WHAT DO BOTH State Senate District 19 Candidate Tony Strickland and consumer crusader Erin Brockovich have in common besides an endorsement deal? Both have ties to shaky companies which are misleading voters, aren't turning a profit and have no proven technology.

I received the following press release from Hannah-Beth Jackson's campaign today:

Tony Strickland launched a new radio ad this week in his attempt to re-invent himself as an alternative energy executive. The ad quotes Erin Brockovich and the CEO of a little known company called Save the World Air (STWA), both providing testimonials to Strickland's independence and leadership in alternative energy.

What listeners don't know is that STWA was charged with stock fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In December 2001, the SEC charged the company with engaging in a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the market for STWA stock. STWA was charged with leading a fraudulent promotional campaign to disseminate false and misleading information about a product they were marketing called "Zero Emissions Fuel Saver," a "fuel molecule atomizer device" that supposedly reduces diesel and gasoline emissions by placing magnets on an engine's fuel line.

The SEC charged that this fraud inflated STWA's market cap to $218 million, and allowed former STWA CEO Jeffrey Muller to pocket up to $9 million in undisclosed restricted stock sales.

On November 15, 2005, the U.S. District Court in New York City ordered Muller to pay $7.5 million in disgorgement and $100,000 in civil penalties.

In 2006, Erin Brockovich was Vice President of Environmental Affairs at STWA and attended conferences and events promoting their "Zero Emissions Fuel Saver" product. Brockovich brought a great deal of press attention to the company, which traded for pennies on the Over The Counter market.

THE MAGICAL MAGNET PRODUCT quite simply does not work. The EPA has rejected licenses for similar technology 12 times. The Discovery Channel show Mythbusters tested the technology and rejected it as hype. STWA even hired the Rand Corporation to assess the magnets - and RAND said there was no evidence that it increase gas mileage.

"It is pretty ironic that Strickland, who has based his candidacy on his involvement in a wave energy corporation with no technology, no employees and no revenue, would use a company convicted of stock fraud as an endorser," stated Hannah-Beth Jackson's campaign manager Sandra Sanchez. "But since this company had no problem lying to investors, I guess lying to the voters is no big deal either."

It would appear I am not the only one doing commercials these days. Celebrity legal scout Brockovich popped up in one, too. I'll leave it to the other blogs to speculate about her motives. But I did send her an email, which she of course hasn't answered:

Dear Erin,

I always considered you to be a maverick of sorts, somebody who sticks up for the little guy. I just saw the commercial you did with Tony Strickland and I am so disappointed right now.

I am one of the parents at Mound Elementary in Ventura who had a child sickened by a serious pesticide overspray incident. We had nearly 40 people fall ill that day. Strickland's opponent in the race, Hannah-Beth Jackson, wrote a bill to make sure this would never happen again and Strickland voted against it!

In case you didn't know, Tony Strickland has taken more than $55,000 in contributions from oil and chemical companies and consistently votes to put the interests of corporate polluters ahead of the health of our families.
 
He opposed legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect children's health from pollutants, re-authorize the state's recycling program, ban carcinogenic pesticides on school grounds, increase penalties for pesticide violations near schools, ban clear-cutting of forests, ban mercury in children's toys, establish standards to handle toxic perchlorate, and many other environmentally friendly bills.

What kind of guy votes AGAINST all that? He has the worst possible rating from environmental groups. I could name countless bills he voted against that would help clean up our planet.

I know you're busy and famous and probably won't take the time to respond to a mother in Ventura. But just know that I lost faith in somebody I thought was a hero.

Marie Lakin

For a look at what other blogs are saying, go here and here.