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Environmental Crimes Bulletin January 2021

In this issue:

United States v. Jarvis Lockett et al., No. 5:21-CR-00003 (M.D. Ga.), ECS Trial Attorney Banu Rangarajan, AUSA William Keyes, and former ECS Senior Trial Attorney Jenn Blackwell

On January 28, 2021, prosecutors unsealed a 136-count indictment charging the following 11 people with violating the Animal Welfare Act, conspiracy, and drug charges: Jarvis Lockett, Derrick Owens, Christopher Raines, Armard Davis, Jason Carter, Shaquille Bentley, Bryanna Holmes, Vernon Vegas, Lekey Davis, Kathy Ann Whitfield, and Rodrick Walton (21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 844, 841; 7 U.S.C. § 2156; 18 U.S.C. §§ 49, 371.)

Between May 2019 and February 2020, Lockett, Owens, Raines, Davis, and Walton participated in a conspiracy to sponsor and exhibit dogs in a dog fight, and possess, train, transport and deliver dogs to use for fights. They attended a number of dog fights during this period and supplied many of the dogs themselves.

Lockett, Owens, Raines, Davis, Carter, Bentley, Holmes, Vegas, Davis, and Whitfield further conspired to possess cocaine base and cocaine, with the intent to distribute. Prosecutors charged Lockett, Davis, Holmes and Walton with additional drug violations.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service and local law enforcement agencies.

United States v. Jimmy W. Hammonds, No. 8:20-CR-00401 (M.D. Fla.), AUSA Colin McDonell

On January 20, 2021, prosecutors charged Jimmy W. Hammonds, also known as “the Monkey Whisperer,” for trafficking in protected primates. Trial is scheduled to begin on July 6, 2021.

Hammonds owned and operated The Monkey Whisperer, LLC, a wildlife breeding and selling business. Between September 2017 and February 2018, Hammonds conspired to sell a capuchin monkey to a buyer in California who did not possess the required documents to legally own a primate. Law enforcement officials later seized the monkey from the residence of the California buyer.

Hammonds illegally sold endangered cotton-top tamarins to buyers in Alabama, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. Hammonds falsified shipping records and also attempted to persuade a witness to lie to a law enforcement officer. Specifically, Hammonds tried to convince a woman who purchased cotton-top tamarins from him to tell law enforcement that she bought them at a flee market instead.

The indictment charges Hammonds with conspiracy, violating the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act, and witness tampering (18 U.S.C §§ 371, 1512(b)(3); 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3), 1538(a)(1), 1540(b)(1)).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted the investigation.

United States v. Patrick Huse, No. 2:21-CR-00002 (E.D. La.), AUSAs Spiro G. Latsis and J. Ryan McLaren

On January 15, 2021, prosecutors charged Patrick Huse with violations related to oil extraction on the Gulf of Mexico. Trial is scheduled for August 9, 2021.

Huse worked as a Person-In-Charge of an oil platform known as Main Pass 310A (MP-310A). In July 2015, workers noticed a sheen on the water indicating the discharge of oil and other hazardous substances into the Gulf. They alerted Huse the likely cause was sand building up in the filtration equipment. Rather than repairing or replacing the equipment, Huse directed the crew to close certain wells, but otherwise kept the platform operating. As a result, the discharges continued for four more days until a worker activated an emergency shutdown device. Around the time of the emergency shutdown, inspectors announced their plans to return to finish an inspection. Huse told the operators to omit mentioning the sheen, but tell inspectors they needed to shutdown in order to clean and replace equipment. Huse also falsified inspection log books, directing crew to note they conducted various inspections, when they had not.

Prosecutors charged Huse with violating the Clean Water Act for negligently and knowingly discharging oil and other hazardous substances into the Gulf, failure to report a discharge, and violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act for causing false statements to be entered into inspection logs (33 U.S.C. §§ 1321(b)(3), 1319(c)(1)(A), 1319(c)(2)(A); 43 U.S.C. § 1350(c)(2)).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General Energy Investigations Unit conducted the investigation.

United States v. Brandon Wall, No. 2:21-CR-00001 (E.D. La.), AUSAs Spiro G. Latsis and J. Ryan McLaren

On January 15, 2021, prosecutors charged Brandon Wall with violations related to oil extraction in the Gulf of Mexico. Trial is scheduled for April 6, 2021.

Wall worked as a foreman for an area that included the oil platform known as Grand Isle 43AA (GI-43AA). In December 2017, the GI-43AA experienced sand buildup problems with its filtration systems. After the crew notified Wall about the problem, he instructed the operators to keep the platform “flowing” instead of shutting down to repair or replace the filtration systems. Wall also told the operators to bypass the platform’s safety systems, which would have automatically “shut-in” the platform. Operators knew that putting safety systems in bypass made the platform less safe and increased the risk of a pollution event. The platform operated in this manner for close to a month.

On January 25, 2018, the platform discharged oil and other hazardous substances into the Gulf, causing a sheen. Operators informed their supervisors, including Wall, who eventually alerted authorities of the discharge.

Prosecutors charged Wall with violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and the Clean Water Act (43 U.S.C. § 1350(c)(3); 33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(1)(A), 1321(b)(3)).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, and the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General Energy Investigations Unit conducted the investigation.

United States v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Inc., et al., No. 4:21CR-00016 (S.D. Tex.), AUSAs John R. Lewis and Belinda Beek and SAUSA Kristina Gonzales

On January 7, 2021, prosecutors charged E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company Inc. (DuPont) and former employee Kenneth Sandel, with violating the Clean Air Act and for  negligently releasing an extremely hazardous substance in November 2014 (42 U.S.C. §§ 7413(c)(4), 7413(c)(1), 7412(r)(7)).

DuPont owns chemical manufacturing plants around the world, including one located in La Porte, Texas. The Insecticide Business Unit (IBU) manufactured pesticides, including Lannate and Vydate. Sandel ran the IBU between 2009 and 2014 as the Unit Operations Leader. The IBU used a variety of chemicals to produce Lannate and Vydate, including methyl mercaptan (also known as MeSH), a highly toxic and flammable gas. A particularly dangerous substance, MeSH cannot always be detected by smell.

Sandel and DuPont engineers devised a plan to divert a large volume of MeSH into a waste gas pipe system during the day before, and night of, the fatal incident. Sandel failed to implement necessary procedures (including key safety provisions required in a Risk Management Plan) to evaluate safety parameters and to prohibit workers from opening the pipe to the atmosphere. As a result, on November 15, 2014, employees released 24,000 pounds of MeSH at the La Porte plant killing four employees and injuring several others.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Texas Environmental Enforcement Task Force.

United States v. Michael  T. Merisola, No.  2:20-CR-00160  (S.D. Ohio),  ECS  Trial  Attorney  Adam Cullman and AUSA Mike Marous

Leopard Mount

On January  29, 2021, Michael T. Merisola pleaded guilty  to violating the  Endangered Species  Act  for illegally  selling  a  mounted leopard  in November 2019  (16  U.S.C. §§  1538(a)(1) (F), 1540(b)(1)).

Merisola operates  a vintage furniture  store in Buffalo, New  York. In August 2019,  he posted a  photograph on his  Instagram  feed of items  for sale,  including  a mounted leopard. In  October 2019, an undercover agent contacted Merisola, who  agreed to sell the leopard  for $4,200. The agent traveled from  Ohio to Buffalo, New  York, and gave Merisola $1,500  as a down payment on the leopard. Merisola also offered to sell an elephant footstool for  $1,200.  After  the agent paid  the  remaining balance on  the leopard and the elephant foot, Merisola arranged to ship them to Ohio.

The U.S.  Fish and Wildlife Service  conducted the  investigation.

United States v. Andrew Walker, No. 3:20-CR-00109  (S.D. Miss.), ECS  Senior  Trial Attorney  Jeremy  Korzenik, AUSA Theodore Cooperstein, and ECS  Paralegal Chloe Harris

 

On January  27,  2021,  Andrew  Walker pleaded guilty  to conspiracy  and illegally  discharging  industrial waste into the Jackson, Mississippi, sewer system  (18  U.S.C. §  371;  33  U.S.C. §  1319(c)(2)(A)). Walker, the owner of Rebel High Velocity  Sewer Services, conspired with an industrial waste generator and transporter (Companies  A  and B)  to  illegally  discharge wastes, avoiding the expense of proper disposal, and evading sewer  usage fees.

In October of 2016, state and municipal  authorities  discovered that  a local  manufacturing company  (Company  A)  had been  discharging  large quantities  of its industrial waste directly  into the sewer, and ordered it  to stop.  A  few  months  later, to avoid  the cost  of pretreatment and legal disposal, Company  A  hired Company  B  (a trucking  firm)  to  transport its  waste to Rebel where they  excavated the Jackson sewer line  servicing Rebel’s  facility. They  surreptitiously  discharged more than three million gallons  of industrial waste into the same Jackson sewer system the manufacturer was prohibited from discharging.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency  Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Mississippi Department  of Environmental Quality conducted the investigation.

United States v. Robert J. Albaugh, No. 4:20-CR-00012 (D. Alaska), AUSA Ryan Tansey

On January 25, 2021, Robert J. Albaugh pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act and for making a false application for a federal Subsistence Hunt Permit (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a) (1), 3373(d)(2); 43 U.S.C. § 1733(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 28, 2021.

Between 2002 and 2018, Albaugh and his wife received a total of 63 Federal Subsistence Hunt permits. They took 23 caribou and a moose using those permits, falsely claiming rural resident status, and taking unfair advantage of subsistence programs in rural Alaska.

The Federal Subsistence Management Program (FSMP) supports rural Alaskans who hunt and fish for subsistence. The program allows participants to use public lands and waters while maintaining healthy populations of fish and wildlife. Subsistence fishing and hunting provide a large share of the food consumed in rural Alaska. Alaska's indigenous inhabitants rely heavily upon the traditional harvest of wild foods; more and more rural nonNative Alaskans rely upon it as well.

The Bureau of Land Management Office of Law Enforcement and Security conducted the investigation, with assistance from Alaska Wildlife Troopers.

United States v. Robert J.  Massey, No.  20-CR-20615  (E.D.  Mich.),  ECS  Senior  Counsel Kris Dighe and AUSAs Anne Nee and Jules DePorre

Oil Chem Facility

On January  14,  2021,  Robert J. Massey  pleaded guilty  to violating  the Clean Water Act  for illegally  discharging landfill leachate (totaling more than 47  million gallons)  into the Flint sanitary  sewer system  (POTW)  from  more  than eight years  (33  U.S.C. §  1319(c)(2) (A)).  Sentencing is scheduled for May 14, 2021.

Massey  owns  Oil Chem  Inc., a company that  reclaims  and blends  petroleum  wastes  into usable product.  In 2008, Oil Chem  received a pretreatment permit  allowing it  to discharge its  liquid waste stream to the POTW. The  pretreatment permit  prohibited the discharge of organic waste, including landfill leachate.

With this  knowledge, starting in 2007, Massey  contracted for Oil Chem  to receive leachate from  a number of Michigan landfills. Workers  offloaded  the leachate from  incoming tanker trucks  to a tank onsite (number 103). On a daily  basis, Oil Chem  employees  connected a hose to tank 103, discharging untreated landfill leachate overnight  directly into the sanitary  sewer. That  practice continued until the City of Flint intervened in 2015.  One  of the landfills  contacted the POTW  directly  about discharging  to the sanitary  sewer (to bypass Oil Chem) and disclosed that their leachate contained PCBs.

Oil Chem  received an estimated $1.2  million from  illegally  discharging  close to  48  million gallons of leachate into the sewer.

The U.S.  Environmental Protection Agency  Criminal Investigation Division and the  Michigan Department of Natural Resources  Law  Enforcement Division conducted  the  investigation.

United States v. Kevin Charles et al., No. 1:18-CR-00058  (M.D. Ga.), ECS  Trial  Attorney Ethan Eddy, AUSA Jim Crane, and ECS Paralegal Gillian Grubb

On  January  13,  2021, Kevin  Charles  pleaded guilty  to one count of  conspiring  to violate the animal fighting  prohibitions  of the federal Animal Welfare Act, and one count of  possessing  a dog for purposes  of having the dog participate in an animal fighting  venture   (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 49; 7 U.S.C. §§  2156(a)(1), 2156(b)).

Prosecutors  charged Charles  and 11  others  in a 37-count indictment based largely  on a “two-card” dog fight in Sumter County, Georgia, that  agents raided while in progress  on January  21, 2017. One  of the defendants traveled from  Florida to attend and exhibit  dogs  in the fight.  Authorities  recovered two  injured dogs  and one dead dog from  the scene  of the fight, along with several firearms and more than $18,000 in U.S. currency.

Charles  brought a dog  scheduled for the second fight. Law  enforcement disrupted the event just before the second card commenced. After executing a search warrant at Charles’ residence, agents seized seven  fighting dogs  housed on chains, as well as fighting  equipment. All of the dogs  displayed scars  and injuries  consistent  with dog fighting.  Authorities also recovered a pistol and $1,700 in cash from Charles.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the  investigation.

United States v. Steven Demoss et al., No. 4:18-CR-00015  (W.D. Ky.), AUSA  Corinne Keel and SAUSAs Jason Grover and Dana Ferguson

On January  12, 2021, Steven  Demoss  (a Safety  Director at Parkway  Mine owned by  Armstrong Coal Company)  pleaded guilty  to violating  the Mine Safety and Health Act for  interfering  with dust-sampling procedures  (30  U.S.C. §  820(c)). Demoss  was the third defendant to plead guilty, following Ron  Ivy  in  May  2019,  and Billie Hearld in September 2019. A  fourth, Jeremy  Hackney, agreed to pre-trial diversion in January  2021. Trial is  scheduled to begin against the remaining defendants on August 26, 2021.

The case  involves  seven  former supervisory  and safety  officials at two mines  formerly  owned by  Armstrong Coal Company. Prosecutors  declined to charge Armstrong  since it  declared bankruptcy  in November 2017. Prosecutors  charged the defendants with  conspiracy  to defraud the Mine Safety  and Health Administration (MSHA) by committing  dust-sampling fraud (18  U.S.C. §  371.)  They  attempted to interfere with lawful dust sampling at the Parkway  and  Kronos  mines  in a number of  ways, including removing   personal dust monitors  from  miners  designated  to obtain actual readings, shutting  off dust  monitors  before the end of the sampling  period, running dust monitors  in clean  rooms  to dilute the time-weighted sample  averages,  and falsifying dust-sampling  certification cards  submitted to MSHA.

MSHA’s dust-sampling regulations  protect miners  from  pneumoconiosis, commonly known as "black lung,"  and silicosis, the most common coal-mine dust-caused diseases. By  circumventing  the dust-sampling procedures, Armstrong and its  co-conspirators, avoided implementing ventilation and production controls  that  might cost more or slowed  production, thus  saving  money  at the expense of exposing  miners  to elevated levels  of respirable coal dust.

The defendants represent corporate agents at every level of Armstrong’s  management,  including Section Foremen  Billie  Hearld, Jeremy  Hackney, and Dwight Fulkerson; Safety Department Sampler John Ellis  Scott; Assistant Safety  Director  Steven  Demoss; Safety Directors Brian Casebier and Ron  Ivy; Superintendent of Parkway  Mine Charley  Barber; and  the manager of all of Armstrong Coal’s western Kentucky mines, Glendal Hardison.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration conducted the investigation.

United States v.  Pittsburgh  Water  and Sewer  Authority et  al., Nos.  2:20-CR00342, 00360 (W.D. Penn.), AUSA Michael Ivory and SAUSA Martin Harrell

On January  12, 2021, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority  (PWSA), the second  largest municipal water authority  in Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty  to one  count of violating a  condition of its  National Pollutant Discharged Elimination  System  (NPDES) permit (under the Clean Water Act) and making a false statement (33  U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(4), 1311,  1342,  1319(c)(2)).  Sentencing is scheduled for May 18, 2021.

The investigation initially  centered on the PSWA’s  drinking water treatment plant located on the  banks  of  the Allegheny  River. As  the investigation progressed, it focused on  the treatment and disposition of clarifier sludge.

The process  of transforming raw, untreated water into potable drinking  water requires  several steps. Workers  add  chemicals  to the water causing the solids to clump together. Afterwards, they  pump  the water to sedimentation basins, where it  sits  for a period of time. They  then  transfer the water to the Clarifier Building,  where it undergoes  additional processing. Workers  move the sludge created at  this  stage to a holding facility  (known as the sludge pit) with pipes leading to a sewer line, as  well as  the river.

Periodically, workers  cleaned and drained the  clarifiers, pumping the  accumulated  sludge  into the sludge  pit. They  referred to the wastewater generated during this process  as “clarifier blowdown.”

The NPDES  permit  only authorized the Authority  to discharge rainwater and clarifier  blowdown directly  into the river. On a  number of occasions  between  2010  and 2017,  however, plant supervisors  and other personnel discharged raw, untreated clarifier sludge directly into the river.  These discharges  only occurred when  workers shut down the  clarifiers  for cleaning. The sludge removed daily  automatically  flowed via the sludge pit  and piping to the wastewater treatment plant.

In addition to the NPDES permit, regulators required the Authority to comply with an Industrial User permit. This permit allowed it to discharge one million gallons of sludge per day to the publically owned treatment works. The PWSA installed sludge flow monitors at the sludge pit and the clarifier basins to measure and monitor the sludge. The biannual Self Compliance Monitor Reports (SCMR) submitted to regulators included this flow meter data. By approximately late December 2014, four of the flow meters failed to operate. Instead of fixing the meters, a plant supervisor directed personnel to use estimated numbers extrapolated from the data provided by the unbroken meters. They included this data on multiple SCMRs. The SCMRs also falsely stated that plant personnel regularly checked the flow meters and calibrated them. Employees repaired the meters only after one of them alerted investigators to the problem.

Plant supervisor, Glenn Lijewsky, is charged with conspiracy and violating the Clean Water Act.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

United States v. Perla Moreno-Gomez, No. 3:20-CR-02910 (S.D. Calif.), ECS Trial Attorney Steve DaPonte and AUSA Melanie Pierson

On January 11, 2021, Perla Moreno-Gomez pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and to failing to present a vehicle and merchandise for inspection (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for April 5, 2021.

Authorities apprehended Moreno-Gomez in September 2020, as she attempted to smuggle three 950-milliliter bottles of "Malathion 1000," a Mexican pesticide, into the United States from Mexico.

Those involved in clandestine marijuana grows use illegal pesticides to cultivate unregulated marijuana on both public and private land in the United States.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Khaled Ebrigit et al., Nos. 2:19-CR-00252, 2:20-CR-00014 (S.D. Ohio),  ECS  Trial Attorney  Adam Cullman, and AUSA Mike Marous

Leaking drums abandoned in parking lot

On January  28,  2021, a  court sentenced Khaled Ebrigit  to 18  months’ home confinement, as a condition of  threeyears’ probation. Ebrigit also will pay  a $36,310  fine, $33,690  in restitution, and perform  780  hours  of  community  service. Ebrigit  pleaded guilty  to conspiring to violate  the Resource Conservation and Recovery  Act (RCRA)  for illegally  transporting  and disposing  of hazardous waste (18  U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. §§ 6928(d)(1),(d)(2)(A)).

In October 2018, Conrex  Property  Management paid  Ebrigit  $5,000  to remove  drums  containing “chemical substances” from  behind a property  the company purchased. Ebrigit  paid  Martin Eldridge $400  to  dispose of three 55-gallon drums  and 64  ten-gallon  drums, most of which were clearly  labeled "flammable"  with detailed  handling precaution  instructions. Fluids leaked from  many  of the drums. Eldridge loaded the drums  into his  van and dropped them  off  next to dumpsters  at several apartment complexes  throughout Columbus. Emergency  personnel responded to reports of the illegal  dumping, collecting  the  drums, and performing  site cleanup. Eldridge  previously  pleaded guilty  to  violating RCRA  and is scheduled for sentencing on March 3, 2021.

The U.S.  Environmental Protection  Agency  Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio  Environmental Protection Agency,  and the  Franklin County  Sheriff’s  office conducted the  investigation.

United States v. Bonnie Dennee  et al.,  Nos. 3:20-CR-00054, 0055, 0056, 122  (W.D. Wisc.), AUSA Dan  Graber  and  RCEC  James Cha

Crushed CRT Glass

On January  26,  2021,  a court  sentenced Bonnie Dennee  to five months’ incarceration, followed by  three  years’ supervised release. Dennee pleaded guilty  to conspiring to violate the Resource Conservation  and Recovery  Act (18 U.S.C. § 371.)

Dennee worked for  5R Processors  Ltd. (5R). The company  recycled electronic  equipment and appliances, operating several facilities  and  warehouses  in Wisconsin, and one  in Tennessee. Workers  broke down parts  from  electronic  components  (including computer monitors  and televisions)  for  resale. They separated lead-containing cathode ray tubes (CRTs) from clean glass that they sold. Codefendant Thomas Drake founded the company in 1988, serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors. Drake oversaw all aspects of the company’s operations, including environmental and worker safety compliance. Codefendant James Moss joined 5R in 2007, and began managing all plant operations as president in 2010. Dennee joined the company in 1997, holding many positions, including Executive Vice President and Director of Environmental, Health, Safety and Certifications.

Up until 2011, 5R paid for shipment of the lead-containing CRT glass for proper disposal. Between 2011 and 2016, the defendants and others conspired to store broken, crushed, and hazardous CRT glass at unpermitted facilities in Wisconsin and Tennessee. They transported the hazardous waste without required manifests, and concealed their activities from regulators by, among other things: changing the dates on containers; hiding containers inside semi-trailers; stacking pallets in front of containers making it impossible for regulators to inspect them; giving regulators inaccurate shipping records; and storing containers in warehouses without electricity kept deliberately dark.

A court sentenced Moss in November 2020 to 18 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, with restitution to be determined at a later date. On January 15, 2021, the court ordered Moss to pay $3.9 million in restitution, after pleading guilty to conspiring to violate RCRA and evading the payment of employment taxes and income taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. Drake is not yet scheduled for trial. Prosecutors charged co-defendant Kevin Shibilski in September 2020 on RCRA charges as well as wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the IRS (42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(2)(A),18 §§ 1343, 371, 981(a)(1)(c), 982, 2461(c)).

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, conducted the investigation.

United States v. Cynthia Macias-Martinez, No. 3:20-CR-00353 (N.D. Tex.), AUSA Douglas B. Brasher

On January 25, 2021, a court sentenced Cynthia Macias-Martinez to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation. Macias-Martinez pleaded guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) (16 U.S.C. §§ 703,707).

Between June 2017 and April 2019, Macias-Martinez, owner of a Dallas mystic shop, sold dried hummingbird carcasses known as “chuparosas,” without a valid permit.

Some believe “chuparosas” impart mystical benefits and use them as amulets or charms. Hummingbirds are protected by the MBTA. The defendant acquired carcasses illegally imported and smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Lua Hai Peng et al., No. 1:20-CR-00031 (D. Guam), ECS Trial Attorney Steve DaPonte and AUSA Marivic David

 On January 19, 2021, a court sentenced two individuals for illegally discharging oil  from the M/T Kota Harum.

In October 2019, an individual with the Port Authority of Guam notified the National Response Center of an oil discharge from the Kota Harum in Apra Harbor, Guam. The U.S. Coast Guard responded and found oil in the water near the vessel. During a subsequent inspection, several crewmembers admitted that they failed to utilize the oil water separator and routinely discharged the oily bilge water into the harbor.

Chief Engineer Maung Maung Soe pleaded guilty to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and will complete a two-year term of probation (33 U.S.C. § 1908(a)). Second Engineer Lua Hai Peng pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) and will complete a one-year term of probation (33 U.S.C. § 1321 (b)(3), 1319(c)(2) (A)). Both defendants must submit letters of apology to the People of Guam and the Port Authority. The court also banned them from working as vessel engineers during their respective terms of probation.

A court sentenced Pacific International Lines (Private) Limited (PIL), on February 18, 2021, to pay a $3 million fine and complete a four-year term of probation, during which all vessels operated by the company and calling on U.S. ports must implement a robust Environmental Compliance Plan. The company pleaded guilty to violating APPS and the CWA for the actions of its crew.

The U.S. Coast Guard conducted the investigation.

United States v. William C. Blackstone, No. 5:21-CR-00004 (E.D. Tex.), AUSA Jim Noble

On January 19, 2021, a court sentenced William C. Blackstone to pay a $4,500 fine, after pleading guilty to violating the Lacey Act for negligently transporting wildlife taken in violation of state law (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(2)). The court also ordered Blackstone to forfeit his hunting equipment.

On three days in November 2019, Blackstone harvested whitetail deer in Oklahoma and transported them to Texas, without properly attaching his name, the time and date of harvest, and his Oklahoma license number to the carcasses. Blackstone also paid additional fines in Texas and Oklahoma related to state proceedings.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, conducted the investigation.

United States v. Samuel G. Graber, No. 1:20-CR-00026 (N.D. Ind.), AUSA Stacey R. Speith

On January 11, 2021, a court sentenced Samuel G. Graber to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a six month term of probation, after pleading guilty to violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (18 U.S.C. § 703, 707(a)). On November 2, 2019, Graber unlawfully killed a bald eagle.

The case U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducted the investigation.

Environmental Crimes Bulletin

Updated December 5, 2023
Component
Environment and Natural Resources Division

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