Criminal Press Releases – 2011

This is a list of press releases announcing results of EPA criminal cases adjudicated in U.S. courts. This is a sortable table and can be viewed by date or alphabetically under all other headings.

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Month/Day	Defendant	State	Violation	Related Media	Case Status	Press Release

12/19	Lieze Associates, dba Eagle Recycling	NY	• Conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act and to defrauding the United States	Water	Sentencing	Press Release N.D. NY (PDF) (1 pg, 20K)
12/15	Pelican Refining Company LLC	LA	• Knowingly committed criminal violations of its operating permit • Obstruction of justice for submitting materially false deviation reports to LDEQ	Air	Sentencing	Press Release EPA Press Release W.D. LA (PDF) (3 pp, 33K) Joint Factual Statement (PDF) (9 pp, 555K) Pelican Exhibits (PDF) (22 pp, 3.3MB)
12/13	Ilios Shipping Romulo Esperas	LA	• Illegal discharges of oil waste by falsifying the vessel’s oil record book • Conspiracy to obstruct justice	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 22K)
12/02	Scott Allen Beckmann	MO	• Misprision of a felony • Making a false statement	Water	Sentencing	Press Release W.D. MO (PDF) (2 pp, 17K)
11/30	Josimar Ferreira	MA	• Improper use of pesticides • Making false statements	Pesticides	Sentencing	Press Release D. MA (PDF) (1 pg, 20K)
11/23	Corn Plus	MN	• Making false statements	Air	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release D. MN (PDF) (1 pg, 18K)
11/21	Indian Ridge Resort Community – Indian Ridge Resort, Inc. North Shore Investments, LLC	MO	• Failed to prevent storm water runoff at the construction site from discharging silt into Table Rock Lake	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. MO (PDF) (1 pg, 21K)
11/18	Columbus Steel Castings Company, Inc.	OH	• Failing to operate air pollution controls • Failing to report violations • Failing to perform required monitoring • Failing to conduct stack testing to demonstrate compliance	Air	Sentencing	Press Release EPA Press Release S.D. OH (PDF) (2 pp, 21K)
11/17	Ronald Eugene Kinard Jack Bard Haney	NC	• One count of conspiracy • Making false material statements	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. NC (PDF) (1 pg, 21K)
11/15	Edward Wyman	CA	• Illegally storing toxic and explosive hazardous wastes in his backyard, materials that posed an imminent danger to nearby residents	Waste	Sentencing	Press Release EPA
11/07	Kenneth Horan	NY	• Violating the Clear Air Act and National Emission Standards applicable to asbestos	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. NY (PDF) (1 pg, 66K)
11/02	A.E. Nomikos Shipping Inv. Ltd. Lounia Shipping Co. Ltd.	OR	• One count of violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships • One count of knowingly making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard	Water	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release D. OR (PDF) (3 pp, 31K)
10/31	Mike LeBleu {Pelican Refinery}	LA	• Negligent endangerment	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. LA (PDF) (3 pp, 25K)
10/28	Michael Jochem David Rudolph John Rudolph	IN	• Illegal use of an acutely toxic pesticide	Pesticides	Guilty Plea Conviction	Press Release S.D. IN (PDF) (2 pp, 189K)
10/26	Thomas Demorest	ID	• Knowingly violating a regulation pertaining to a threatened species of fish, a misdemeanor	Endangered Species	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release D. ID (PDF) (1 pg, 19K)
10/21	City of Pineville	LA	• Illegal discharge from a pumping station	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 80K)
10/17	Lawrence Parawan	TN	• Misuse of a pesticide • Unlawful killing of a migratory bird	Pesticides	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. TN (PDF) (2 pp, 55K)
10/13	Stolthaven New Orleans, LLC	LA	• One misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 22K)
10/12	Pelican Refining Company	LA	• Felony violations of the Clean Air Act • Obstruction of justice for submitting materially false deviation reports to LDEQ	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release EPA Pelican Exhibits (PDF) (22 pp, 3.3MB)
10/11	Bugman Pest and Lawn, Inc. Coleman Nocks	UT	• A misdemeanor count of unlawful use of a registered pesticide	Pesticide	Guilty Plea	Press Release D. UT (PDF) (3 pp, 64K)
10/11	Integrated Production Services, LLC, (IPS)	OK	• Negligent violation	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. OK (PDF) (2 pp, 24K)
10/05	Anthony Crompton	MO	• Improperly removing and disposing of asbestos-containing materials	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. MO (PDF) (1 pg, 20K)
10/05	Cory Ledeal King	ID	• Injecting “fluids” into deep wells without a permit	Water	Appeal Upheld	Press Release D. ID (PDF) (1 pg, 19K)
10/05	Franklin A. (“Al”) Bieri	IL	• Failed to properly dispose of hazardous asbestos waste	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. IL (PDF) (1 pg, 28K)
09/28	Brian Smith	NC	• Unlawful storage and disposal of a hazardous waste	Waste	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. NC (PDF) (2 pg, 21K)
09/27	Donald Clark	TN	• Twelve counts of making false documents in connection with the operation of the City of Niota, Tennessee’s sewage treatment plant	False Statements	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. TN (PDF) (1 pg, 19K)
09/21	Keith Gordon–Smith Gordon Smith	NY	• Knowingly violating the Clean Air Act • Making false statements to a federal inspector	Air	Sentencing	Press Release EPA Press Release W.D. NY (PDF) (3 pg, 45K)
09/21	William Joseph McCown	NV	• One count of violating the Clean Air Act by falsifying emissions testing results	Air	Sentencing	Press Release D. NV (PDF) (3 pp, 26K)
09/15	John Ashley Mabus	SC	• Negligent violation	Water	Sentencing	Press Release D. SC (PDF) (2 pp, 56K)
09/13	Albania Deleon Former EPA Fugitive	MA	• Making false statements about matters within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Procuring false payroll tax returns • Mail fraud.	Air	Sentencing	Press Release EPA Press Release D. MA (PDF) (2 pp, 29K)
09/07	John A. Anderson	OH	• Making false statements to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency	Water	Sentencing	Press Release S.D. OH (PDF) (2 pp, 36K)
09/01	Kie-Con, Inc.	CA	• Discharged or caused others to discharge concrete process water directly into the San Joaquin River in violation of its Clean Water Act permit.	Water	Sentencing	Press Release N.D. CA (PDF) (2 pp, 77K)
09/01	Josimar Ferreira	MA	• Sixteen counts of violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act • One count of making false statements	Pesticides	Conviction	Press Release D. MA (PDF) (2 pp, 21K)
08/24	T. P. Construction	MT	• Negligent disposal of sewage	Waste	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release D. MT (PDF) (2 pg, 28K)
08/24	John Bavaret	LA	• A felony violation of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act • A misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act	Water	Sentencing	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (1 pg, 20K)
08/23	A. David Sugar	OH	• One count of conspiracy to violate the asbestos requirements	Air	Sentencing	Press Release S.D. OH (PDF) (2 pp, 24K)
08/22	Geraldine Betz Stephen Ponder	OR	• Unlawful discharge or deposit of any kind of refuse matter into any navigable water, or tributary of any navigable water of the United States, without a permit	Water	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release D. OR (2 pp, 28K)
08/17	Peter Martin Kuhn Added to EPA Fugitive website	CA	• Alleged illegal dispose of mining wastes	Waste	Fugitive	Press Release EPA
08/03	Mike Vierstra	ID	• Negligent discharge of a pollutant into waters of the United States without a permit	Water	Sentencing	Press Release D. ID (PDF) (2 pp, 21K)
07/29	Brendan Clery	FL	• Illegally smuggled restricted HCFC – 22	Air	Sentencing	Press Release EPA Press Release S.D. FL (PDF) (2 pp, 23K)
07/28	Stanships Inc. (Marshall Islands) Stanships Inc. (New York) Standard Shipping Inc. Calmore Maritime Ltd.	LA	• 32 felony counts including: • Sludge and oily waste from the vessel’s engines deliberately pumped overboard • Unreported leak between a ballast and fuel tank that led to overboard discharges of oil contaminated waste • Metal bypass pipe used to dump oily waste overboard was hidden from view when the ship was in port • False Oil Record Book	Water	Sentencing	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (3 pp, 29K)
07/20	Gabriel Henson	OK	• negligent violation	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. OK (PDF) (2 pp, 22K)
07/19	Cephus Murrell	MD	three misdemeanor counts: • improper lead paint abatement at rental properties • failure to disclose to tenants the presence of documented lead–based paint hazards	Lead based paint	Guilty Plea	Press Release D. MD (PDF) (3 pp, 21K)
07/14	Stephen Craig Dickinson Alexander Christian Edwards Jin Sung Chang Thanh Long Quoc Nguyen Chuck Yee Cheung	NC	• One count of violating the Clean Air Act • Chang - Making three materially false statements in the course of the investigation	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. NC (PDF) (2 pp, 114K)
07/07	Freedman Farms William B. Freedman	NC	• Illegal discharge of hog waste into Browder’s Branch, a tributary to the Waccamaw River that flows through the White Marsh, a large wetlands complex	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. NC (PDF) (2 pp, 24K)
07/06	Byron Hamilton	LA	• Negligent endangerment	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 26K)
06/22	Bobby Joe Knapp	IA	• One count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act • One count of failing to remove all regulated material containing asbestos from the Equitable Building before beginning the renovation project	Air	Sentencing	Press Release S.D. IA (PDF) (2 pp, 114K)
06/22	Dhiren Patel	CA	• Introducing a Pollutant into the Sewer System	Water	Sentencing	Press Release N.D. CA (PDF) (2 pp, 76K)
06/16	Dimitrios Grifakis	MD	• Obstructing a Coast Guard inspection	Water	Sentencing	Press Release D. MD (PDF) (2 pp, 25K)
06/15	Darigold, Inc.	WA	• Discharge of an ammonia solution from the company’s dairy processing plant at Issaquah, Washington into the East Fork of Issaquah Creek	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release W.D. WA (PDF) (2 pp, 25K)
06/14	Robert Fromdahl	MT	• Transporting hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility and storing hazardous waste without a permit	Waste	Guilty Plea	Press Release D. MT (PDF) (2 pp, 23K)
06/09	John A. Anderson	OH	• One count of making false statements to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency related to the operation of the sewage treatment plant that services Pomeroy	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. OH (PDF) (2 pp, 49K)
06/09	Jeffrey Pruett	LA	• Six felony violations of failure to maintain and provide records • One felony count of effluent violations • One misdemeanor negligent count of failure provide proper operation and maintenance	Water	Conviction	Press Release EPA
06/06	Charles Yi John Bostick	CA	• Conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work practice standards	Air	Sentencing	Press Release C.D. CA (PDF) (2 pp, 25K)
06/06	Thomas J. Stricker Gregory T. Stricker Stricker Refinishing Company, Inc.	OH	• Illegally discharge of industrial wastewater into the City of Cleveland sewer system	Water	Sentencing	Press Release N.D. OH (PDF) (3 pp, 40K)
06/03	Oak Mill, Inc. Robert Arundale	MO	• Illegal discharge of pollutants into the city’s wastewater treatment system	Water	Sentencing	Press Release W.D. MO (PDF) (2 pp, 24K)
05/16	Jerry R. Askew, Sr. Marine Environmental Services, Inc., (MES)	VA	• Knowingly discharging pollutants into water of the United States	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. VA (PDF) (2 pp, 40K)
05/04	James Hinton	GA	• Fraudulently issuing emissions certificates to cars that would have failed the emissions inspection required by law	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release N.D. GA (PDF) (3 pp, 27K)
05/04	Dimitrios Grifakis	MD	• Obstructing a Coast Guard inspection	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release D. MD (PDF) (2 pp, 25K)
04/26	Brendan Clery	FL	• Knowingly importing approximately 278,256 kilograms of illegal hydrochlorofluorocarbon – 22 (HCFC–22)	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. FL (PDF) (2 pp, 23K)
04/25	Wajdi Waked	NV	• Falsifying emissions test records	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release D. NV (PDF) (1 pp, 30K)
04/21	A. David Sugar Honey Creek Contracting Company	OH	• One count Conspiracy • Four counts violating the Clean Air Act rules related to the proper removal and handling of asbestos	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. OH (PDF) (2 pp, 51K)
04/13	Terry Carver	LA	• Creating a hazardous condition on board the M/V Mel Oliver in violation of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act	Water	Sentencing	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (1 pg, 16K)
04/12	Stanships Inc. (Marshall Islands) Stanships Inc. (New York) Standard Shipping Inc. Calmore Maritime Ltd.	LA	• Concealing deliberate pollution in "magic pipe" case • Repeat offender banned after being netted violating probation	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (3 pp, 27K)
04/11	Lieze Associates, dba Eagle Recycling of New Jersey,	NY	• One criminal felony count for conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act’s prohibition on filling wetlands • Committing wire fraud to conduct that filling	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release N.D. NY (PDF) (1 pg, 24K)
04/06	Edward Wyman	CA	• Illegally storing toxic and explosive hazardous wastes in the backyard, materials that posed in imminent danger to nearby residents	Waste	Conviction	Press Release C.D. CA (PDF) (2 pp, 41K)
04/04	Joe Biggio Mike Milem Mark Snow {Ecological Systems, Inc. (ESI) officials}	IN	• Intentional discharges of untreated wastewater and storm water from its facility directly into the Indianapolis sewer system	Water	Sentencing	Press Release EPA
03/31	Koo’s Shipping Company S.A.	DC	• Making false statements, knowingly failing to fully • Accurately maintain an oil record book as required by international treaty and U.S. law • Knowingly discharging oily bilge waste into Pago Pago Harbor, American Samoa, without using proper pollution prevention equipment	Water	Conviction Sentencing	Press Release D. DC (PDF) (3 pp, 25K)
03/29	Charles Yi	CA	• Five environmental charges related to the improper renovation of a San Fernando Valley, Calif., apartment complex – work that caused asbestos to be released into the complex and the surrounding community	Air	Conviction	Press Release C.D. CA (PDF) (2 pp, 21K)
03/25	Chemical and Metal Industries, Inc.	LA	• Negligently causing the release of hazardous air pollutants and thereby negligently placing another person in imminent danger of death, in violation of Title 42, United States Code, Section 7413(c)(4) (federal Clean Air Act).	Air	Sentencing	Press Release M.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 26K)
03/24	Mike Vierstra	ID	• Negligent discharge of wastewater from a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) into a federally protected waterway	Water	Conviction	Press Release D. ID (PDF) (2 pp, 36K)
03/21	David Overdorf	TX	• Disposing of hazardous wastes without a permit	Waste	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. TX (PDF) (1 pg, 31K)
03/18	Bob Knapp	IA	• One count of conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act • One count of failing to remove all regulated asbestos containing material from the Equitable Building before commencement of the renovation project	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. IA (PDF) (1 pg, 19K)
03/17	Gene Riddle	IA	• Negligently discharged hazardous waste into the water	Water	Sentencing	Press Release N.D. IA (PDF) (1 pg, 25K)
03/16	Dhiren Patel	CA	• One felony charge of violating the Clean Water Act, specifically, introducing a pollutant into the sewer system	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release N.D. CA (PDF) (2 pp, 77K)
03/11	Honeywell International, Inc.	IL	• One felony offense for knowingly storing hazardous waste without a permit in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)	Waste	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release EPA
03/09	Arthur Aliment Unisea	AK	• Failing to report the release of a hazardous substance	Water	Sentencing	Press Release D. AK (PDF) (2 pp, 53K)
03/08	Peter Ward	NY	• Violating the conditions of supervised release imposed following 2006 conviction for asbestos–related violations of the Clean Air Act	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. NY (PDF) (3 pp, 116K)
03/03	Joseph DeMatteo Formerly listed on EPA's Fugitive list	NV	• Falsifying emissions test records	Air	Sentencing	Press Release EPA
03/02	Scott Allen Beckmann	MO	• Misprision of a felony • Making a false statement to a federal agent	Water	Conviction	Press Release W.D. MO (PDF) (2 pp, 29K)
03/01	Daniel Black Blackstone Business Enterprises, Inc.	NY	• Failure to conduct an inspection before commencement of asbestos removal • Filing a false tax return	Air	Sentencing	Press Release W.D. NY (PDF) (2 pp, 41K)
03/01	John Buerman	RI	• Internet sales of unregistered, unlabeled pesticides for cats and dogs while infringing on the trademark of two well known national brand names, "Frontline" and "Frontline Plus"	Pesticides	Sentencing	Press Release D. RI (PDF) (2 pp, 32K)
02/23	John Bostick	CA	• Conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act’s asbestos work practice standards during the renovation of a 204–unit apartment building in Winnetka, California	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release C.D. CA (PDF) (1 pp, 20K)
02/23	Cardiff Marine, Inc.	MD	• Falsifying records of illegal discharges of oily waste from the M/V Capitola • Making false statements to the Coast Guard • Other acts of concealment	Water	Sentencing	Press Release D. MD (PDF) (3 pp, 24K)
02/17	Sidney Hebert Environmental Compliance Solutions, LLC	LA	• Negligent operation of a water treatment facility in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA)	Water	Sentencing	Press Release W.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 66K)
02/15	Russell Coco	IA	• Conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act • Violating the Clean Air Act’s work practice standards related to asbestos removal	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release S.D. IA (PDF) (1 pg, 24K)
02/11	Harp, USA, Inc.	FL	• False statements made in entry documents for the importation of ozone depleting refrigerant gas, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 542	Air	Sentencing	Press Release S.D. FL (PDF) (2 pp, 24K)
02/09	Yini De La Torres	KS	• One count of conspiracy to tamper with a consumer product	Conspiracy	Sentencing	Press Release D. KS (PDF) (2 pp, 31K)
02/09	James R. Soyars	CO	• Two felony counts of failure to deposit asbestos–containing waste material as soon as practical at a regulated waste disposal or conversion site	Air	Sentencing	Press Release D. CO (PDF) (2 pp, 33K)
02/08	Donald M. Patterson	MI	• Wire Fraud	Lead based paint	Sentencing	Press Release E.D. MI (PDF) (2 pp, 28K)
02/02	Daniel Arnot Cory Beard Justin Joyner	GA	• Conspiring to release ozone–depleting substances into the environment	Air	Guilty Plea	Press Release N.D. GA (PDF) 2 pp, 94K)
01/28	Stephen J. Spencer Guy Gannaway Keith McConnell	FL	• Conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act • Various Clean Air Act charges related to the mishandling of asbestos	Air	Conviction	Press Release M.D. FL (PDF) (3 pp, 37K)
01/25	J. Jeffrey Pruett	LA	• Six felony violations of failure to maintain and provide records • One felony count of effluent violations • One misdemeanor negligent count of failure provide proper operation and maintenance	Water	Conviction	Press Release W.D. LA (PDF) (3 pp, 68K)
01/19	DRD Towing Randall Dantin	LA	• Creating hazardous conditions by: (1) assigning employees without proper Coast Guard licenses to operate certain vessels thereby causing these vessels to operate in the navigable waters of the United States with manning levels below those determined by the Coast Guard to be necessary for safe navigation, and (2) paying licensed captains to operate a vessel for 24 hour a day without a relief captain	Water	Sentencing	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (2 pp, 23K)
01/19	John Bavaret	LA	• A felony violation of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act • A misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release E.D. LA (PDF) (1 pg, 21K)
01/19	Miami Air International, Inc. (MAII)	FL	• Illegal storage and disposal of hazardous oxygen generators and personal breathing equipment (PBEs) that had been removed from commercial aircraft operated by MAII	Waste	Guilty Plea Sentencing	Press Release S.D. FL (PDF) (2 pp, 25K)
01/19	American Refrigeration Company, Inc.	NH	• One criminal count of causing the Suncook (N.H.) Wastewater Treatment Facility (SWTF) to violate its own environmental permit by discharging ammonia down a sewer drain, rendering the treatment plant inoperable and causing the treatment plant to discharge wastewater into the Merrimack River	Water	Guilty Plea	Press Release D. NH (PDF) (2 pp, 29K)
01/18	G & K Services, Inc.	IA	• Negligently causing a discharge of wastewater from their Pleasant Hill, Iowa facility	Water	Sentencing	Press Release S.D. IA (PDF) (1 pg, 24K)
01/10	Phillip Smith	WA	• Knowingly engaging in land clearing activities that included excavating wetlands and stream channels and redepositing or discharging the excavated materials into waters of the United States	Water	Sentencing	Press Release W.D. WA (PDF) (2 pp, 27K)
01/07	Wolfgang "Tito" Roempke	WA	• Failing to properly remove asbestos – a felony violation of the Clean Air Act	Air	Sentencing	Press Release W.D. WA (PDF) (2 pp, 28K)

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