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HOUSTON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSELY TESTIFYING
Release Date: 03/30/2001
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2001
HOUSTON MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FALSELY TESTIFYING
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818/hester.luke@epa.gov
Manuel Robles Escobedo of Houston, Tex. pleaded guilty on March 20 to giving false testimony concerning the exposure to asbestos of undocumented workers from Mexico. From December 1997 to February 1998, the defendant supervised those workers as they scraped asbestos-containing fireproofing from metal beams in Houston’s abandoned Alief General Hospital, which was owned by Eric Ho. When Ho was later tried for a civil violation of asbestos workplace standards, Escobedo falsely testified that he did not see workers removing the fireproofing. Ho was convicted of failing to provide the workers with proper training and protective equipment for asbestos removal. Failing to follow asbestos work practices can expose workers to the inhalation of airborne asbestos fibers which can cause lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis” and mesothelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. When sentenced, Escobedo faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. Prosecution assistance was provided by the FBI and the Houston Police Department’s Environmental Investigations Unit, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston.
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