An indictment against a Syracuse area asbestos air monitoring company along with present and former employees has been issued at the request of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Certified Environmental Services, Inc. (CES), an asbestos air monitoring company and laboratory, has been charged with a scheme in which asbestos was removed illegally, scattered and left behind buildings and homes. In many older communities the threat of asbestos remains in older buildings and business’s.
The sixteen count indictment charges the defendants with a conspiracy to: defraud the United States; violate the Clean Air Act; violate the Toxic Substances Control Act; and commit mail fraud. The defendants are also charged with counts of Clean Air Act violations, mail fraud, and making false statements to Special Agents of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. For each count, the defendants face a five year sentence and a $250,000 fine. The number of violations and the involvement of the EPA provide a good idea of the many locations where asbestos can still be found.
The indictment claims that this activity took place behind numerous buildings and homes in Syracuse and other cities and towns in upstate New York. Further, the indictment alleges that the air monitoring company and laboratory gave the asbestos abatement contractors false air results which led building owners to believe that the asbestos had been properly and fully removed. In other instances, the U.S. Attorney’s office says asbestos was properly removed but fraudulent air monitoring still occurred.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says fraudulent air monitoring and laboratory results were produced for asbestos abatement projects performed within schools, churches, a television station, a facility established to aid mentally disabled individuals, a sorority house, a library reading room, private homes and government buildings, among others. The number of asbestos products that are still in circulation can be unsettling when a story surfaces about all of the types of location that need cleanup.
————
About AsbestosNews.com
Have you or a loved one been affected by asbestos cancer? Get the help and guidance you need by visiting us today.
