Let's get the ball rolling here. We'll start with a simple announcement about an enforcement action to ease our way into blogging.
Earlier this month, a federal judge sentenced two operators of asbestos abatement companies to prison for illegally removing and disposing of asbestos in upstate New York. John Wood was sentenced to four years in prison, required to pay restitution of $854,166.06 to victims, and placed on supervised release for three years following the completion of his prison term. Curtis Collins was sentenced to two years in prison, required to pay restitution of $114,902.89, and ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act and the mail fraud statute. Wood also pleaded guilty to contempt of court for numerous new asbestos-related crimes which he committed while awaiting trial on the original charges. (Can you say "Darwin Awards candidate"??)
In 2005, after being released from prison for unrelated felonies, Wood began operating an asbestos abatement company. He directed his employees to remove asbestos in a way which, rather than removing all asbestos, dispersed it and left substantial quantities behind, significantly contaminating numerous businesses and homes. Some of asbestos which was removed was buried on a farm which was cleaned up using Superfund monies.
In order to deceive clients into believing that the asbestos had been removed from their properties, Wood used Mark Desnoyers, a licensed air monitor. Desnoyers falsified air samples so that laboratory results appeared to prove that all asbestos had been removed from homes and business when, in fact, they remained seriously contaminated. Wood previously testified against Desnoyers at trial.
Collins worked for Wood and also ran his own asbestos abatement company. He pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors by testifying against Desnoyers at trial.
Desnoyers was convicted on all counts of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and Clean Air Act violations, as well as related substantive violations. Desnoyers is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
This just goes to show that you've got to be careful who you hire to remove asbestos from your properties. The property owners who hired Wood and Collins had to pay a lot more to remediate their properties than they would have spent had they hired a competent, reputable contractor in the first place. They will likely never recover the money Wood and Collins have been ordered to pay in restitution.
Earlier this month, a federal judge sentenced two operators of asbestos abatement companies to prison for illegally removing and disposing of asbestos in upstate New York. John Wood was sentenced to four years in prison, required to pay restitution of $854,166.06 to victims, and placed on supervised release for three years following the completion of his prison term. Curtis Collins was sentenced to two years in prison, required to pay restitution of $114,902.89, and ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the federal Clean Air Act and the mail fraud statute. Wood also pleaded guilty to contempt of court for numerous new asbestos-related crimes which he committed while awaiting trial on the original charges. (Can you say "Darwin Awards candidate"??)
In 2005, after being released from prison for unrelated felonies, Wood began operating an asbestos abatement company. He directed his employees to remove asbestos in a way which, rather than removing all asbestos, dispersed it and left substantial quantities behind, significantly contaminating numerous businesses and homes. Some of asbestos which was removed was buried on a farm which was cleaned up using Superfund monies.
In order to deceive clients into believing that the asbestos had been removed from their properties, Wood used Mark Desnoyers, a licensed air monitor. Desnoyers falsified air samples so that laboratory results appeared to prove that all asbestos had been removed from homes and business when, in fact, they remained seriously contaminated. Wood previously testified against Desnoyers at trial.
Collins worked for Wood and also ran his own asbestos abatement company. He pleaded guilty and cooperated with prosecutors by testifying against Desnoyers at trial.
Desnoyers was convicted on all counts of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and Clean Air Act violations, as well as related substantive violations. Desnoyers is scheduled to be sentenced next month.
This just goes to show that you've got to be careful who you hire to remove asbestos from your properties. The property owners who hired Wood and Collins had to pay a lot more to remediate their properties than they would have spent had they hired a competent, reputable contractor in the first place. They will likely never recover the money Wood and Collins have been ordered to pay in restitution.
