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FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENTS CHARGED IN RECYCLING FRAUD
Release Date: 08/23/2001
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 , 2001
FORMER NEW HAMPSHIRE RESIDENTS CHARGED IN RECYCLING FRAUD
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov
Franklin D. Sales and Debon Sales, formerly of Milford, N.H., were charged with mail and wire fraud in an indictment unsealed on Aug. 16. The defendants owned and operated Consolidated Recycling, Inc. (CRI), a firm which was allegedly in the business of recycling fluorescent ballast waste. The charges allege that the defendants accepted light bulb and light ballast wastes that included mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from school districts and government agencies in Colorado, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and elsewhere. The defendants allegedly falsely claimed that CRI had the equipment to recycle the wastes. The charges allege that CRI never purchased any recycling equipment and that the wastes were collected, stored and abandoned at locations in Hollis and Merrimack, N.H., and in Fitchburg, Methuen and Tyngsboro, Mass. Mercury is a highly toxic substance that can cause severe neurological damage and PCBs have been identified as a cause of cancer. If convicted, both defendants face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison on each count plus fines. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with the assistance of EPA Region I, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Concord, N.H. 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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