NEWS RELEASE
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
BETH PHILLIPS
Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106
www.usdoj.gov/index.html
JUNE 29, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TWO KANSAS CITY DEVELOPERS INDICTED FOR IMPROPER HANDLING OF ASBESTOS
ASBESTOS MATERIALS IMPROPERLY REMOVED FROM
CITADEL PLAZA REDEVELOPMENT SITE IN MIDTOWN
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that two Kansas City, Mo., men were indicted today by a federal grand jury for improperly removing and disposing of asbestos-containing materials in connection with work at The Citadel Plaza Redevelopment Site.
William M. Threatt, Jr., 69, and Anthony Crompton, 40, of Kansas City, Mo., were indicted on two counts each for violations of the criminal provisions of the Clean Air Act. Threatt was the president and owner operator of The Citadel Plaza Redevelopment Site, and Crompton was an operator for the site and a real estate director for Community Development Corporation of Kansas City. According to the indictment, the men directed the workers who performed demolition work on the site. The Citadel Plaza Redevelopment is located in midtown Kansas City, Mo. and is bounded by 60th Street on the north, 63rd Street on the south, Prospect Avenue on the east, and Brooklyn Avenue on the west.
According to today’s indictment, from April 2001 to July 2006, during the demolition and renovation of The Citadel Plaza Redevelopment Site, Threatt and Crompton violated the Clean Air Act in the process of removing and disposing of regulated asbestos-containing materials from numerous structures located onsite. The Clean Air Act's asbestos work practice standards describe the appropriate procedures for the notification and safe handling, stripping, removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials during renovation or demolition to prevent emissions of particulate asbestos material into the air.
According to the indictment, Threatt and Crompton failed to properly inspect the site for asbestos, remove asbestos materials prior to commencing work that could disturb the materials, ensure that asbestos materials were adequately wetted or otherwise captured in a ventilation system to reduce dust prior to disposal, ensure that asbestos materials were placed in leak-tight containers bearing warning labels, ensure that proper shipment records were maintained, ensure that a properly trained person in asbestos removal procedures was present at all times, ensure that asbestos waste was transported off-site in properly labeled containers, and ensure that asbestos waste was disposed of at approved disposal sites. The defendants are further charged with failing to provide advance written notice to the Environmental Protection Agency or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources regarding their intent to demolish or renovate a facility containing asbestos, the dates for the project, and the procedures they planned to use.
Under federal statutes, Threatt and Crompton are subject to sentences of up to seven years in federal prison without parole, plus fines up to $500,000.
This case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Ketchmark. It was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division.
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