Following on the success of the lawsuits against firearm manufacturers by various city governments, the City of New York filed suit this week against the Association of American Foresters.
Ex-police officer Justin Volpe was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the torture and sodomy of Abner Louima in August of 1997. The object with which Volpe used to sodomize Louima was a broken broomstick.
The Association of American Foresters is now being accused of "providing the means for the Louima attack," as stated in the official court statement supplied by the attorneys for the City of New York.
According the NYC attorneys, the broken broom was composed of "100% wood". This wood, according to the attorneys, was provided by American Foresters member companies.
"We're going to hold the American Foresters responsible for this atrocious act," a lawyer for the NYC legal team said. "They supplied the wood. They should get the shaft."
The NYC legal team is expected to emphasize the importance of wood in the composition of broom handles, as well as the Association's intentional marketing of wood products to the nation's youth.
"This case is about more than broomsticks," New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said at a press conference yesterday afternoon. "This is about bringing down the wood manufacturers responsible for baseball bats, axe handles, storage cabinets for illegal automatic firearms, and yes, sodomy utensils."
It is unclear whether the fact of the broom being broken will factor into the case.
"Maybe we can nab them on the defective product angle, too, while we're at it," Giuliani said.
