Environmental Enforcement News

Six men were arrested and had their initial court appearances after being charged in a five-count indictment with violating the Animal Welfare Act in connection with a cockfighting operation. A federal grand jury sitting in Providence, Rhode Island, returned the indictment last week.

Two Puerto Rican men were sentenced for their destruction, removal and fill of protected wetlands in Puerto Rico in violation of the Clean Water Act.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On Friday, Sept. 13, two Puerto Rican men were sentenced for their destruction, removal and fill of protected wetlands in Puerto Rico in violation of the Clean Water Act.

The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a settlement agreement with COBB Tuning Products to resolve claims relating to the manufacture and sale of automotive emission defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act. The settlement requires COBB to pay a civil penalty of just over $2.9 million, based on the company’s limited ability to pay, and to stop the manufacture and sale of defeat devices.

A Puerto Rico man was sentenced today to 14 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine for the destruction and filling of wetlands in violation of the Clean Water Act.

A Puerto Rico man was sentenced to 14 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $10,000 fine for the destruction and filling of wetlands in violation of the Clean Water Act.

North Carolina automotive parts manufacturer and seller, Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. (Rudy’s), and its owner, Aaron Rudolf, have agreed to pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for manufacturing, selling and installing devices, commonly known as “defeat devices,” used to remove or disable required emissions controls in motor vehicles.

North Carolina automotive parts manufacturer and seller, Rudy’s Performance Parts Inc. (Rudy’s), and its owner, Aaron Rudolf, have agreed to pay a total of $10 million in criminal fines and civil penalties for manufacturing, selling and installing devices, commonly known as “defeat devices,” used to remove or disable required emissions controls in motor vehicles.

A federal grand jury indicted Dun Terrius Bradford, 53, of Sale City, Georgia, on charges of illegally possessing 67 dogs for fighting purposes, manufacturing and possessing with intent to distribute cocaine base and possessing five firearms in furtherance of those offenses. The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia unsealed the indictment in conjunction with Bradford’s arrest today.

A Mississippi seafood distributor and two company managers pleaded guilty today to conspiring with others to mislabel seafood and to commit wire fraud by marketing inexpensive and frozen imported substitutes as more expensive and premium local species. 

An indictment was unsealed today in which an individual was charged based on his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.

Clean Harbors Inc. and two of its subsidiaries, Clean Harbors Baton Rouge LLC and Baton Rouge Disposal LLC, have reached an over $5 million agreement with the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up decades-old contamination at the Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site just north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.