Band Bus Driver Charged With Waste Dumping By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer CHICAGO - The driver of a Dave Matthews Band tour bus was charged Wednesday with dumping 800 pounds of human waste onto a sightseeing boat on the Chicago River last summer. Stefan Wohl is charged with misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct and discharging contaminates to cause water pollution, Cook County State's Attorney Dick Devine said. The charges carry a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $10,000 fine. Wohl, 42, of Selma, Texas, turned himself in to Chicago police Wednesday and was released on his own recognizance, authorities said. According to authorities, Wohl was driving alone to a downtown hotel Aug. 8 when he allegedly emptied the bus's septic tank as it crossed the metal grates of a bridge. The waste poured through the grates and onto the open deck of the Chicago's Little Lady tour boat, which was passing below with more than 100 people on board. Prosecutors relied on surveillance tapes and consulted engineers about the releasing of the waste before filing charges. "We were satisfied with what they told us that it could not have been an accident," prosecutor Robert Egan said. Calls to Wohl's attorney, Mark Rotert, were not immediately returned Wednesday. No one was hurt in the incident, but officials with the Chicago Architectural Foundation, which operates the boat tour, said they have received several angry calls from passengers demanding compensation for clothing and personal items. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed a lawsuit seeking $70,000 in damages against the band and the driver, alleging they violated state environmental laws. At the time, a band spokesman said that Wohl had said he was not involved with the incident. An October-dated statement on the band's Web site said that although "we still do not have a definitive understanding of what happened," the band would work with affected passengers to "make things right for all concerned" and make $50,000 donations to the Chicago Park District and Friends of the Chicago River. The band's statement said the incident "is awful and it goes against so many principles we hold dear: environmentalism, accountability, and, mostly, principles of humanity." Prosecutors said the band cooperated in the investigation, including flying violinist Boyd Tinsley, who used the bus, from California to Chicago to be interviewed and bringing the bus back to the Chicago area for inspection. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=762&e=1&u=/ap/20050120/ap_en_mu/dave_matthews_waste
I personally think Dave Mathews Band should fire the driver once he is found guilty. By all accounts, it appears he is guilty and he also lied his ass off about the whole thing. If true, this person is one sick individual who I think had to have done this on purpose likely knowing the boat was down there. He probably thought it was hilarious. If the band really wants to make it right, then they should start by firing this a-hole once he's found guilty instead of just throwing money at the problem.
I can't believe you really think the driver saw the boat under the bridge and dumped it on those people on purpose. It seems to me the driver just didn't want to deal with pumping the septic tank at the propper place and thought he could get away with dumping it into the river.
I think that's the guy we talked to when we ran into the band in Nashville. I remember him saying he was from Texas, but this guy may be younger. I applaud DMB for standing by their man before all the facts came out. Now that it seems like they have, they should cut ties with him if he lied to them about it.
Hangout Boy has a half-eaten tofu burrito from one of Dave's soundguys. Paid a pretty penny for it, too. No telling what genuwine Davesh!t sells for.
Well, if he had time to dump his septic tank from the bridge, then he may well have had time to look down and see a boat coming. At the very least, he would have known there was a chance of that occurring. Yet, he did it anyway...if he's guilty. Just another idiot in my book for even doing this in the first place. After all, he's paid to drive the bus and what else...empty the septic tank like it should be emptied yet he looks for the easy way out. If he doesn't want to deal with the crap, then he shouldn't be driving the bus in the first place.
Talk about a softball pitch to the enemies of DMB... "Why is this surprising? Dave Matthews Band has been dumping their **** on people for years."
Well, it's really a typical situation. When you eat too much at the drive in drive out, you're pooping patterns don't really have any rhyme and reason. All your poo and pee goes into the bus septic tank like ants marching and you end up having to be seen on the side of the road digging a ditch so you can bury all the #1, #2. Of course after it all builds up, it's more like #36 and #41.
ya know...Dave uses the lyrics, "rain on my head," in a couple of different songs. just thinking out loud here.
