Office of the Attorney General: Bronx Man Pleads Guilty to Causing Asbestos Hazard at Paterson Church by Unlawful Insulation Removal

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 16, 2008

Contact: Peter Aseltine
609-292-4791


TRENTON – Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Deborah Gramiccioni announced that a Bronx, N.Y., man pleaded guilty today to releasing hazardous asbestos dust and debris at a church in Paterson by removing asbestos insulation without a license and without observing federal and state laws intended to protect health and safety.

The unlawful asbestos removal led to the release of asbestos throughout the Friendship Baptist Church at 433 Park Avenue in Paterson, including an area that is leased to a daycare center, A Whole New World Daycare.

According to Director Gramiccioni, Tyrone Maple, 51, of Bronx, N.Y., pleaded guilty to an accusation charging him with a second-degree charge of knowingly causing the unlawful release of a toxic pollutant before Superior Court Judge Marilyn C. Clark in Passaic County. Under the plea agreement, the state will recommend that Maple receive a three-year state prison sentence.

An investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Environmental Crimes Bureau revealed that Maple, a church member who works as a boiler repairman in New York, was not licensed to perform asbestos removal, as required by law, but contracted with the church to remove the asbestos insulation from the church’s basement for $6,200.

“This crime could have posed serious health risks for the young children in that daycare center,” said Attorney General Milgram. “To turn a profit, this defendant took chances with families who had few affordable alternatives for child care. His callous conduct warrants a state prison term.”

In December 2007, a trustee called a plumbing company to repair leaking steam pipes leading from the basement boiler. The pipes were covered with asbestos insulation, so the plumbing company insisted that all asbestos needed to be removed before the repair, including asbestos insulated pipes that were left on the basement floor from a prior repair. The church solicited bids for the asbestos removal, and Maple offered and was hired to do the work, even though he was not licensed to remove asbestos.

Maple removed insulation from the pipes and boiler with two assistants on Dec. 21, 2007. While they wore plastic jump suits and respirators to protect themselves and hung plastic in doorways, they did not follow the requirements of federal and state laws to prevent the release of toxic asbestos dust and debris

Complaints by a member of the congregation led to the church hiring an air monitoring firm on Feb. 1, 2008. The firm discovered elevated levels of asbestos throughout the first floor of the building, including the area leased to the daycare center. The church and daycare center were then shut down for several days while the asbestos dust was removed by a licensed asbestos abatement contractor.

“This defendant clearly understood the hazards posed by the asbestos insulation, given the steps he took to protect himself,” said Director Gramiccioni. “Yet he acted with a complete disregard for the health of the congregation and the children who used this church building.”

Detective Steven Ogulin, Lieutenant Jeffrey Gross, Detective Dawn Ryan and Deputy Attorneys General Phillip Leahy and Betty Rodriguez conducted and coordinated the investigation for the Environmental Crimes Bureau. Deputy Attorneys General Leahy and Rodriguez took today’s guilty plea. The matter was referred to the Environmental Crimes Bureau by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. The New Jersey Department of Labor, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Paterson Building Department and Passaic County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the investigation.

Judge Clark scheduled Maple’s sentencing for Oct. 31.