News Release
U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Rhode Island
January 21, 2009
Metal plater admits falsifying hazardous waste records
Steven R. Ricci, an employee of C&C Rhode Island, a Providence-based metal plating and finishing company, pleaded guilty today to falsifying hazardous waste inspection logs that the company maintained.
United States Attorney Robert Clark Corrente and Michael E. Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of the New England office of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, jointly announced the guilty plea, which Ricci entered before U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith in U.S. District Court, Providence.
At the plea hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Adi Goldstein said the government could prove that from January to October 2006, Ricci and employees working under his direction claimed in company records that they had inspected hazardous waste containers on the plant premises, when in fact the inspections had not been performed.
C&C, which is on Georgia Avenue in Providence, produces hazardous waste such as electroplating bath sludge that contains cyanide. Federal hazardous waste law allows manufacturers to accumulate such waste for up to 90 days without a permit but requires that the waste containers be inspected at least weekly for leaks and deterioration. In logs that the Environmental Protection Agency requires manufacturers to maintain, Ricci and other employees created false inspection logs and produced those logs during an EPA site inspection. Ricci and the other employees under his direction created a total of 42 false inspection logs
“EPA’s programs depend so much on truthful and accurate information,” EPA’s Michael E. Hubbard said. “The vigilant manner in which EPA New England’s inspectors discovered this illegal conduct and brought it to our attention serves to underscore our motto, ‘Polluter’s Beware!’ When people attempt to deceive EPA, we will always pursue them vigorously.”
Ricci pleaded guilty to making a false statement under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The maximum penalty is two years n prison and fine of $50,000 for each day of violation. Ricci is free on bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for June 5.