NEW YORK - The price of gas continues to rise across most of America and most oil industry insiders continue to blame the record prices on a variety of factors, including the disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina and the increased demand for gas in China and India. But heightened public scrutiny and charges of price gouging have caused some industry insiders to spread the blame wherever they can. Last week before a Congressional subcommittee on price gouging, ExxonMobil's Chief Financial Officer, "Curly" Joe DeRita, cast blame on an unlikely source: "Having [actor] Robert Blake on the loose doesn't help [the price of gas], I'll tell you that."
Following DeRita's testimony, the effort to blame Robert Blake for record gas prices has gained momentum throughout the oil industry. "If you want someone to blame," echoed Jules Sunoco, President of the Sun Oil Company, "it's definitely Robert Blake. Absolutely." Asked to explain, Sunoco would only say this: "It just makes the market jittery knowing there's someone like that out there, trust me."
Robert Blake did not immediately return calls.
