THE PROPERTY RIGHTS FOUNDATION OF AMERICA, INC.
P.O. Box 75, Stony Creek, New York 12878 - 518/696-5748 Carol W. LaGrasse, president
'The right to ozmprivateproperty is afundamentalAmericanfreedom that
guarantees personal liberty andpromotes economicprosperity.
UPDATE:
June 9,1995
As a result of punitive sentence for a wetlands "infraction"...
ELDERLY TEXAS MAN NOW LIVES IN HOUSE SURROUNDED BY A STAGNANT,
ARTIFICIAL MOAT. ELDERLY WIFE SUING FOR DIVORCE
The partial sentence of displaying a giant 20-ft. apology billboard on a Texas highway
would have been far too extreme to punish 73-year old Marinus Van Leuzen for an imagined
environmental infraction. Muggers and rapists receive less.
The partial sentence of paying $350 per month over 12 years —probably for the rest of his
days —totalling up to $50,400, would have been excessive in the extreme.
But Federal District Judge Samuel B. Kent was determined that Marinus Van Leuzen,
whose "crime" he likened to the "genocidal treatment" of the American Indians, receive no
mercy. He decreed both the billboard and the fines, and that the elderly man's neat home
become an eyesore by excavating his lawn and replacing it with swamp.
Now, to satisfy Judge Kent and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the third form of
excessive punishment has been carried a step further —actually deeper. Corps of Engineers
enforcer Paula Wise has made Mr. Van Leuzen excavate the area of his small, four-tenths of an
acre lot around his home in Port Bolivar a good two feet deeper than it was when he began
building. Then Mr. Van Leuzen had to plant it with swamp grass, then replant it by spending
money on a consultant to "improve" it, and finally wait for it to fill with water.
Mr. Van Leuzen now lives surrounded by a stagnant moat. The bottom of the moat is far
deeper than the remaining natural brushy land nearby. In fact, most of the land nearby is
developed with houses and commercial structures such as a motel. The water level in the moat
is higher than the bay. And on top of the stagnant water is algae and scum.
Marinus Van Leuzen is a World War II veteran who is a respected member of his
community. His house was built where an old shack formerly stood on a messy empty lot
beside a highway. The house was a neat, attractive structure before being made into an
unhealthy eyesore by the sentence of Judge Kent and the Corps of Engineers.
What was the "crime" that excited this vengeance against an American citizen? Insolence?
Who are the real criminals?
Mr. Van Leuzen has been seeking help from his Congressman, Steve Stockman. Many
others suffer from fanatical environmental sentences and need Congressional relief.
When will Mr. Van Leuzen and his elderly estranged wife, who is now suing for divorce because of
fear of government, have peace of mind?
Will Mr. Van Leuzen see justice in his lifetime?
Since m id-1994the Property Rights Foundation of America has been calling attention
to the wheels of injustice which the U.S. District Court, U.S. EPA and U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers used to grind down Mr. Van Leuzen. The attached photos give a short picture
history of this injustice, ending with the current development, the stagnant moat around
the house this elderly man lives in because of Judge Samuel Kent and Corps of Engineers
enforcer Paula Wise - and the excessive environmental power of the federal government.
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U S seniti
Tale of a "Wetlands"
Infraction
Center: The “pristine"
0.4-acre wetland
"violated" by Mr. Van
Leuzen.
U.L.: The 20-ft. apology
billboard ordered by
Federal Judge
Samuel B. Kent.
U.R. Mr. Van Leuzen's
house after restoring
"wetland" mid-1994.
L.R.: Stagnant water and
scum in restored
“wetland” late 1994.
LL: New swamp around
house. Note
"pristine" highway,
other billboards and
buildings nearby.
Property Rights
Foundation of America,
Inc.