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Michigan Auto Shop Owner Sentenced to 37 Months forIllegal Disposal of Hazardous Waste and Conspiracy Charges
Release Date: 02/18/2004
Contact Information:
Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov
02/18/2004 - George C. Singleton of Clinton, Mich., was sentenced to serve 37 months in prison and pay $84,000 in restitution for illegal disposal of paint wastes containing flammable materials. He was previously convicted of conspiring to violate the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and on three counts of violating RCRA. Singleton is the owner of RT Automotive in Ypsilanti, Mich. In 1998, the defendant entered into an agreement with Automax, Inc., of Ypsilanti, an auto salvage yard, to dispose of approximately 70 drums of paint wastes containing ignitable materials. In Aug. 1998, Singleton directed the illegal disposal of the wastes which were illegally placed in an abandoned trailer in an open field in Van Buren Township, Mich. Two police officers and four firefighters required medical evaluation after approaching the trailer because of exposure to fumes. The case was investigated by the Cleveland Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit.
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