Fort Wayne recycler gets jail time

The former president of a Fort Wayne barrel recycling plant where toxic waste was left behind when the company closed in 2003 has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

Alan D. Hersh was also ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution during a hearing in federal court on Monday.

Prosecutors say Hersh's firm, Hassan Barrel Co., left behind leaking barrels full of caustic chemicals and open pits where the company apparently dumped hazardous waste into the ground.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has removed more than 10,000 full or empty barrels from the site a few blocks from an elementary school.

Hersh brushed aside questions from reporters as he left the courtroom.

The following news release was issued by The United States Attorney's Office of the Northern District of Indiana:

Fort Wayne, IN—The United States Attorney’s Office and the Northern District of Indiana Environmental Crimes Task Force announced today the sentencing of ALAN HERSH to 15 months imprisonment to be followed by 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $1,704,020.07 to the US EPA Superfund for cleanup costs for his criminal conviction under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for unlawful storage and disposal of RCRA hazardous waste at the Hassan Barrel Company, Inc. facility located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The sentence was imposed in the United States District, Northern District of Indiana, Judge Theresa L. Springmann presiding, where Hersh previously pleaded guilty to one (1) felony violation of storing and disposing of hazardous waste without a RCRA Treatment, Storage and Disposal permit.

 

Alan Hersh, 57, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was the President and owner of Hassan Barrel Company, Inc. an industrial drum reconditioning facility located at 1605 Summer Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana. For years, Hersh accumulated and stored drums of hazardous waste on site until about October 31, 2003, when Hassan Barrel went out of business and Hersh abandoned the facility. Thousands of drums were left scattered throughout the site. Neither Hersh nor Hassan Barrel ever had a RCRA Treatment, Storage and Disposal permit. Upon discovery of the abandoned facility in approximately October 2004, U.S. EPA-Superfund commenced an emergency removal. U.S. EPA-Superfund continues to address further remedial measures that may be necessary to address contamination at the site.

 

"The defendant's illegal storage and disposal of hazardous wastes created a risk to the public and the environment that had to be cleaned up by the federal government," said Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge. "This sentence reflects the seriousness of the crime committed."

The criminal charges are part of a criminal investigation jointly undertaken by the Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management Office of Criminal Investigation, which are part of the Northern District of Indiana Environmental Crimes Task Force. Members of the task force include:

United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana

Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice

United States Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division

Department of Homeland Security - United States Coast Guard Investigative Service

Federal Bureau of Investigation

United States Fish and Wildlife Service

United States Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General

United States Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General

Indiana Department of Environmental Management – Office of Criminal Investigations

Indiana Department of Natural Resources – Law Enforcement Division

Indiana Attorney General’s Office

Indiana State Police

The Task Force encourages citizens in the Northern District of Indiana to report environmental crimes to 312-886-9872 or at the website http://www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints/index.html.http://epa.gov/compliance/

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lovita Morris King and Special Assistant United States Attorney David P. Mucha.