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President Of Long Island Corp. Faces Jail Time For Dumping Wastes

Release Date: 12/17/1998
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(#98172) New York, New York -- Thomas Kardos, President of the Broomer Research Corporation, a defunct defense contractor formerly located in Islip, New York, will go to federal prison and pay a fine for illegally disposing of hazardous waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Kardos will serve two concurrent four month sentences in federal prison, four months of home arrest following incarceration, and will pay $10,000 for these criminal violations. In addition, Broomer Research was fined $100,000 for the felony violations.

In July 1996, both Mr. Kardos and Broomer pled guilty in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York to charges that the company illegally stored and disposed hazardous wastes, including trichloroethylene and acetone. According to the charges, Mr. Kardos routinely directed his employees to pour hazardous wastes into drains that led to the septic system. Employees also regularly threw buckets of spent solvents into the trash dumpster, the contents of which were sent to the Town of Islip incinerator, according to court documents. Broomer Research Corporation is no longer in business. Broomer's Islip facility was located in a mixed residential and industrial area and was situated directly over groundwater that is a source of drinking water.

"Mr. Kardos demonstrated contempt for the environment and the people of Long Island when he dumped these wastes down the drain and put the solvents in the trash," said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. "These wastes could have easily polluted the groundwater - a source of drinking water for many Long Island residents. EPA will not tolerate such defiance of environmental laws."

"This sentence shows that it doesn't pay to put the bottom line ahead of the health of a community," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Hazardous waste laws are in effect to protect people from the dangers of illegally dumping toxic pollutants down the drain and into the trash. The person who is responsible for breaking these laws is being held accountable. The people who live in and around Islip deserve nothing less."

"This sentencing sends a strong message to Department of Defense contractors that violations of the environmental laws involving hazardous waste generated during the manufacturing of military hardware will not be tolerated," said James Hager, Special Agent in Charge of the Defense Criminal Investigations Service, Northeast Field Office.

This case was investigated by a task force comprised of the EPA's Criminal Investigations Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Naval Investigation Division, the Air Force Investigative Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Environmental Crimes Section Assistant Chief Robin Greenwald and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Zachary Carter.

For more information contact:
Mary Mears, Press Office
EPA Region 2
290 Broadway
NY, NY 10007-1866
Voice: 212-637-3669 FAX: 212-637-5046 E-Mail: mears.mary@epamail.epa.gov