BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The owners of a Morgan City wastewater brokerage have been charged in Baton Rouge federal court for alleged participation in a conspiracy that illegally injected more than 380,000 gallons of industrial wastes down a well in Assumption Parish.
On Monday, Raymond Marcel Jr., of Berwick, and Cyril D. Robicheaux, of Morgan City, were charged with a felony by U.S. Attorney Donald J. Cazayoux Jr.
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Both Marcel and Robicheaux were accused of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and violate the Safe Drinking Water Act.
The Advocate reports (http://bit.ly/19etz4z ) charged with the same offense was RAM Environmental Services LLC, the Morgan City firm owned by Marcel and Robicheaux.
“They put stuff in that well that was far from hazardous,” said attorney C. Frank Holthaus, who represents the firm and its owners. “It was truck wash, stuff like that.”
Holthaus added, however, that all three of his clients have agreed to plead guilty in the case.
“We’re not fighting this,” Holthaus said. “My clients have cooperated with the government from the beginning and have reached a plea agreement.”
The case was investigated by the criminal investigation divisions of both the EPA and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Cazayoux said in a written statement Monday.
The charge pending against Marcel and Robicheaux carries a possible five-year prison term and possible fine of $250,000 for each man, Cazayoux said. Against RAM, the charge could mean a five-year term of probation for the company and a fine of $250,000.
According to the charge, that’s because former FAS operations manager Michael J. Vaughn, 33, of Addis, accepted a combined total of $22,893 in kickbacks from Robicheaux and Marcel in 2011 and 2012.
Vaughn pleaded guilty on May 29 and faces the same possible penalties confronting Marcel and Robicheaux.
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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com
