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TWO LOUISIANA MEN SENTENCED FOR PESTICIDE CRIMES
Release Date: 04/02/99
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1999
TWO LOUISIANA MEN SENTENCED FOR PESTICIDE CRIMES
Emmanuel Johnson of Independence, La., was sentenced on March 24 by the U.S. District Court in New Orleans to serve two years in prison and was ordered by the Court to pay a total of $131,104 in restitution for the unlawful distribution of the restricted use pesticide methyl parathion. On March 17, the U.S. District Court also sentenced Oscar Miller, also of Independence, to serve five months in a halfway house, eight months home confinement and pay $61,500 in restitution for the unlawful sale and distribution of methyl parathion. According to information presented to the Court, each defendant illegally sold methyl parathion to individuals who were not trained or certified to use the pesticide. Furthermore, the defendants sold methyl parathion for the unlawful purpose of eradicating household insects. Methyl parathion may only legally be used as an outdoor insecticide in uninhabited agricultural fields where sunlight dramatically reduces its toxicity. When used indoors, methyl parathion can remain highly toxic for up to two years, and exposure to sufficient quantities of the pesticide can produce nausea, vomiting, convulsions and death. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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