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FLORIDA WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL STORAGE OF CHEMICALS
Release Date: 04/26/2001
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 2001
FLORIDA WOMAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
ILLEGAL STORAGE OF CHEMICALS
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / [email protected]
ILLEGAL STORAGE OF CHEMICALS
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / [email protected]
On April 16, Liliana Guzman-Haynes, formerly of Miami, Fla., pleaded guilty to violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. The defendant was an owner of Olympic International Freight Forwarders, Inc., a South Florida freight company that shipped chemicals to Latin America. In 1997, four cargo pallates of chemical containers that were originally consigned to Olympic International in 1991 and l992, were discovered dumped in western Dade County, Fla. The containers were in extremely poor condition and contained carcinogens, acids, and poisons such as acetone, nitric acid, ethyl ether, nitrobenzene and toluene which presented a significant fire and explosion hazard. Over a period of several years and through several different companies and locations, the chemicals were illegally stored by Guzman-Haynes. When sentenced, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. In addition, the plea agreement requires Guzman-Haynes to make restitution of $29,095.54 to the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resource Management for costs associated with the cleanup and disposal of the chemicals. EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, the county Environmental Crimes Unit, the Miami-Dade Police Department’s Environmental Crimes Unit, the Dade County State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Law Enforcement investigated the case. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami.
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