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CALIFORNIA MAN PLEADS TO ILLEGAL CFC PURCHASE
Release Date: 06/05/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1998
CALIFORNIA MAN PLEADS TO ILLEGAL CFC PURCHASE
Avner Meshulam, owner and operator of Tic Tac Automotive Supply in Culver City, Calif., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles to conspiring to illegally purchase approximately 400 30-pound cylinders of CFC-12, which he believed had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico. CFC-12 is a refrigerant used in the air conditioners of automobiles manufactured prior to 1994. Its importation into the United States has been banned under federal law, because it depletes the earth’s protective ozone layer. Ozone depletion exposes people to unacceptably high levels of ultraviolet radiation which can cause cataracts and skin cancer. When sentenced, Meshulam faces a maximum of five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Customs Service.R-74 ###
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