environment

Crimes Against Nature:

Matt suddenly wondered why they were cruising this area. Was Frankie looking
for the lucky spot where they buried Jimmy Hoffa? Was Frankie going to whack
him? “What are we doing here?”
Frankie watched the road. “I thought we’d drive by some chemical plants.
They’re just up ahead.”
Matt had to see Frankie’s eyes. He raised his voice. “For what?”
Frankie looked at Matt. “Remember Napalm? That little Vietnamese girl running
naked with her skin burning?”
Matt didn’t like the evasive response, but it somehow reassured him execution
wasn’t on Frankie’s immediate agenda.
They drove past the last of the flame-breathing towers and the main office
building came into view. Frankie pointed to the Dow Chemical sign that crowned
the insipid gray bunker. “You still hate them the way you did during the war?”
“I don’t think about it much.”
Frankie grinned. “Sure, all that good looking pussy you been getting. Bound to
shake up the old value system.”
“I don’t need bullshit morality from you. Tell me what the fuck we’re doing
here!”
Frankie lifted his hand to calm Matt. “I’ll get to the point. But it involves a little
re-education.” Ignoring Matt’s heated look, Frankie attended to his driving and
proceeded with his mini-lecture. “We’ll start with the alphabet. PCB. . . TCE. . .
HCB. . . All deadly chemicals manufactured around here. Then, we’ll move on to
vinyl chloride and Lindane. You heard of Lindane? It’s a pesticide. Also a carcinogen.
Found all over Love Canal.” Frankie glanced at Matt and saw he was growing
angrier. “The reason I’m telling you this is we’re gonna visit a dump where tons of
this toxic shit is buried. For ten years, these poisons have been leaching into the
drinking water under most of New Jersey.”
“What the hell does this have to do with our situation?”
“It’s all related. Bear with me, Matty. I gotta do it this way.”
Confused by Frankie’s strange behavior, Matt turned away and stared at the
cold, bleak landscape. He didn’t want to be here. He thought about Carol again. He
pictured them together, naked in his warm bed under a heavy quilt.
The Taurus crushed and scattered rocks as it rolled alongside a crumbling chainlink
fence. Next to a hole in the aged barrier, a rusted sign warned against entering
the encircled landfill. Frankie stopped the car. “Let’s take a closer look.”
Matt didn’t know why he opened the door and followed Frankie to the fence.
Frankie pointed across the wide expanse of the landfill. “Besides that other crap
I mentioned, there’s also TCP in there. They say when this crud gets hot, like in a
giant compost heap, it turns into TCDD, one of the most killer substances known to
man. Three ounces can wipe out New York City.” Frankie planted a foot on the
bottom edge of the torn fence and pushed the top part up with his hands. He motioned
for Matt to pass through the opening. “Go ahead.”
“I’m not going in there.”
Frankie released the fence, its mesh teeth snapping. “I don’t blame you. But
you can’t get away from it. It’s gonna find you. In the water you drink and the food
you eat.”
“What is this? You want me to join the fucking Sierra Club?”
“I want you to get pissed off.”
“I’m already there.”
“Not at me. I’m the messenger. At the chemical companies. They’re still the
enemy.”
Matt bit one more time. “You saying they dumped it?”
“They keep their hands clean. They pay others to do the dirty work.”
Matt turned toward the car. “I’m tired of this game.”
Frankie caught his arm. Matt pulled away and pointed at Frankie’s face. “Don’t
fuck with me!”
Frankie raised his hands, palms out. “Easy. We’re real close to the bottom line
here.” He waited for Matt to settle down. “You know Jimmy Junk?”
“Jimmy Cascone. The Garbage King.”
“Right. He controls the unions and the Mob’s carting rackets.”
“He dumped it?”
Frankie nodded. “He ran this site. And when it was full, he abandoned it. He
made a shitload of money for himself and the Mafia. The Mob’s found something
more lucrative than dope.”
Matt clenched his jaw. “Bottom line, Frankie!”
“You hate this guy?”
“Yeah, I hate him.”
“No, Matt. You really gotta hate him.”
Matt pushed Frankie into the fence.
Frankie bounced back, unfazed. “This motherfucker works hand in hand with
giant corporations that produce more hazardous waste than they can safely get rid
of. And they love Jimmy because he’s got hundreds of illegal dumps all over the
country. North, South, East, and West. Without him it wouldn’t be so easy to hide
these poisons. The chemical companies would have to be more responsible. Without
him, future generations like my kids would have a safer place to live.”
“Bottom line!” Matt yelled.
Frankie turned more grim. “Bottom line. The bosses who helped us want Jimmy
Junk dead.”

h ome