District attorney John Flynn confirmed that he has been asked by Erie County, N.Y., to look into possible illegalities surrounding attempts to sell dirt from the construction site of the new Buffalo Bills stadium in Orchard Park.
As reported by Buffalo NBC affiliate WGRZ, within days of a June 5 groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the New Highmark Stadium, ads started offering dirt from the construction site for sale on eBay and other online sites.
"One ad indicates that as of Thursday afternoon there were two active bidders for a jar of "groundbreaking dirt" who had driven the bid price up to $15,000.," reported WGRZ's Dave McKinley. "Curiously, another ad with the same picture (but with a different seller listed) was offering the item for $25 with no takers. "
Flynn will investigate whether any potential crimes are involved in such marketing.
"I kind of chuckled to be honest with you at first, but I'll look into it," Flynn told WGRZ. "There could be a number of potential things here."
According to Flynn, this could be potential fraud if the dirt being offered for sale was in fact not gathered from the site.
"I'm all for making a buck," Flynn said. "But we don't know if the sellers scooped it up from their own backyards. .... And if they did, they would selling something online under false pretenses."
Even if the dirt is authentic, Flynn says there is a potential for trespassing if whoever gathered it wasn't authorized to be on the site. If they were authorized to be on the site, such as in the case of a construction worker or an attending dignitary at the groundbreaking, there could be questions surrounding whether they were granted permission to take the dirt and, if not, whether that would constitute theft.
"I'll have to look up and see if dirt is property, and did they inappropriately take property here. ... These are some of the things we'll have to look at," Flynn said.
With sellers under scrutiny, potential buyers are warned to take caution.
"You should always research a seller to see what you can find about them and what others have experienced," said Better Business Bureau spokesperson Kat Schmieder. "Otherwise, we would recommend always buying with a credit card because depending on your credit card company they could have policies in place that could get you your money back if you run into a scam."
