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Two Men and Real Estate Partnership Sentenced for Abestos Crimes in Viginia
Release Date: 06/27/2003
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(06/27/03) David Stephen Klein of Heathrow, Fla., and the Davold Real Estate Partnership of Staunton, Va., were sentenced on June 16, and Josef Gene Weiss, on-site supervisor for two Staunton, Va., asbestos removal projects conducted for Klein and Davold, was sentenced on June 17 in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville for violating the Clean Air Act. All defendants previously pled guilty to illegally removing and/or disposing of asbestos from the Towne Center and another building in Staunton. Klein was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, 36 months of supervised release and to pay a $25,000 fine; Weiss was sentenced to 23 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release and to pay a $2,000 fine; and Davold was sentenced to pay a $200,000 fine and serve 24 months of probation. Klein, a medical doctor who previously ran clinics in the Shenandoah Valley, operated buildings in Staunton owned by the Davold Real Estate Partnership, which is a property management company. Homeless men and others were hired to remove asbestos from pipes and boilers. The workers were not trained in proper asbestos removal, not provided with proper safety equipment and were instructed to improperly dispose of the asbestos by dumping it at the Augusta County Landfill and various sites located in Staunton. Failure to use appropriate safety equipment and properly remove and dispose of asbestos can lead to the inhalation of asbestos fibers which is a cause of lung cancer, a lung disease known as “asbestosis”, and mesothelioma which is a cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The case was investigated by the Staunton, Va. Police Department with the assistance of the EPA Criminal Investigation Division and National Enforcement Investigations Center and EPA Region III. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlottesville and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.
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