EXTERMINATOR ARRESTED FOR ILLEGAL USE OF PESTICIDE
Sprayed Malathion Around Baby Crib in Quincy Home
BOSTON, Mass. - An Everett man was charged today in federal court with knowingly misusing a federally regulated pesticide when he sprayed a Quincy apartment with malathion, a pesticide used primarily in large scale farming.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Michael Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, announced today that JOSIMAR FERREIRA, 36, of Everett, was charged in a criminal complaint with violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) by knowingly applying in residential apartments a pesticide approved only for outdoor use.
The criminal complaint alleges that FERREIRA, an illegal alien from Brazil, ran an extermination company in Everett, called TVF Pest Control, Inc. The company was in the business of applying pesticide in homes and business throughout the Boston area. At any given time in the last three years, the company had a staff of three to five individuals who were hired and paid by FERREIRA. It is alleged that, although Massachusetts law required the company to have at least one license contractor on staff, FERREIRA and at least seven company employees failed the state licensing exam, and consequently the company operated without a licenced applicator.
It is further alleged that in one particular instance in December 2009, FERREIRA, operating without a state license, sprayed apartments in Quincy at the request of the property manager. Unbeknownst to the residents, FERREIRA allegedly used malathion, a pesticide for which EPA has forbidden indoor use. Malathion is used primary for agricultural and industrial purposes. FERREIRA allegedly sprayed malathion throughout the apartments, including on a baby crib. It is alleged that when state inspectors later asked about what he sprayed, FERREIRA claimed that he used another chemical that was approved for indoor use.
The case is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Mitchell and Anton Geidt, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Kenyon.
The details contained in the complaint are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
