California golf club owner agrees to $100,000 payout for manure incident

Despite George Costanza's best attempts in Seinfeld to make manure seem like something pleasant, the stuff still stinks. And apparently, chicken manure gives off a particularly fowl foul smell.

According to an AP report, Michael Schlesinger, the owner of the now defunct Escondido Country Club in Southern California spread five tons of raw chicken manure on his closed course last year. That caused numerous nearby homeowners to file an official complaint against him.

And last week, Schlesinger agreed to pay $100,000 to San Diego County's Air Pollution Control District. As part of the settlement, Schlesinger doesn't have to admit to any wrongdoing.

Schlesinger claims he laid the manure down simply to help make his property fit for landscaping. But those complaining said the move that caused a stench that lasted for weeks was payback to a community that protested his plan to turn the land into hundreds of homes.

If the latter is true, Schlesinger wound up having to pay dearly for that payback.