Enforcement Accomplishments 2003: Criminal Enforcement

Enforcements Accomplishments 2003 Quick Finder
Introduction to Enforcement Accomplishments, FY 2003 Emergency Response & Community Right-To-Know	Air Land Water	Pesticides Supplemental Actions Criminal investigation

EPA's criminal enforcement program successfully prosecuted environmental crimes.

Roberto Ramilo pleaded guilty to tampering with and falsifying drinking and water samples that he submitted to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' (CNMI) Division of Environmental Quality under EPA's safe drinking water program. Ramilo, who was charged under the name "Angelito Delos Santos," provided water systems to garment factories, restaurants and bottled water companies on Saipan. He admitted he tampered with samples and falsified information to conceal that his water treatment and filtration equipment failed to meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards. These requirements are critical to ensure safe drinking water supplies. Ramilo was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 15 months imprisonment, fined $3,000, and ordered to serve 300 hours of community service. He will be subject to deportation upon the completion of his sentence.

EPA and Arizona investigators raided the offices of Industrial Waste Utilization, a waste company, in Phoenix, AZ and Montclair, CA for selling mephetamine chemicals seized at drug labs to drug dealers instead of destroying them. More than 30 people, mostly in Arizona were arrested. The firm and its employees face criminal drug charges and environmental crimes for failing to properly dispose of the hazardous chemicals. Authorities learned of the alleged illicit chemical sales during a broader investigation into interstate methamphetamine trafficking.

Criminal enforcement accomplishments, fiscal year 2003