(RightWing.org) – The son of a prominent businessman has been indicted on 21 charges of illegally filming guests using the bathroom at his family’s lake house. Mitchell Wasek set up a camera to take covert videos — but was caught when a guest spotted the device. There were at least 13 victims of the scheme.
In 1982, Don Wasek and Arch Aplin III founded Buc-ee’s, a gas station and convenience store in Clute, Texas, and gradually built the company into a chain of 48 stores across nine states, with plans to expand into nine more. Among its claims to fame are operating the world’s largest gas station (in Sevierville, Tennessee) and having famously clean restrooms. Unfortunately, Wasek’s son is now gaining a different reputation.
In May 2023, a party guest at Wasek’s Lake Travis home was using the bathroom when they saw a suspicious charging port in the wall. Investigating, they found a concealed camera — and removed it. Later they checked the video stored on the device and found video of at least 13 people using the bathroom for various purposes. Unsurprisingly, they immediately reported it to police.
Investigators quickly found that Wasek’s 28-year-old son Mitchell had ordered covert cameras from Amazon and had them sent to several addresses, including the Lake Travis house, an apartment in Austin, Texas, and a home in Telluride, Colorado. Mitchell was arrested last October and charged with 28 counts of invasive video recording.
On May 17, a Travis County grand jury returned six indictments against him, covering 21 of the original 28 counts. The alleged offenses took place over a period of almost two years.
David Gonzales, Wasek’s attorney, says his client will be basing his defense on his right to install cameras in his own home. Travis County District Attorney Jose P Garza isn’t convinced. In a press release he said community members had “decided that Mr Wasek’s conduct was unlawful.” Now a jury will get to decide if filming guests in the bathroom is illegal or just sleazy.
Copyright 2024, RightWing.org
