Local Station Pumps Tainted Gas

At over $4 a gallon, when you buy premium gas, you assume you are getting high quality fuel. However, it turns out that some local residents weren’t even lucky enough to get gas at a “Getty” Station at 755 White Plains Post Road in Eastchester in early February. Customers at the station actually had a mixture of gas and water pumped into their tanks and their cars stopped dead within a few miles of the station.

One of the victims, Peter Zurkow of Fox Meadow, is aware of six cases of cars that were damaged by the watered down gas. He estimates that together the six victims paid around $7,000 in repairs, and that doesn’t include the cost of the tainted gas, towing or loss of use of their cars. Though he suspects there were many more victims, someone would need to be permitted to comb through the records at the station to determine if others were affected.

It turns out that despite the signage, the station is not a Getty affiliate, but is independently owned by Sam Jacoby who has not made himself available for comment.

Zurkow called both the Eastchester and Scarsdale Police who told him it was a civil not a criminal matter and  instructed him to contact the station owner. However when Zurkow got no response from him, he called the County Health Department, which regulates environmental issues and the County Consumer Protection Department that regulates weights and measures. Zurkow filed a complaint with the County and also filed a FOIL request so that he could see the department’s findings.

In the report, which he received on March 7, it shows that the Westchester County Department of Health sent investigators to the station on February 11 in response to a complaint. They tested the contents of the gas tanks and found that the Premium tank contained five inches of water and the station was closed down by the fire department. It appeared that rainwater leaked into the tank via breaks in the piping.

The County has scheduled a hearing but it is not clear whether they can order the station owner to reimburse buyers for the damage done to their cars. No one knows if the station owners' insurance will pay for the claims, but since Sam Jacoby has not returned calls or text messages Zurkow and the others may have to file in small claims court to get their money back.

So next time you ride up to the pump, caveat emptor!