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PA THREE TEXAS MEN INDICTED FOR SMUGGLING AND DIST. "FREON"

Release Date: 11/22/96
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PA THREE TEXAS MEN INDICTED FOR SMUGGLING AND DIST. "FREON"

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1996

THREE TEXAS MEN INDICTED FOR SMUGGLING AND DISTRIBUTING "FREON"

On Nov. 14, Hippolito Loyde-Guerrero was indicted in Brownsville, Texas, on one felony count of violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) for a June 19, 1992, incident in which he is alleged to have smuggled 84 twelve-ounce cans of the refrigerant R-12 into the United States. In an unrelated set of court actions on Nov. 14 in Houston, Robert E. Zavala, owner of Royal Automotive in Houston, was charged with one felony CAA count for unlawful distribution of freon and Julio Cesar Reyes was charged with one felony CAA count. If convicted, each faces up to five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by a task force composed of the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Customs Service, the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.

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