Newsroom
All News Releases By Date
ILLEGAL ASBESTOS REMOVAL BRINGS GUILTY PLEAS AND INDICTMENTS IN ILLINOIS
Release Date: 09/17/99
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1999
ILLEGAL ASBESTOS REMOVAL BRINGS GUILTY PLEAS AND INDICTMENTS IN ILLINOIS
Curry Environmental Services Inc. (CES), and three CES employees pleaded guilty on Sept. 9, in U.S. District Court in Rock Island, Ill., to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) in connection with the improper removal of asbestos at various sites in Illinois and Iowa over the past 10 years. In addition, two other CES employees were also indicted on CAA charges. CES President Teresa Lynn Cook of Taylor Ridge, Ill., pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the CAA. Timothy Coutts of Rock Island, Ill., and Darren Wright of North Hinsdale, Ill., both pleaded guilty to violating the CAA by failing to adequately wet asbestos during renovation operations. Dale L. Roseman of Orion, Ill., and Alan Lee Talbot of Rock Island, Ill., were both charged with conspiracy to violate the CAA and with failing to wet asbestos before removal. Federal regulations require that asbestos be wetted before removal as well as other safety procedures to prevent asbestos fibers from being inhaled. Inhaling asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis,” and meosthelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The plea agreement calls for CES to pay a $1 million fine and for Cook to pay a fine of $20,000. Coutts and Wright each face up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up the $250,000, when sentenced. Roseman faces a maximum of up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $1 million, if convicted. Talbot faces a maximum of up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000, if convicted. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
R-108 ###
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
