Tons of hazardous waste abandoned by evicted Charlotte company, indictment says

A Charlotte hazardous waste company illegally abandoned more than 10,000 gallons of liquid waste and five tons of solid waste, a federal grand jury charged in indictments this week.

An indictment was returned Wednesday, said U.S. Attorney Jill Westmoreland Rose’s office.

It charges Parts Cleaning Technology of North Carolina, owner David Russ Crandell of Novi, Mich., and employees Timothy Michael Connell of Concord and Vincent Edward Peters of York, S.C., with one count of conspiracy to illegally store hazardous waste, one count of illegal storage of hazardous waste without a permit, and one count of illegal storage of hazardous waste in violation of a permit. Connelly and Peters are also charged with making false official statements to regulators.

PCT was in the business of collecting and shipping hazardous waste, the indictment says, and stored waste in unpermitted trailers on the company’s property on Cullman Avenue. The company was evicted from the property in 2014 but left the waste behind, it says.

State regulators found the waste in 2015, the indictment says.

The conspiracy charge against the company and individuals carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 fine, Rose’s office said. The illegal storage charge can be punished by up to five years in prison and a fine of $50,000 per day of violation, and the false statements charge up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

This story was originally published May 18, 2017 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Tons of hazardous waste abandoned by evicted Charlotte company, indictment says."