ASBESTOS REMOVAL
Feds seek exemplary sentence against woman who hired illegal asbestos removal workers

February 12, 2009 – A Massachusetts businesswoman is scheduled to face sentencing in federal district court next week after being convicted of employing some 800 untrained illegal immigrants as asbestos removal workers, providing them with false identifications and evading taxes, the Boston Globe reported today.

The conviction effectively shuts down the largest asbestos removal training school and employment agency in the state. Court papers show that her business had a gross unreported payroll of $4.6 million from 2002 to 2006.

The woman, 39, originally from the Dominican Republic and a U.S. citizen for 15 years, faces years of imprisonment. “The government is going to seek a sentence that sends a loud and clear message to the asbestos industry that it is extraordinarily important that workers be properly trained to handle asbestos, both for their own safety and to protect the public,” said the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case.

The case comes on the heals of another serious asbestos infraction from Massachusetts. In January, an asbestos removal case in Boston resulted in the indictment of a real estate firm accused of similar crimes.

Illegal asbestos removal workers

Prosecutors said the defendant owned two companies, Environmental Compliance Training Inc. and Methuen Abatement Staffing Inc., which trained and certified workers in the removal of asbestos and employed them throughout New England.

Environmental Compliance Training reportedly issued false asbestos-removal training certificates and arranged for workers from other countries to obtain false U.S. Social Security cards. Prosecutors said she also evaded payroll taxes and workers’ compensation insurance premiums by paying hundreds of employees under the table.

The woman was convicted on all charges after a two-week trial in November, but appealed the case last month and is currently under house arrest in Andover pending her sentencing next Wednesday.

The truth about asbestos

Despite the potentially fatal health consequences associated with asbestos exposure, asbestos is still imported and used in the United States for its insulation properties. The United States imported and used an estimated 1,820 tons of asbestos in 2007, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Government sources estimate that in the next decade more than 35,000 people nationwide will be diagnosed with the deadliest form of asbestos-related cancer, mesothelioma. This disease is most often the result of industrial workplace exposure to asbestos – and usually contracted through employers’ blatant disregard for the health and safety of their workers. That’s why people diagnosed with mesothelioma and their family members have strong cases in court.

Weitz & Luxenberg has protected workers’ legal rights for 25 years. And in that time the firm's mesothelioma lawyers have won several billion dollars in verdicts and settlements for clients.

We will pursue your claim with vigilance to help you pay for medical bills, lost wages and damages. There is no cost to you until we negotiate a financial settlement or win a jury verdict in your favor. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or any asbestos-related disease, and seek FREE legal guidance, you are urged to contact us through the communication form on this page.