Garden officials said they were approached by an attorney claiming to represent the person behind the stunt that turned the garden’s water supply green on March 17 in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. The colored water resulted in a $9,700 cleanup bill for the nonprofit organization.
The person responsible remained anonymous through an attorney and offered the garden restitution in the full amount, said Maureen Heffernan, executive director of the Myriad Gardens Foundation.
“We feel fortunate that this individual decided to come forward and make good on the damage caused by what was undoubtedly a prank not meant to cause harm or damage,” said Heffernan in a prepared statement. “We’ve recouped our cleanup cost, and by making this announcement, we hope we’re sending a message that pranks that may seem harmless can, in fact, be very costly.”
Heffernan said the foundation would not press charges.
“Thankfully, none of our brides that week was too traumatized by the ‘bonus color’ added to their weddings, and none of our fish, ducks, turtles or other wildlife was harmed,” Heffernan said. “As Kermit would say, it wasn’t easy being green, but all is now well.”
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2014.