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Tom Selleck accused of water theft Tom Selleck cast as villain of California drought in lawsuit alleging water theft
(about 7 hours later)
A water district in the US has sued the actor Tom Selleck, claiming he stole water from a public hydrant for use on his 60-acre ranch. He possesses Hollywood’s lushest moustache – a thick, luxuriant growth which seems to enhance the virtue of the characters he plays on screen.
The alleged thefts, which date over a two year period, have been investigated by a private detective commissioned by the Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County, California, and led to a lawsuit filed on 30 June. This follows a ruling that California communities must cut water use by 25% as the four-year drought affecting the state continues. The heroic private detective of Magnum PI, the honest police commissioner of Blue Bloods, the doting father of Three Men and a Baby, all bolstered by Tom Selleck’s facial foliage.
The suit doesn’t specify how much water Selleck and his wife, Jillie, who is also named, are accused of siphoning. But there are claims that a tanker truck filled up at a hydrant more than a dozen times. From there, is it said to have driven to the Sellecks’ ranch, and was reportedly spotted doing so as recently as March, despite cease-and-desist letters. But now the actor has been cast as a villain of Hollywood – for stealing truckloads of water to try and maintain a verdant ranch amid California’s drought.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department also investigated and was unable to establish that a crime occurred. He allegedly looted water from a public hydrant to irrigate his 60-acre ranch and avocado farm outside Los Angeles. This is a very personal, literal watergate, and it has made Selleck the new face of celebrity drought-shaming, a term of our times for high-profile people who flout state-mandated efforts to curb water consumption.
In an interview in 2012, Selleck said that it was “hard to make a living, let alone a profit” from his 20-acres of avocados. He also said that he himself isn’t a fan of the fruit. “Honestly, they make me gag. But it’s just as well. I’ll sell my portion.” Related: Moronic irrigation: LA’s new turf war against its sprinkler-happy celebrities
The Calleguas municipal water district, which serves about three-quarters of Ventura County, said it paid a private investigator $21,685.55 to document the water thefts.
The district is suing Selleck, 70, and his wife, Jillie Mack-Selleck, in the superior court for costs associated with the investigation plus legal fees, undetermined damages, plus a preliminary and permanent injunction barring the couple and their contractors or employees from taking more water.
The complaint said a white commercial water truck filled up from a hydrant by a construction site in Thousand Oaks and took the water to Selleck’s property in the neighbouring Hidden Valley area of Westlake seven times between 20 September and 3 October 2013.
Cease-and-desist notices were sent to the actor’s homes in November 2013, including one on Avenue of the Stars. But three weeks later, the same truck returned, filled up, and again delivered water to the ranch.
The same truck allegedly made further trips between the hydrant and Selleck’s ranch four times at the end of March this year.
Selleck and Mack have lived for nearly three decades at the ranch. An aerial photo from the real estate site Zillow this week did not show the property as “particularly lush”, with a swath of “fairly dense” trees and shrubbery and “plenty of brown grass”, Courthouse News Service reported. It was unclear when the photo was taken. Zillow assessed the value at $10.2m.
A representative for Selleck did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
But curbing water consumption has become a litmus of good citizenship – and celebrity – in California, which is reeling from four years of drought.
Farms have withered and in some rural areas taps have run dry. Governor Jerry Brown has ordered 25% cuts in urban water use. There are fines of up to $500 a day for residential users who waste water and $10,000 a day for water suppliers.
Related: On the hunt for 'moral breaches' with California's foremost drought-shamer
From the lush lawns of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West and beyond, self-appointed “drought-shamers” have been using multiple social media platforms all year to identify and excoriate alleged water wasters under the hashtags #DroughtShaming and #DroughtShame.
Selleck has won an Emmy, a Golden Globe and a People’s Choice Award largely by playing virtuous characters. In addition to law enforcers he has played a love interest in Friends and Dwight Eisenhower.
In contrast to Hollywood’s cast of outwardly liberal environmentalists, the actor calls himself a political independent with “a lot of libertarian leanings”. He serves on the board of the National Rifle Association.