The Cyanide Canary

by Joseph Hilldorfer, Robert Dugoni

Recounts the story of young Scott Dominquez, a promising former high school wrestler who was left brain damaged by the environmental malpractices of his employer, documenting the efforts of an EPA investigator to bring the employer to justice. 35,000 first printing.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, History, Audiobook, Mystery, Science

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2004

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Since time immemorial there's been a tug-of-war between entrepreneurs - whose goal is to make money - and anything that might reduce profits. Thus employers/corporations have been known to sell harmful or flawed products; make employees work in unsafe conditions; despoil the environment; and so on.

In the United States, laws have been passed to curtail these injurious practices, but enforcement is often lax (or nonexistent) because businesses provide jobs; create new products; propel the economy; contribute to political campaigns; and so on. As stated in the book: "This was business, big business, with a lot of money at stake and a lot of money to spend. Politicians depended on big business and big business depended on politicians. It was the American way."

In this equivocal situation, lawyers for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have struggled against mighty odds to bring scofflaws to justice.





'The Cyanide Canary' details the case against Allen Elias, who ordered a young employee named Scott Dominguez to clean a cyanide-contaminated tank WITHOUT safety equipment.



As a result, Scott suffered severe brain damage, lost his fiancé - who was unable to care for him, and became dependent on his family - who could ill afford his medical/rehab bills. At the time a newspaper noted, "Scott Dominguez once loved to ski, play hackysack, hunt and fish. No more. An accident at work severely damaged his brain and left him with little muscle control." It became difficult for Scott to walk or speak, and it was only with enormous effort that he was able to do anything at all.





Elias, for his part, tried every trick in the book to squirm out of taking responsibility for the tragedy.....because he didn't care to pay reparations; didn't want to go to prison; and wanted to continue making money.

At the time of the incident, on August 27, 1996, Elias owned Evergreen Resources - a fertilizer company near Soda Springs, Idaho.

A fertilizer manufacturing plant

For production purposes, Elias planned to use an old 25,000 gallon storage tank (36' long and 11' high) to hold a large shipment of sulfuric acid. However, the tank had previously been used to store the byproducts of a cyanide leaching process, and was still contaminated with a ton or two of cyanide-laced sludge. Thus Elias ordered a few workers, including Scott, to clean the tank. The circular entrance to the tank, located on top, was only 22" wide.....and Scott was slim - so he was sent in first.



During the cleaning process Scott collapsed and passed out, and - because the entrance to the tank was so small - his co-workers were unable to get him out. Emergency services were called but it took a long time to rescue Scott, and he was permanently damaged.



As soon as the incident occurred, Elias went into cover-your-ass mode. He proceeded to lie repeatedly; blame everybody else; forge documents; fake the availability of emergency equipment; convince his other employees (who needed their jobs) to conceal the truth; line up attorneys; and so forth.



Meanwhile, government lawyers worked day and night to make a case against the fertilizer maker, who had been flouting safety laws for years.



Elias was eventually tried for various crimes, including 'disposing of hazardous waste without a permit' and 'knowing that his actions placed others in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.' The trial, and the innumerable machinations leading up to it, are well documented in the narrative, and the book should be a must-read for up and coming environmental lawyers.

Elias's attorneys - as was their job - obfuscated the issues; made numerous motions and pleas; delayed the trial; tried to suppress evidence; attempted to discredit witnesses.....you get the picture. And Elias, who seemed to think he was Teflon-coated, smirked and sneered and went on with his life - apparently convinced he'd never be convicted of anything.



The prosecutorial team, in turn, made it's own maneuvers and counter-maneuvers, and I was frequently on tenterhooks to see who would prevail with each step and counter-step.

I won't tell what happened in the end.....but you can look it up if you're dying to know.

The book is compelling and detailed.....perhaps too much so. The story includes not only the backgrounds of the victim and the defendant, but of the lawyers, witnesses, and other interested parties. Moreover, the yarn is dramatized way beyond what the writers could possibly know.....so it's kind of a fictionalized true story. However, the basic premise - that the EPA tried to make Elias accountable for his actions - is correct.

Sadly, Elias's case is far from an isolated incident, and harmful business practices are still going on. An epilog to the book makes it clear that some industries continue to ignore safety legislation, and it's very difficult to catch and prosecute them.



In addition, many legislators don't want to pass more stringent environmental and worker protection laws - and actually suggest that industry be allowed to police itself. Ha ha ha.......who could possibly take that idea seriously! 🤢

This is an engaging (if overlong) book about an important topic, and I'd recommend it to readers interested in industrial safety, the preservation of the environment, and the kinds of selfish business moguls who look out only for themselves.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Glen Engel-Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

We lived and worked in eastern Washington State during the mid-1990s for environmental companies and both had to take safety classes where they explained the dangers of confined space entries and the precautions you have to take for working in those environments, not to mention all the other regulatory and safety requirements needed for working with hazardous chemicals. We were lucky: we were educated, well-paid, working for environmental clean-up companies with lucrative government contracts where safety was good business practice.

The circumstances detailed in The Cyanide Canary are 180 degrees different. Allen Elias, the owner of the Evergreen facility, was not engaged in environmental cleanup, but working on the cheap trying to develop a commercial means of reprocessing waste. His employees were high-school graduates desperate for a job, with no safety training or understanding of the requirements for confined space work, nor any clue, really, about the hazards of certain chemicals--things Elias did know. Which is why Elias was charged with criminal conduct after one of his workers was injured during a tank cleanout. The story of the accident, along with the resulting investigation, and trial, makes up this book, which reads like a long Law & Order episode, almost complete with the "Ka-Chung" sound at the end of each chapter. As such, it should appeal to L&O fans, or anyone with an interest in how environmental law is being developed.

The weakest part of the book is the beginning chapter, where the authors attempt to portray the events of the accident in an almost novelistic method, including trying for some suspense about whether the victim, Scott Dominguez, would survive or not. After they get that out of the way (more than likely, a suggestion from some bone-headed editor who felt the beginning needed some punch or a grab for the reader), the book settles down into its portrayal of Hilldorfer's investigation, bolstered by all the interviews and transcripts that were eventually used to indict Elias and bring the case to trial. The truly riveting part of the book is not the opening, but the trial, the question of whether Elias will be found guilty, and whether or not he will attempt to flee justice.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, reading it in two sessions during a train ride to and from NYC. It's a revealing look into the legal world, and also an interesting case study between the kinds of murder cases usually seen on Law & Order and the "white collar" crime that usually does not end up in jail sentences for the convicted.

[Emily Kestrel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those true stories that really engaged my interest and my emotions, a courtroom drama about a man who callously disregarded laws about worker safety and toxic waste, causing the permanent (and tragically unnecessary) brain damage and disability of one of his young employees. Many people these days question if we need stringent worker safety and environmental protection laws, or if that just creates an impediment to doing business. This book answers that question.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case; I'm originally from central Michigan (an illegal dumping ground for decades from the chemical industries), and I recently saw an article about how the land around St. Louis, MI (a small town about 10 miles from where I lived) is still, 30 years after the fact, so contaminated with toxic waste that birds are dying from eating the worms from the ground. (The company responsible declared bankruptcy and never had to pay a dime for cleanup.) But now I'm getting emotional again... (ahem! Better now.)

Anyway: read this book. And if your boss ever tells you to muck around with unknown substances in a confined space without protective gear, don't do it.

[Sharon Metcalf · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Robert Dugoni is an author I've enjoyed time and again but until now I'd only read his fiction titles. His narrative non fiction The Cyanide Canary: A True Story of Injustice, written in conjunction with Joseph Hilldorfer, tells the tragically true story of an environmental crime which resulted in permanent brain damage for a young man named Scott Dominguez. Unsurprisingly it was an engrossing book, one I read and listened to concurrently. Like the best legal thrillers I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know how the case would conclude.

Scott was twenty, he was engaged to be married and was a popular guy in small town Soda Springs, Idaho. He worked at Evergreen, a fertilizing plant, when his boss Allan Elias asked him and another young guy to go inside an enclosed tank to clean out the sludge which he insisted was mud and water. They were not given any protective equipment and soon after entering the tank they both became short of breath. Scott collapsed and though his work mate tried to carry him out of the tank he was unable as he too was out of breath and feared for his own life. After being rescued it was still touch and go as to whether Scott would survive the ordeal. He did but life as he knew it would never be the same. He suffered permanent brain damage which left him completely dependent upon others, speech impaired, a frozen expression on his face and mobility issues similar to those experienced by those with Parkinson's disease.

Joe Hilldorfer was a special agent at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and was one of two investigators assigned to investigate the incident at Evergreen. Readers followed along on the investigative journey and I for one became infuriated by the things I heard throughout the investigation. Elias showed blatant disregard for the regulations, but worse than this he showed similar disregard for his employees lives. It was as though they were expendable, afterall there were always plenty of other guys wanting a job. This would be bad enough if Elias had simply been someone who didn't know any better but he was an educated man. He knew chemicals. He knew the law (he had been an attorney) and he was simply a man chasing the almighty dollar. Worse still he was a man prepared to lie and to place the blame for the incident everywhere rather than take any responsibility for it himself.

The book spanned several years from 1996 through to 2000 - from the time of the incident through the investigation and right up to the end of the protracted court case. The late 1990's was a time when environmental crime was a relatively new concept and bringing justice was not a given.

I imagine Cyanide Canary would appeal to a great many readers. If you enjoy legal fiction this is the real life equivalent. Readers of True Crime would enjoy it, and there's plenty here for readers of human interest stories, or those with a passion for protecting the environment. Personally I highly recommend it and thank the authors for dedicating their time and effort toward bringing this story to light.

[Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a superb non-fiction book by Robert Dugoni (a terrific novelist) and Joe Hilldorfer the EPA special agent who led the investigation of a horrific incident in Idaho in 1996. It reads like a novel and is absolutely riveting. Note that it was published in 2004 not long after the case ended but is still relevant to those who care about a clean and safe environment. Note also that it has nothing to do with climate change or global warming but rather keeping criminals from injuring and killing people by contaminating the environment with toxic substances.

[L.G. Cullens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book review of The Cyanide Canary: A True Story of Injustice by Robert Dugoni


Robert Dugoni, known for his heart-pounding legal thrillers, and Hilldorfer, the agent who lived and breathed the Dominguez case, have penned a compulsively readable work that is every bit as enthralling as fiction, yet is alarmingly true. It is a true story of good and evil, greed and its consequences, and an elusive quest for justice…

This marketing blurb didn't 'grab' me, but the book being non-fiction eco-lit prompted me to read it. The blurb is intended to catch the eye of thriller readers, and I hope it does in broadening awareness of a serious environmental problem. A problem we don't hear a lot about from major media because they are beholding to the same monied interests that created and are worsening the problem. What we do hear about are presented as isolated incidents, and even then that reporting lacks depth and ignores the broader context of the problem. This together with too many not wanting to hear about such problems brings to mind Pogo saying, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

As you might guess, this book is much more than a thriller to me.

For those with environmental consciousness this book is a rare breed of non-fiction, at once adrenalin pumping and an emotional rollercoaster together with suspense and Kafkaesque — enough to drive most anyone up a tree and potentially terrify them. Essentially, the story exemplifies the varying degrees of dark stain in our subjective souls, and the difficulties in dealing with such. And, it does so without the fictive distortions promulgated in the volume of 'entertainment' reading material available.

Knowing that throughout human history, civilizations have come and gone in good part due to greed induced corruption and ignorance, and that we are at present teetering on the precipice of repeating such history, a thoughtful reader will see more in this than the story's specific battle. Enough more that they may be acutely alarmed at the seriousness of this aspect's contributions to the ever more likely dire consequences of our environmental woes.

As you might imagine, the course of the subject case involved politicians, several government agencies, multiple investigators and reviewing attorneys, and a raft of interviewees and witnesses, not to mention all the laterally affected friends and family. The book includes a dramatis personae listing of forty-eight key personnel, and extensive footnotes to help, but still requires focus to keep all the interactions straight in one's mind. All what is to be expected in a faithful rendering of this scope and complexity, and I thought the book did a good job of not getting lost in detritus too many authors add to spice things up.

That doesn't mean there aren't any minor digressions that don't enhance the story. An example being a couple pages devoted to describing Pocatello, Idaho and its origins. Still in all, hopefully the lion's share of the story will nag readers' minds to reread (if necessary) enough of it to understand the serious scope of the environmental problem juxtaposed with human proclivities.

A little over the first half of the book is concerned with the incident and investigation, and this is where most of the overarching environmental issues can be gleaned. Much of the remainder of the book is concerned with courtroom drama and posttrial maneuvering through a minefield of legal gray areas, and this is where the reader can get an idea of the complexities in trying to deal with the human aspects.

Within the book there are many insightful passages and statements, such as:

"While he did not condone crime born of poverty, he sympathized with many of the defendants who stood before the bench. Given few opportunities in life and even fewer choices, drugs and crime became their only visible means to escape poverty. In stark contrast were the white-collar criminals ... people who had been given opportunities. Their crimes were those of the well educated and well heeled, crimes of greed, arrogance, and a blatant disregard for the rules that governed the rest of society ..."

"This was business, big business, with a lot of money at stake and a lot of money to spend. Politicians depended on big business and big business depended on politicians. It was the American way."

"... Breitsameter had tried enough white-collar criminals to know that too often only the defense lawyers got rich. The victim never saw a nickel."

And, there is a good deal of information that too many are not aware of, like:

"After World War II, as America’s industry turned from military to domestic production, the amount of hazardous waste skyrocketed. It increased further with the organic chemistry industry’s development of new products like plastics, electronic components, and modern construction materials and their chemical waste by-products, which were not biodegradable and could remain toxic for thousands of years. In addition there were too few hazardous waste disposal sites in the country to handle the waste and the contents; locations and disposal practices of those that did exist were largely unknown. America was sitting on hundreds of hazardous time bombs without any reasonable way to determine where they all were, when the next would go off, and how bad the damage would be.

"But if the unknown was disconcerting, what was universally accepted as fact was downright scary. The EPA was realizing that massive quantities of toxic contaminants had already been released into the environment and the polluting wasn’t likely to end soon. The primary reason?

"Greed."

After reading the story, I urge thoughtful consideration of the Epilogue and Afterward. My hope is that a critical mass of people will come to realize that our little blue canoe can not be plundered and treated like a huge garbage dump if man hopes to continue to exist.

This book is not only an important read, but a must read if you value your future. The inculcation of neoliberalism in our culture has fostered widespread pleonexia, to the point of laying waste to an environment necessary for human existence, and utter indifference to others' suffering.


"Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." ~ Albert Einstein

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite quote, from page 137: "This was business, big business, with a lot of money at stake and a lot of money to spend. Politicians depended on big business and big business depended on politicians. It was the American way."
We live in a country where the laws are made to protect the innocent until proven guilty. This means that the guilty who have money are often able to evade justice. That's the only explanation that makes sense to me for why it took over 2 years for this obvious case of criminal greed to go to trial and another year for sentencing to take place.
Every time I thought things were going to be wrapped up, something would come up to delay the final outcome a little bit longer. Because I knew this was an account of a true story, and not some movie plot, my frustration with it being dragged out only gave me sympathy for how the victim of the "accident" and the prosecutors who were trying to bring about justice must have felt. It was hard for me to put the book down, because I kept wanting to see justice served. In the end, all the loose ends were still not totally resolved to my satisfaction. Life goes on whether or not the victim is compensated, and whether or not the bad guy receives his just dues.
There are so many characters and intricate possibilities that come into play that this story could only have happened in real life. The authors did an excellent job of keeping it moving in spite of all the complications they must have had to sort through. The book begins with four reference pages of names of people involved, listed alphabetically, with a short description of the role each person played. I found myself referring to the list often to help me keep track of each person's role. At the end of the book, following the afterword, there is a similarly useful list that summarizes what became of each person up to that point. Also, when I got to the middle pages I was pleasantly surprised to discover a few photos that helped me to better visualize what happened, as well as giving faces to the characters who were involved.
There is some bad language that could have been left out. However, it did not bother me like it would have in the movies. I figured those words were included because they are what the people really said, not because the author had to use them in order to add drama. As a reader it was easy for me to skip over them, and I did not feel that they were used to excess.
This book will open your eyes to how our justice system works, to the importance of a clean environment, and to some of the things that go on in our own beautiful backyards. I admire the great intelligence and tenacity of the prosecuting attorneys and others who worked hard to see that justice was served. I greatly appreciate knowing that there are good, caring people in the world who have prepared themselves to fight for justice in many different battle arenas. God bless them for their convictions and their courage. God bless their wives and their families who support them in their efforts. Through the grace of God, it is heroes like them that keep America free.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm hoping things have changed since this book was first published in 2004 as far as people being exposed to hazard materials and what companies have done to alert their workers of handling them. This is a story of a young man who nearly dies and suffers severe brain damage for the rest of his life due to the negligence and poor safety practices of the owner of the company. A true story of the outrageously unsafe and irresponsible "workplace" where undocumented toxic substances were stored, dumped, and employees forced to work with and in them in confined spaces with NO protective equipment and how the responsible owner almost got away with it. The authors expose how a savvy defendant and his defense team falsified records, manipulated law enforcement, intimidated witnesses, and worked the legal system to their advantage to a ridiculous degree, revealing how easy it was for the scales of justice to be tipped. With the help of relentless EPA investigator who fought to overcome injustice and bring those responsible for this heinous crime.

Initially I found the story riveting and had trouble putting it down. About halfway through the book I started getting bogged down a bit because of all the terminology that goes along with where the crime took place. I did, however learn many new things through the process. I love Robert Dugoni books and I thought this true crime one was very well done as the book leaves its readers with some challenging, open questions about environmental protection and laws.

[James Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use ratings to decide which books I am going to buy, and I recently decided I am partially responsible for inflating the ratings on books. Either they were 5 star or 1 star. I decided to use the star rating more objectively as follows:
★★★★★ Great book! Can’t wait to read it again (and I will).
★★★★☆ Good book. I am glad I read this.
★★★☆☆ OK book. Nothing special but not bad.
★★☆☆☆ Not good. Why did I waste my time?
★☆☆☆☆ Lousy. I didn’t finish.

[Jenifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because the event took place in Idaho. It was interesting to learn about the environmental laws that corporations are "supposed" to abide by and all the loopholes and shady things they do to save a few bucks.

[Jo Faith Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Environmental

This is the most complete book or article use ever read about the problem getting and keeping our planet clean. It is written in a way an uninformed person can follow, yet contains details that should be of interest to everyone.

[Vic Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Cyanide Canary" is of particular interest to me as I lived in Pocatello, Idaho when the events portrayed in this book took place. I worked for a local TV station at the time and followed events as closely as I could.
I think Judge Winmill handed down a fair sentence.
For too long Americans have fallen for some version of a "wealth = honesty" con and that "white collar" crimes aren't real crimes. I think this case was a step in the right direction in correcting those assumptions.
Reading the gritty details of the case was not a lot of fun. The evil Alan Elias inflicted can undermine one's faith in humanity, but then, there was a host of people willing to work to stop him and they were triumphant in the end.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended by everyone’s favorite professor Rick Gleason. This book was an excellent example of the importance of both occupational safety requirements (ie confined space entry requirements) and environmental protection laws (ie RCRA). It was hard to read Elias’s complete lack of care for either with his employees. This book read like a true crime book, which is it, and I enjoyed having the environmental health elements. It was informative to read more about criminal penalties for RCRA and how the process works from a legal perspective.

[sarah a munn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a roller coaster of emotions I did not want to put it down.

[Ann Rigali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

This book is in your face, get real, and save our planet. The total lack of respect and disregard for human and animal life now and in the future is disgusting. We all want and need to feel safe in our communities and also protect our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc, etc, etc..... Those assholes, who are polluting, will die saving a few bucks, in the name of greed, but compared to the lives they destroyed, ruined, or altered, they are just as psychopathic as serial killers. So....to those of you who don't give a shit, about your future generations...let me say this....I CARE! I CARE! I CARE!

[Lynn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping true story.
Could not put it down.
One phrase stuck in my head . On page 137: "This was business, big business, with a lot of money at stake and a lot of money to spend. Politicians depended on big business and big business depended on politicians. It was the American way."

Terrible thing to have happen to anyone.
A must read .

I would say this will be my top read for 2019.
Thank you to the author for putting this together
for all to read.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This true story is a gripping read. Hard to put down! An unscrupulous business owner who ignores safety laws and regulations that nearly kills and ruins a young man's promising life. A relentless investigation to bring the criminal to justice ensues. Equally as good as a John Grisham novel. More compelling because it is true. It takes place in the pacific northwest

[Michelle Adamo #EmptyNestReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are white collar criminals, true criminals? The Cyanide Canary is the 1966 true story of a case of cyanide poisoning at a fertilizer plant in Soda Springs, Idaho. The owner of the plant, Allan Elias, showed no respect for his employees, their safety or the laws of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His blatant disregard caused the near death of one employee who was left permanently brain damaged.

This is the story of the investigation, gathering of evidence and the trial that followed. Joseph Hilldorfer was the Special Agent in Charge for the EPA his responsibility, along with that of his partner Bob Wojnicz, and many other skilled lawyers employed by the Federal Government, was to expose the truth behind the tragedy and the lies being told by Elias. Meanwhile, Elias was himself a lawyer who knew and understood the law, meaning he also had a good idea how to evade them. “Since December 2, 1970, when the EPA opened its doors, it had sparked an inevitable battle between American business seeking to generate as much profit as possible and environmentalists seeking to keep them from polluting America’s skies, waterways, and lands."

Although going into the book the reader has a good idea of the facts of the case, the twists and turns of the trial, the evidence provided, changes in witness statements, etc. read like a suspense novel/courtroom thriller. It is the telling of a true story, “white-collar crime costs the communities in which it occurs more money than common crimes, but because white-collar criminals steal with a pencil they get away with it, while the eighteen-year-old kid who steals with a gun goes to prison for a long time.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#EmptyNestReader #instagram #facebook #Goodreads #TheCyanideCanary #RobertDugoni #JosephHilldorfer #TantorMedia #TrueCrime #nonfiction #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagramalabama #bookstagrammichigan #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookrecommendations #AprilReads #readalittlelearnalittlelivealittle #ebooks #kindleunlimited #audiobooks #audible #emptynestreaderaudiobooks🎧

[Lila Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be careful what you wish. We want the toxic bi-products of our lives taken away from our space—but how? Dealing with toxic waste is a dangerous enterprise. It certainly proved so for Scott Dominguez. His boss sent this trusting twenty-year-old into a tank saying it contained nothing more dangerous than shampoo. But Scott became The Cyanide Canary.
Joseph Hilldorfer and Robert Dugoni's account is more than a memoir. Backed up by notes and case files, it reads like a thriller. The descriptions are so precise I suspect Hilldorfer has a photographic memory. Some are so beautiful that I suspect a poetic streak in one of those authors.
This account has opened my eyes to the work of our champions in the Environmental Protection Agency. Joseph Hilldorfer and his unpronounceable partner Bob Wojnicz tracked the case for many months. But what made it important was the legal recognition that companies are not just disembodied entities that can only be fined. The humans who run them are culpable for damage done.

[Marcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Truth will ALWAYS shine through. NEVER give up hope.

Before I begin, let me just say how much I love and deeply respect Robert Dugoni as an author and a person. Not everyone can write an epic fictional crime series (Tracy Crosswhite) that reads as an Ann Rule true crime novel, then write the extraordinary stories of the Vietnam War (The World Played Chess) and industrial waste vs public safety (Cyanide Canary).

This book is a deeply emotional one. Think Erin Brockovich on steriods. (I seriously wonder if these heavy hitting, dedicated people ever actually rub shoulders and talk shop.) 🤔

It was proven time and again how very flawed and broken our justice/legal system is. It's as if the law is set up to protect the defendant, and not the rights or to help the innocent/victims.

However, while there is ample examples of the worst of human behavior, as in EVERY DISASTER/EMERGENCY, there emerged countless stories and examples of numerous souls who gave of their time, talents, heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears, to save a life, and help a family.

They also showed up to make sure this CARELESS, STUPID, RECKLESS ACCIDENT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. And that the guilty never hurt another soul.

This book had me feeling very deep, very strong emotions. And I stayed up til 2am to finish it. Totally worth it.

Thank you, Robert, for bringing this story to light

[bjneary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Narrated by Tom Perkins, this audiobook broke my heart, made me angry, and gave me hope that these Special Agents will not have to continue to fight so hard against the government, businesses, and the courts as they expose through very tedious interviews, research, and court proceedings the way Allen Elias, owner of a fertilizer facility (but really a hazardous waste disposal factory) did not care about his employees, gets away with it for years because he is a lawyer, liar, has people on the inside warning him, and tries to paint the employees as stupid. I love Robert Dugoni and now I love Joseph Hildorfer, the EPA agent who fought for Scott Dominguez and his family as he becomes "the cyanide canary" as they expose over many years of court cases just how slow the system is. I had a problem with the judge in the case too and disagreed with his bias in favor of Allen Elias. A tough but needed read about the how those who should know and abide by the rules, laws and regulations, of hazardous waste and disposal do not and are not punished, given jail time, or made to pay up to remediate the waste facility.

[Barbara Nutting · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am appalled at the way large corporations disregard the environment. They have no qualms about polluting the air, land and waterways. Dump and destroy, pay a fine and carry on seems to be the rule of thumb. If this book were a work of fiction, no one would believe it. The case just goes from bad to worse as it tries to make someone accept responsibility for an industrial “accident”.

The book is well written and well researched, but there are MANY people involved, too many acronyms, and lots of government agencies. I gave up after OSHA and the EPA (the only two I recognized) and just skimmed over their titles and the bureaucracies! It was a little long, but was an eye opener- greed is more important than saving our planet from destruction.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning real life book.

Interesting and difficult to follow at times but found that the FBI investigators were strong in bringing justice for the victims of a negligent management of hazardous waste. The victims were forced to lie by omission or threatened yet the owner was unrepentant.

Awful and tragic yet realistic

[Chris Loveless · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. A bit long starting out and discussing at length the court hearing and subsequent challenges and retrial. The desire to acquire more and more money leads to cutting corners and unethical behavior in the workforce and could lead to harmful environmental effects and loss of human life

[Heather Alderman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was fantastic! So well written! Books on court cases can often be dry, but this engaging and suspenseful the whole way through. I just can't believe I had not even heard about this book until about a year ago.

[Michele McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I guess I didn't realize this was a true story! I found it compelling and, at times, frustrating. Hildorfer is a dog on a hunt, and he won't quit until justice is served.

[Kerry Clair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. A bit dry for my tastes - I didn’t realize it was more of a documentary than a story, but all in all a decent read.

[Tricia Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my style.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given the task of writing a short story centered on a book, most (if not all) delivered. The subjective rating would come from the individual reader's subjective preference. This will entertain across the spectrum of genres.

[GERALYN MORALES · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not one to read legal courtroom dramas and rarely read true crime. But I love Robert Dugoni and decided to give this story a try. It did not disappoint me. The perseverance these agents had deserved a round of applause. We, the public, need to hold these businesses to a higher standard