Where did you get the information you posted, "New
York Attorney General's Office seeks former Terminix Employees"?
I do not believe the State of New York is seeking former
Terminix employees; I believe someone within the State of New York is trying to
warn Terminix and its employees of an investigation by the Attorney General's
Office. I also believe it is quite
possible that Terminix will be informed of any employee who responds to this
particular request.
My suspicions and concerns are best explained in the
following letter I sent October 18, 2000, to Frank Lapinski, an investigator
with New York's Department of Environmental Conservation, the so-called
regulatory agency of pest control companies in New York:
Dear Mr. Lipinski:
Would it be possible for you to forward the attached
announcement to people that have posted on your site under the "Employee
Complaints" title or perhaps post this as a separate page.
We could use the help. If
you know of another way of reaching out to past Terminix employees I would
appreciate any input you could offer. Feel
free to contact me at any time.
Thank You,
Investigator Frank J. Lapinski
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Bureau of Investigations
Phone: (631) 444-0259
(914) 332-1835 Ext. 344
A cut and paste of the attachment you wanted me to post on
my web site states:
The Bureau of Investigations of the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Attorney
General's Office are currently involved in an investigation of the Terminix
Corporation's business practices in New York State. We are looking for former Terminix employees to talk with
regarding Termiticide applications and company policies during the time period
of 1996 to 1998. If you worked at
the corporate offices of Terminix in the National Headquarters in Nashville
[sic*] or were a manager at any level in New York State or a termiticide
applicator in New York state, or feel you have some pertinent information
regarding the application of Termiticide by Terminix in New York State.
Please call us at (631) 444-0259 or (914) 332-1835 Ext. 344.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
When I received your message, I was extremely honored you
asked for my assistance; and I was excited at the possibility of being able to
help you in any way I possibly could.
I was unable to respond immediately, because I was in the
midst of adding DEC's Consent Order with Terminix to my web site.
You know the one -- the one the DEC has chosen not to post on their own
web site. When I posted the Consent
Order, I was convinced the DEC was engaging in a cover up to protect Terminix by
keeping public information from the public.
Upon reading your message, I gave the DEC the benefit of
the doubt and thought perhaps the reason the DEC didn't post the Consent Order
was because the DEC was in the midst of an additional investigation.
I became suspicious, however, when I considered the following points:
The New York DEC and AG's Office each have their own web
sites. If the DEC and the AG's
Office were conducting an investigation, why would they want me to post the
information on my web site? Since NYSDEC certifies these applicators, why aren't
you pulling former Terminix certifications and interviewing prospects that way?
You are limited to only New York, so why are you putting out a mass call over
the Internet? In my opinion, this
smacks of impropriety of a large scale corporate tip-off opposed to an
investigation. In other words, I
believe you, who are supposed to be representing the DEC, are actually working
with Terminix.
This would be a conflict of interest, wouldn't it?
The clincher was your posting an "APB" on an
industry web site at
<http://www.pctonline.com/messageboard/>
("Former Terminix Employees" Posted By Inv. F. J. Lapinski on
10/16/2000 at 3:40 PM).
At the same time I updated my web site with the Consent
Order, I also posted information at
<http://www.syix.com/emu/html/complaints_against_california_structural_pest_control_board.html>
that I received from a former Terminix and Orkin employee who explained to me
why California's Structural Pest Control Board protects the interests of the
pest control industry and not the interests of consumers.
I had believed this all along, and his comments only served to convince
me beyond any doubt.
Based on the actions of New York's DEC, I have come to the
conclusion New York's regulatory agency is no different than California's and
that the problems with the regulatory agencies are nationwide.
It certainly explains why there are so many recurring problems in the
various states and why it is imperative each state's legislature or the U.S.
Congress needs to take action to affect necessary changes with the state
regulatory agencies.
Convinced you are engaging in something shady, possibly
even illegal, and that your motives are to provide an alert to the pest control
industry of an investigation by the State of New York Attorney General's Office,
I sent an e-mail letter to Attorney General Spitzer expressing the same concerns
to him as I am to you. As yet, I
have not received a response.
I want no part of what I believe you are doing; nor do I
want to be used as a pawn. However,
as you requested, I will post your request on my web site -- along with my
thoughts on this issue.
Sincerely,
Carla Virga
http://www.syix.com/emu
*Terminix's headquarters are in Memphis, not in Nashville
as Lapinski mis-stated.
To date, I have not received a response from either Frank
Lapinski or the Attorney General's Office.
I understand the AG's
Office not responding as they are required by law to
protect the DEC -- regardless of what the DEC does.
Frank Lapinski's silence, however, is deafening.