Manager Running Flint During Water Switch Pleads Not Guilty
FLINT (WWJ/AP) - The emergency manager who was running Flint when it switched water sources has appeared in court on criminal charges related to the city's lead disaster.
Darnell Earley was arraigned Wednesday on four charges, including conspiracy, false pretenses, willful neglect of duty in office, and misconduct in office. His lawyer, Todd Perkins, predicts Earley will be "vindicated."
Earley was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder to run Flint in 2013-14 because of the city's awful finances. Flint began using the Flint River for drinking water in 2014 while a pipeline to Lake Huron was in the works, but the water wasn't treated to control corrosion. Lead leached from old pipes and fixtures.
[Ex-Emergency Managers, City Executives Charged In Flint Water Crisis]
Earley and another former emergency manager, Gerald Ambrose, are accused of working to ensure construction of the pipeline while ignoring dangers of the river water.
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