Criminal Press Releases - 2014
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This is a list of press releases announcing results of EPA criminal cases adjudicated in U.S. courts. The tables are sortable and can be viewed by date or alphabetically under all other headings.
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- 2014 Press Releases
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- 2012 Press Releases
| Month/Day | Defendant | State | Violation | Related Media | Case Status | Press Release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/8 | Noble Drilling (U.S.) LLC | AK | • Operating the drill ship Noble Discoverer and the drilling unit Kulluk in violation of federal law | Maritime | Guilty Plea | DOJ OPA Press Release |
| 12/5 | New Nautical Coatings, Inc., d/b/a “Sea Hawk Paints,” Sea Hawk Refinish Line, Inc., d/b/a “Refinish Line Auto Supplies, Erik Norrie, David Norrie, Jason Revie, Tommy Craft | FL | • Willfully consipiring to obstruct the Environmental Protection Agency | Pesticides | Guilty Plea | |
| 11/20 | Paul Ricco | MA | • Making false statements on inspection reports submitted to federal regulators. "Ricco submitted 15 false reports of purported inspections that he never performed." | Pesticides | Guilty Plea |
DOJ MA Press Release |
| 11/13 | Bonita Witt-Hird | PA | • Filing fraudulent water quality reports | Water | Guilty Plea | FBI Press Release |
| 10/1 | Trans Energy, Inc. | WV | • Violating the Clean Water Act in connection with its natural gas drilling activity. | Water | Guilty Plea | N.D. WV Press Release |
| 9/29 | David Wayne Luther | NC | • Violating the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act | Water | Guilty Plea |
E.D. CN Press Release |
| 9/26 | Nathan R. Garber | MT | • Conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act • 5 Counts of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act • 2 Counts of making false statements • Concealment | Water | Guilty Pleas | DOJ ENRD Press Release |
| 9/23 | Patrick Brightwell | GA | • Clean Water Act Violation | Water | Guilty Plea | DOJ DC Press Release |
| 9/18 | Calumite Company LLC | IN | • Clean Air Act false statement violations. | Air | Guilty Plea | DOJ ENRD Press Release |
| 9/17 | Zong Geng Chen | GA | • Illegally repackaging pesticides | Pesticides | Sentencing | S.D. GA Press Release |
| 9/8 | John Francis Mills, Terrance Allen | NY | • Conspiring to violate the clean air act "...they knowingly failed to report to the National Response Center the release of asbestos in the form of thermal insulation" | Air | Sentencing | DOJ ENRD Press Release |
| 8/27 | Steven A. Murray | AL | • Conspiracy, unlawful use of pesticides, false statements and mail fraud in connection with the misapplication of pesticides. | Pesticides | Guilty Plea | DOJ ENRD Press Release |
| 8/25 | Ronald A.Wright | PA | • Safe Drinking Water Act Violation - False Statements in matters relevant to permits issued. | Water | Guilty Plea |
W.D. PA |
| 8/20 | Michael G. Johnson | TX |
• Vlean Air Act violation - False Statements and • Wire Fraud. "...submitted multiple Certificates of Conformity applications containing fraudulent vehicle test data." |
Air | Sentencing |
N.D. TX |
| 8/20 | Scott William Farmer | SC | • Knowing Endangerment by release of asbestos | Air | Sentencing | DOJ SC Press Release |
| 8/18 | Roberts Chemical Company, Inc. | RI | • Violating the Clean Air Act by failing to develop and implement a Risk Management Plan to minimize the chance of release of ethyl ether. | Air | Guilty Plea |
DOJ RI |
| 8/5 | Benedict W. Lupo | OH | • Violating the Clean Water Act by dumping fracking waste into a tributary of the Mahoning River. | Air | Sentenced | N.D. OH Press Release |
| 7/16 | Benjamin Franklin Pass, P&W Wast Oil Services, Inc. | NC | • Unlawful handling and dilution of used oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). | Waste | Sentenced | DOJ ENRD Press Release |
| 7/8 | Thomas H. Faria | CT |
• Violating the Clean Water Act. "Sheffield discharged industrial wastewater from its New London manufacturing operations to the New London POTW without a permit and in violation of Connecticut’s approved pretreatment program." |
CWA | Guilty Plea | DOJ CT Press Release |
| 7/8 | James Joseph Duran, Tri State Environmental Group and Aftermath Cleanup & Remediation Services, LLC | CO | • Failing to properly dispose of asbestos containing waste material (ACWM). | CAA | Sentenced | CO AG Press Release |
| 6/5 | Patrick Brightwell | D.C. | • Violating the Clean Water Act by knowingly discharging a pollutant without a permit • presenting false claims to the United States. | CWA | Guilty Plea | |
| 5/28 | Leo M. Williams | NY | • Violating the Clean Water Act. "The defendant in this case conducted a demolition project which released a significant amount of water contaminated with dust and debris directly into the Chadakoin River, endangering public health and the environment,” | CWA | Guilty Plea | W.D. NY Press Release |
| 5/28 |
Pacific Tank Cleaning, Inc. Jorge Luquin |
CA | • Failure to Report a Release. "...spilling acid near elementary school" • Jorge Luquin entered a guilty plea for unlawful discharge of pollutants | CERCLA | Sentenced | S.D. CA Press Release |
| 5/28 | Marcelina Botello Charles | CA | • Distributing Illegal Pesticides • conspiring to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute 9,749 marijuana plants | FIFRA | Guilty Plea | E.D. CA Press Release |
| 5/28 | Owyhee Construction Inc. | ID | • Asbestos Violation "...a contaminated mixture of crushed pipe and debris laced with harmful asbestos spread over 16 separate sites" | CERCLA | Sentenced | |
| 5/23 | Colfax Treating Company, LLC | LA | • Negligent discharge of waste materials in violation of daily limit permit | Water | Guilty Plea | W.D. LA Press Release |
| 5/22 | Victor Mercado | MI | • Conspiracy regarding the case of former Detroit Mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick • unlawfully steering business contracts; | Sentenced | E.D. MI Press Release |
|
| 5/21 | Action Manufacturing Company | PA | • Illegal storage of explosive hazardous wastes | RCRA | Guilty Plea | E.D. PA Press Release |
| 5/20 | Arab Ship Management Ltd. | DE | • Violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships | APPS | Guilty Plea | |
| 5/14 | Mark Sawyer | TN | • Conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act’s “work practice standards” salient to the proper wetting, stripping, bagging and disposal of asbestos | Air | Guilty Plea | |
| 5/8 | William Manuszewski Donald Grzebielucha |
NY | • Negligent Endangerment under the Clean Air Act | Air | Guilty Plea | Case Summary |
| 4/25 | Herm. Dauelsberg GmbH & Co. KG | CA | • Felony count of failing to maintain accurate records relating to the overboard disposal of fuel oil • Felony count of failing to report a hazardous condition aboard the M/V Bellavia to the United States Coast Guard | Water | Guilty Plea | C.D. CA Press Release |
| 4/24 | Martha Hebert | LA | • Falsification of Produced Water Toxicity Testing | Water | Guilty Plea | E.D. LA Press Release |
| 4/17 | William R. “Rusty” Miller | MS | • Unpermitted filling of wetlands | Water | Sentenced | S.D. MS Press Release |
| 4/14 | Ray Caldwell | WA | • Illegally dumped more than two million gallons of waste and pollutants into the sewer system | Water | Sentenced | W.D. WA Press Release |
| 4/04 | Brian Scott | NY | • Accessory after the fact to a false statement under the Clean Air Act • All asbestos floor tiles had not been removed | Air | Guilty Plea | W.D. NY Press Release |
| 4/03 | Unilever Home & Personal Care USA | CT | • Illegal actions by funding important environmental research and development | Water | Sentenced | D. CT Press Release |
| 4/03 | Pedro Salmeron Jassim Juburi Jose Manuel Cabrera Jack Haney Ronald Kinard Mohammed Hafeez Awan Michel Jule Fernald Chucky Cheung Tanveer Anwar Erick Chicas Alexander Edwards Thanh Long Quoc Nguyen Jin Sung Chang Stephen Dickinson |
NC | • Providing fraudulent passing emissions scores for more than 200 vehicles | Air | Sentenced | W.D. NC Press Release |
| 3/24 | Benedict W. Lupo | OH | • Discharging brine into a tributary of the Mahoning River | Water | Guilty Plea | N.D. OH Press Release |
| 3/20 | Robert Lewis | GA | • Unlawful storage of hazardous waste | Waste | Sentenced | M.D. GA Press Release |
| 3/13 | Stanley Xu | WA | • Exposing residents and workers to airborne asbestos | Air | Sentenced | W.D. WA Press Release |
| 3/12 | Robbie Mouton | TX | • Negligent discharge of pollutants | Water | Guilty Plea | W.D. LA Press Release |
| 3/11 | North Pacific Seafoods | AK | • Illegal dumping of ammonia | Water | Guilty Plea | AK Press Release |
| 2/28 | Jonathan Isaac Shokrian | TX | • Failure to notify under the Clean Air Act • Removal of asbestos-containing materials illegally | Air | Sentencing | N.D. TX Press Release |
| 2/27 | Patrick Henry Procino | DE | • Illegal storage of hazardous waste without a permit | Water | Guilty Plea | D. DE Press Release |
| 2/26 | Richard A. Bunnell | FL | • Illegal construction of structures | Water | Sentencing | |
| 2/24 | Julio Cesar Villanueva Cornejo | CA | • Illegal possessing a firearm • Distributing illegal rat poison and insecticides in connection with a large marijuana cultivation operation | Waste | Sentencing | E.D. CA Press Release |
| 2/24 | Brian Lee Cobb | W VA | • Illegal transportation of hazardous waste | Waste | Sentencing | N.D. WVA Press Release |
| 2/12 | Alvin C. Sowinski Paul A. Sowinski |
WI | • Illegal use of a pesticide, Carbofuran, to kill wildlife | Waste | Plea | W.D. WI Press Release |
| 1/23 | Mohammed Hafeez Awan | NC | • Illegal emissions inspections | Air | Sentencing | W.D. NC Press Release |
| 1/16 | Charles L. Stinson Ralph Dowell |
KY | • Conspiracy to inject fluids, without a permit, into sinkholes and wells | Water | Guilty Plea | W.D. KY Press Release |
| 1/8 | Upstate Laboratories, Inc. | NY | • Mail fraud related to the falsification of over 3,300 laboratory results from 2008 through 2010 | Waste | Sentencing | Case Summary |