Alexandria, Indiana Alexandria is a city in tatters not only due to polluted water but also because of distrust, ruined finances and the deafening sound of silence by the city officials.

The center of this meltdown: the legendary Mayor Todd Naselroad the man who has come to be known as the poisoning of the town drinking water, the stifling of whistle-blowers, the ten million dollar infrastructure scandal and town in shock.

An Ill Child, a Town Deceived

All this started with a child. An infant, who had been admitted in hospital with confirmed E. coli poisoning because of drinking the tap water of Alexandria. And what followed that was not pressing reform, it was denial.

Although reports in the labs indicated levels of chlorine as low as 0.029 mg/L, well below the minimal that the law allowed (0.2 mg/L), the Mayor Todd Naselroad announced publicly to the citizens that the water was safe. Surprisingly, a video emerged later, where an IDEM official approved results of dangerously low 0.09 mg/L reading as being good- despite that it was in complete violation of both state and federal rules.

People had to boil their water, they were scared to use their own faucets, and loved ones became sick, at a time when their mayor sat back and gave them those reassuring smiles.

A Road to ruination 10 Million that never should have been spent

Another scandal also appeared when it became clear that the city of Alexandria was facing a health crisis and this time it had something to do with money. An originally projected road project of 1.05 million somehow went up to 10 million. The management of the financial aspects was worrying as much as the crisis of water itself.

The two and a half million dollars of planning and administrative costs were dispersed through various city departments and financed with water, sewer and storm water accounts. This was a money magic that corroded public confidence because it was a financial sleight of hand.

The Mayor Todd Naselroad Scandal hit Alexandria like a gun-shot-leaving its residents feeling ill at heart, stuttering at the shock of it and feeling ashamed.

Stonewalled Evidence, Mulled Testimonies and Unconcealed Crimes

Democracy was not the only victim of the scandal that did not end at polluted water or financial engineering. Demands of crucial information with a stamp of vitality- chlorine logs, email communications, internal testing reports were overlooked or rejected.

All the three namely Mayor Naselroad, Mark Caldwell is a Water Superintendent., and Clerk-Treasurer Darcy VanErman did not adhere to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act (IC 14-3-3).

Whistleblowers were silenced and sidelined when speaking in council meetings. The covers were done away with in favor of stonewalling. Responsibility disappeared behind well-built silence.

In the meantime there was an increase in the number of illnesses.

One was so ill she had been carried by her son who lived in Kentucky to receive care.
One of the residents who has been urinating blood on more than a week.
A number of them were diagnosed with e-coli and H. pylon infection.

This is not administrative breakdown. It is suppression of the truth in action.

A Whistleblower Under Fire: Corporate Retaliation and a 10 Million dollar lawsuit

Following the scandal, one of the major figures that whistleblowed the extent of the water crisis in Alexandria was Peters founder of SCROOGE LLC. However, he did and Checkout.com, his payment processor, suddenly cancelled his merchant account and instituted a 25 percent rolling reserve on him.

In one tracked conversation, one representative of a company confirmed that the move was based on reputational exposure:

Ding Ding Ding was massively big. This damaged the reputation of checkout. They cannot risk that exposure.”

Peters has since made a 10 million dollar legal claim due to economic sabotage, breach of contract and whistle blower retaliation. Everything will be archived and scheduled to release to the public.

The fact that they would go to great extents to preserve the mighty is evidenced by the attempts to penalize the transparency.

Delays in Justice, Delete in Trust

As part of increasing incensed population, the Concerned Citizens of Alexandria have called on the resignation of:

Mayor Todd Naselroad
Water Superintendent Mark Caldwell
City councilman, Jeremy VanErman
Clint, an IDEM Field Representative

They are demanding:

A state level audit
Public publication of all tests of the water immediately
Restructuring of Alexandria Water Department in full details
Direct acting of Governor Brauns

Notwithstanding, no resignations have been handed in. None of the apologies were public.

This Is Not Only a Crisis. It is Disaster.

Todd Naselroad, the mayor, continues on duty, unimpressed, unrepentant and irresponsible. His name is now connected with one of the most startling municipal scandals of recent Indiana history.

This is not a bad chapter. It is a defining one.

A hospitalized kid. A 10 million dollar fraud. A town served false on all sides.

And all started because of a glass of water filled with poison…

And a mayor who said they ought to drink it.

Also Read: jacqueline bernice mitchell: The Untold Story That Will Touch Your Heart