Alabama Man Arrested on Charges of Selling Counterfeit and Adulterated Pesticides
Release Date: 05/22/2003
Contact Information:
John Millett 202-564-7842/millett.john@epa.gov
(05/22/03) William C. Murphy of Glencoe, Ala., was arrested on May 15 and appeared in U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., to face charges that he violated the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The indictment alleges that the defendant, operating under the name of Sierra Chemical, sold counterfeit, misbranded, adulterated and mislabeled pesticides to numerous municipalities in Alabama and Georgia. Selling altered, counterfeit or improperly branded and labeled pesticides to cities can present a significant public health and environmental risk if the pesticides are used to control mosquitos and other insects that carry West Nile Virus and other diseases. The case was investigated by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.
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