen water isn’t being used to just make his yard pretty – apparently, Selleck has an avocado farm on the property. Still, here’s my biggest question: why isn’t this a criminal act? This is grand theft – Selleck has stolen thousands of dollars’ worth of water from Ventura County.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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