A man who was accused of trying to bribe a New York City environmental inspector was sentenced to three years probation today. James Dimopoulos, 51, received the sentence in Westchester County Court in White Plains for attempting to bribe NYC environmental officials to over look that his restaurant, the Bedford Diner, has been leaching sewage in the town's water supply. It sounds like Jimmy might have been drinking that water if he thought he could pay his way out of poisoning his neighbors.

And now for the REST of the Spills of the Week...

Invasive Feces: Raw sewage pouring from a toilet and a bathtub drove a Rock Hill family from their home of nine years. Bo and Dawn Hinson live on Barrow Street in Rock Hill. Sunday night, their lives changed in an instant. "I was sitting in my hallway at the computer doing some work for my job, and I heard flowing water. So I got up, ran to the bathroom, and it was overflowing with doo-doo water" [ed note: That's really the quote], Dawn said. The raw sewage covered the bathroom floor, then ran into the hallway, and down the heating and air ducts in the floor. The city of Rock Hill says an 8-inch sewer main was clogged up, and that caused the overflow. "I can't live here. Someone's got to help me clean this up," she said.
- November 13, 2007: WSOC News - Charlotte, NC

Border Hopping Poo: The Department of Environmental Health issued a water contact closure for the ocean shoreline from the U.S.-Mexico border to the south end of Seacoast Drive. The stretch of shoreline, which includes the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Border Field State Park, is off limits due to sewage contaminated runoff from the Tijuana River. Officials said the contamination is due to this weekend's rainfall. It's been a banner week for sewage spills in San Diego.
- November 13, 2007: NBCsandiego.com - San Diego, CA

Sit Down, Get Up, Get Out: The emergency center waiting room at Lyndon Johnson General Hospital was evacuated Wednesday night because of a sewage backup, a hospital official said. About 30 people, mostly patients and relatives, were moved from the affected waiting room to a nearby clinic.
- November 14, 2007: The Houston Chronicle - Houston, TX

Stagnant Fecal Sundae, Mmmm: ...Serendipity 3, the popular Upper East Side dessert shop and home of the $25,000 sundae, is having some plumbing issues. The Health Department confirmed Thursday to CBS 2 that the shop had been shut down Wednesday night after failing its second straight inspection in just a month's time. Inspections revealed "rodent and fly infestation and conditions conducive to pest infestation, including stagnant water in the basement." The plumbing was reportedly so out of line that the "sewage disposal system [was] in disrepair or not functioning properly."
- November 16, 2007: CBS 2 - New York, NY

Sneaky Secret Sewage: About 145,000 gallons of untreated sewage water was discharged into the Missouri River Tuesday without being treated at the Sioux City sewage treatment plant. The untreated wastewater was discharged to the Missouri River after a plugged screen caused the wastewater to back up and enter a bypass pipe. The bypassing occurred from 11 to 11:15 a.m. before the screen was cleaned and normal flow through the treatment plant resumed. Downstream water supplies were not notified, because, what they don't know can't hurt ‘em, right? [heavy heavy sarcasm]. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was notified at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.
- November 16, 2007: Des Moines Register - DesMoines, IA