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Former Employee of Whitehall, Pa. Company Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud and Making False Statements

Release Date: 6/2/2005
Contact Information: Donna Heron, 215-814-5113

Donna Heron, 215-814-5113

PHILADELPHIA – On May 31, 2005, Michael Klusaritz, 52, of Whitehall, Pa., pleaded guilty to federal environmental crimes in connection with the filing of false underground storage tank (UST) closure reports.

Klusaritz pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and two counts of false statements before Eastern District of Pennsylvania U.S. District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez in Philadelphia, Pa. Klusaritz admitted to preparing false and fraudulent UST closure reports while employed at Boyko’s Petroleum Services, Inc. of Whitehall, Pa.

He was charged on March 16, 2005 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in a criminal information with causing Boyko’s Petroleum Service to bill its customers more than $110,000 between October 2001 and October 2003 for the false reports. The fraudulent scheme included falsification of analytical laboratory reports and forged signatures on false environmental reports he prepared that were submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Boyko clients.

Klusaritz was convicted previously in 1997, and was incarcerated for falsifying environmental test results when he worked at Hess Laboratories in East Stroudsburg, Pa., and when he owned Phase II Laboratories in Catasauqua, Pa..

He currently faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment, a $750,000 fine, three years supervised release, and a mandatory special victim /witness assessment of $300.

The case was investigated by the U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in Philadelphia, Pa.

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