Chris Pfuhl/AP
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Scanning the faces on the EPA's Fugitives website, you'll find a crop of criminals that would look right at home in any B-movie police lineup scene. Scowling, old Mafioso types to your garden variety street thug, the mug shots on display seem the very caricatures of hardened crooks. But these perps have made the list for committing very unique crimes.
Each of the persons on EPA's Most Wanted Fugitives are, predictably, wanted for breaking environmental laws—often in addition to a bunch of other ones—in very big ways. And these rap sheets read unlike any you've probably seen before.
Take Mahmoud Almchie's for example: (from the EPA Fugitive's site)
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So far, pretty standard, but...
- Almhchie was arrested with one hundred and five (105) thirty pound cylinders of ozone depleting contraband.
Thirty pound cylinders of "ozone depleting contraband"? Too bad it doesn't list what exactly that was...
Or, let's take a look at one of my personal favorites—Denis L. Feron.
- Feron, the owner of Chemetco, was charged in the Southern District of Illinois.
- Alleged violations include:
- Illegal discharge of hazardous pollutants
- Chemetco had a secret pipe installed behind its facility that was discharging pollutants into a tributary of the Mississippi River.
- Feron fled prior to trial and remains at large. He is believed to be residing in Belgium.
That slimy bastard. The laundry list of crimes committed by these criminals is often simply dumbfounding. Here's a sampling:
Illegal transportation, storage and disposal of mercury contaminated soil...involved in the illegal discharge of tons of oil-contaminated grain from his ship, into the ocean...Aiding and Abetting false entries into an Oil Record Book...Illegal discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States...Illegal asbestos removal (this guy fled the country to Poland for illegally removing asbestos!).
Anyhow, the list goes on. Log onto the EPA's website for more info on these un-green fugitives, and to learn what to do if you spot one. (Hint: do not attempt a citizen's arrest.) It's a weird, surreal read, but it's also sobering account of the extreme disregard some still harbor for the environment.
More on the EPA:
Greenvention: EPA meets Google Green Google Earth
EPA Gives $565 Million of Stimulus Cash for Water Projects in the South
EPA Proposes First Nationwide Greenhouse Gas Reporting System
