What the EPA Did to John Pozsgai

Mr. John Pozsgai was born in Kisber, Hungary and was a Freedom Fighter whose bravery saved thousands of lives during the Soviet Invasion in 1956. It is what the EPA did to Mr. Pozsgai that is almost unbelievable to conceive. After he immigrated to the United States as a refugee and became a proud American citizen on January 25, 1964, he settled with his family in Morrisville, PA. After working day and night, he finally saved enough to purchase some land that had been an old junkyard.

John Pozsgai proceeded to clean up the land and removed a total of over 7,000 old tires and rusty automobiles. Enter the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA thought that Mr. Pozsgai's efforts had, in fact, damaged what they considered to be wetlands. However, the only 'damage' that Pozsgai did was to fill in some of the land with topsoil which the EPA agents captured on surveillance cameras. It is almost unbelievable to me that the EPA was spying on this poor man.

In the end, even after the EPA admitted that "no hazardous wastes" were involved, Pozsgai was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison and fined a total of $202,000. His family eventually went bankrupt and was unable to pay property taxes on the very land that their father sought to clean up.

According to the Philadelphia newspapers, Mr. John Pozsgai passed away recently at the age of 79. Part of his obituary reads,

"On Oct. 6, 2000, testimony was given on his behalf before the House Committee on Government Reform-Chaired by Congressman Dan Burton entitled 'Federal Wetlands Policy: Protecting the Environment or Breaching Constitutional Rights. Serial No, 106-233. John was given a standing ovation for his efforts and an apology by the Chairman on behalf of the government.

On the day of his passing, John's daughters were in Washington, DC to continue his Legacy of his American Dream. Victoria Pozsgai-Khoury presented testimony on his behalf at the Kennedy Caucus Room during a Roundtable Discussion entitled 'Property Wrongs' sponsored by Senator Rand Paul, where he was commended for his bravery, promised change and honored by the Senators and Congressmen present as a 'Patriot.'

At the very conclusion of his daughter's testimony in Washington DC he passed."

Since the EPA was created in 1970, the atrocity of what was done to John Pozsgai remains the worst infringement upon our basic constitutional rights. May he rest in peace.

You can read his daughter's testimony here.

Sources:

http://www.phillyburbs.com/obituaries/courier_times/john-pozsgai/article_4ca54775-0a3b-5e74-8864-eaf74847f5fc.html

http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/opinion-zone/2011/04/case-studies-regulation-john-pozsgai

http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/facts/fact15.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/931527/posts