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TWO PLEAD GUILTY TO OCEAN DUMPING CHARGES
Release Date: 05/22/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 22, 1998
TWO PLEAD GUILTY TO OCEAN DUMPING CHARGES
Trinidad Corp., a subsidiary of Apex Oil Corp., of St. Louis, Mo., pleaded guilty on May 13, in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon in Portland to two counts of violating the Ocean Dumping Act (ODA). At the same time, John Sheppard, a Trinidad employee and former port captain in Portland, pleaded guilty to one count of violating the ODA in 1992. The charges arose from the dumping of approximately 365 drums of oil residue and cleaning wastes from the vessel Admiralty Bay in September 1990 and September 1992. The wastes were stored in 55-gallon drums on the vessel’s deck and were dumped in international waters after the ship left port. As part of the plea agreement, Trinidad agreed to pay a fine of $250,000. Under the agreement, Sheppard will serve six months in confinement. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and the U.S. Coast Guard.
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