July 8, 2015

Tom Selleck Accused of Stealing Thousands of Gallons of Water in California

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&language=en&ref_site=photo&search_source=search_form&version=llv1&anyorall=all&safesearch=1&use_local_boost=1&autocomplete_id=&searchterm=tom%20selleck&show_color_wheel=1&orient=&commercial_ok=&media_type=images&search_cat=&searchtermx=&photographer_name=&people_gender=&people_age=&people_ethnicity=&people_number=&color=&page=1&inline=104749064">Helga Esteb </a>/Shutterstock

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How much water does it take to groom Tom Selleck’s mustache? Truckloads, apparently.

In the midst of an unprecedented four-year drought, the actor is at the center of a lawsuit accusing him of re-routing thousands of gallons of water from a public hydrant to be sent to his 60-acre ranch in Southern California.

According to the lawsuit filed by the Calleguas Municipal Water District on Monday, on numerous occasions a private investigator spotted a truck filling up with water from the hydrant and delivering it to Selleck’s home.

Selleck allegedly continued to do so even after several cease-and-desist notices were sent to him, the newly filed court documents claim.

Now the water district is hoping to permanently block Selleck from continuing the water-delivery scheme and repay it for the investigators’ $21,685.55 fees.

Since new restrictions on water use were instituted in the state, celebrities and the wealthy residing in California who have watered their lawns excessively and ignored the caps have been targeted with so-called “drought-shaming” techniques on social media as a way to expose residents who appear to waste water.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

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