SYRACUSE - A prosecutor said a county-employed carpenter's truthfulness over the illegal removal of a cancer-causing material in a county office building will affect the prosecutor's sentencing recommendation.
John Chick, 64, has admitted to illegally removing and ordering another county employee and county jail inmates to help carry out the removal of asbestos material from the Cayuga County Board of Elections building in February.
As expected, Chick pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. Northern District Court in Syracuse to a charge that he committed conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Air Act. His plea conditions include cooperating with the prosecution and undertaking restitution to the victims of the Clean Air Act violation.
Regulations require the sampling for asbestos during repair projects to prevent the spread of the carcinogenic material into the nearby atmosphere.
Senior District Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. said that he will reserve decision on Chick's sentence until a pre-sentencing report is prepared. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Benedict also reserved on his sentencing recommendation.
Chick could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release when he is sentenced 10 a.m. June 5.
“One of the things that will be taken into consideration is if Mr. Chick decides to truthfully cooperate. I emphasize truthfully cooperate,” Benedict said.
Chick's plea satisfied charges that he improperly disposed of 500 linear feet of asbestos-riddled debris in the city of Auburn's landfill without informing officials; that he lied to federal agents about his role in removing the boiler and pipes; that he took copper piping from the project to sell for his personal gain; and that he denied protective gear to a county worker and five prison inmates assigned to work on the project.
As part of his plea, a charge was dropped that he allegedly threatened to kill former county employee Anthony Garropy, who is a witness in the case and says that he was fired because he complained to other employees about removing asbestos without proper protective gear.
As Senior District Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. prepared to take Chick's plea, Chick, his attorney Paul Carey and Benedict were asked to stand in front of the judge's elevated bench situated under a pink marble backdrop with the seal of the U.S. Northern District of New York mounted in the middle.
After entering his plea, Chick, dressed in an aqua buttoned-down shirt and black slacks, silently watched as Carey gave interviews to the media outside of the courthouse.
Carey said his client was a man with a 10th-grade education who was following orders from superiors. He claimed that the decision to illegally remove a county boiler and pipes covered with asbestos in February was made by county higher-ups who “apparently wanted to cut costs.”
Carey claimed that when the boiler was installed in the BOE building in 1998, that it was done with the knowledge that it had asbestos on it. The boiler had to be removed in February after it caught fire and melted controls.
“It's going to come to light persons higher up in government knew that the boiler and pipes were covered in an amount of asbestos,” Carey said.
While Chick “feels some responsibility if (health) problems result,” Carey said that greater blame rest with Chick's supervisors who ordered him to undertake inappropriate activity.
County Manager Wayne Allen said in a prepared statement because of Chick's guilty plea that “we cannot speculate on Mr. Chick's statements that others were involved. We will know the facts when these investigations are completed. I can assure you, the County has been taking the necessary steps to prevent anything like this from happening again.”
The ongoing investigation prohibits commenting on whether other people will be indicted in the case, Benedict said.
Chick has not made any appearances to testify in front of a grand jury, Carey said.
Asbestos was released into a county garage, the BOE building, the county courthouse, a connecting tunnel and the sewer system because of asbestos-contaminated water, Benedict said.
The BOE was closed Aug. 11 because of positive asbestos testing and only reopened four months later after an abatement project was completed. State and federal officials began investigating how the asbestos removal was carried out in July.
Chick is still currently on paid administrative leave from his hourly carpenter's job in the Buildings and Ground department. Allen said that the county will begin disciplinary proceedings against Chick because of his plea.
Auburn attorney Carl DePalma represents the claimants who have filed notices of claim about possible exposure to asbestos. He said that he had not seen the court documents regarding Chick's plea, so he declined comment on how it might impact his clients.
DePalma said that he and the county's attorneys have agreed to pause the litigation process until investigators can complete their inquiry.
But DePalma expects that the next step in the civil litigation - 50-h hearings where the county can explore the basis of each claim - will be scheduled soon.
Benedict said that requiring Chick to pay restitution is a matter of course, but that any restitution amount has not yet been tabulated.
Allen has replaced Cayuga County Legislator Ann Petrus as the county's spokesperson on the asbestos issue.
Allen said the county is cooperating with the investigation and is taking the steps to prevent asbestos exposure from occurring again. Those measures, he said, including retaining a physician to monitor all people believed to have been exposed to asbestos, working to centralize the maintenance undertaken by the Building and Grounds department and requiring the hiring of licensed asbestos abatement contractors when asbestos is found during a work project.
“It's clear from the legislature, and they've made it clear to me, their primary concern is the safety of all the employees and the public, especially when the public comes into the building,” Allen said.
Cayuga County Legislature Chairman George Fearon did not return a phone call for comment.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
As expected, Chick pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. Northern District Court in Syracuse to a charge that he committed conspiracy to violate the federal Clean Air Act. His plea conditions include cooperating with the prosecution and undertaking restitution to the victims of the Clean Air Act violation.
Regulations require the sampling for asbestos during repair projects to prevent the spread of the carcinogenic material into the nearby atmosphere.
Senior District Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. said that he will reserve decision on Chick's sentence until a pre-sentencing report is prepared. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Benedict also reserved on his sentencing recommendation.
Chick could face up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release when he is sentenced 10 a.m. June 5.
“One of the things that will be taken into consideration is if Mr. Chick decides to truthfully cooperate. I emphasize truthfully cooperate,” Benedict said.
Chick's plea satisfied charges that he improperly disposed of 500 linear feet of asbestos-riddled debris in the city of Auburn's landfill without informing officials; that he lied to federal agents about his role in removing the boiler and pipes; that he took copper piping from the project to sell for his personal gain; and that he denied protective gear to a county worker and five prison inmates assigned to work on the project.
As part of his plea, a charge was dropped that he allegedly threatened to kill former county employee Anthony Garropy, who is a witness in the case and says that he was fired because he complained to other employees about removing asbestos without proper protective gear.
As Senior District Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. prepared to take Chick's plea, Chick, his attorney Paul Carey and Benedict were asked to stand in front of the judge's elevated bench situated under a pink marble backdrop with the seal of the U.S. Northern District of New York mounted in the middle.
After entering his plea, Chick, dressed in an aqua buttoned-down shirt and black slacks, silently watched as Carey gave interviews to the media outside of the courthouse.
Carey said his client was a man with a 10th-grade education who was following orders from superiors. He claimed that the decision to illegally remove a county boiler and pipes covered with asbestos in February was made by county higher-ups who “apparently wanted to cut costs.”
Carey claimed that when the boiler was installed in the BOE building in 1998, that it was done with the knowledge that it had asbestos on it. The boiler had to be removed in February after it caught fire and melted controls.
“It's going to come to light persons higher up in government knew that the boiler and pipes were covered in an amount of asbestos,” Carey said.
While Chick “feels some responsibility if (health) problems result,” Carey said that greater blame rest with Chick's supervisors who ordered him to undertake inappropriate activity.
County Manager Wayne Allen said in a prepared statement because of Chick's guilty plea that “we cannot speculate on Mr. Chick's statements that others were involved. We will know the facts when these investigations are completed. I can assure you, the County has been taking the necessary steps to prevent anything like this from happening again.”
The ongoing investigation prohibits commenting on whether other people will be indicted in the case, Benedict said.
Chick has not made any appearances to testify in front of a grand jury, Carey said.
Asbestos was released into a county garage, the BOE building, the county courthouse, a connecting tunnel and the sewer system because of asbestos-contaminated water, Benedict said.
The BOE was closed Aug. 11 because of positive asbestos testing and only reopened four months later after an abatement project was completed. State and federal officials began investigating how the asbestos removal was carried out in July.
Chick is still currently on paid administrative leave from his hourly carpenter's job in the Buildings and Ground department. Allen said that the county will begin disciplinary proceedings against Chick because of his plea.
Auburn attorney Carl DePalma represents the claimants who have filed notices of claim about possible exposure to asbestos. He said that he had not seen the court documents regarding Chick's plea, so he declined comment on how it might impact his clients.
DePalma said that he and the county's attorneys have agreed to pause the litigation process until investigators can complete their inquiry.
But DePalma expects that the next step in the civil litigation - 50-h hearings where the county can explore the basis of each claim - will be scheduled soon.
Benedict said that requiring Chick to pay restitution is a matter of course, but that any restitution amount has not yet been tabulated.
Allen has replaced Cayuga County Legislator Ann Petrus as the county's spokesperson on the asbestos issue.
Allen said the county is cooperating with the investigation and is taking the steps to prevent asbestos exposure from occurring again. Those measures, he said, including retaining a physician to monitor all people believed to have been exposed to asbestos, working to centralize the maintenance undertaken by the Building and Grounds department and requiring the hiring of licensed asbestos abatement contractors when asbestos is found during a work project.
“It's clear from the legislature, and they've made it clear to me, their primary concern is the safety of all the employees and the public, especially when the public comes into the building,” Allen said.
Cayuga County Legislature Chairman George Fearon did not return a phone call for comment.
Staff writer Amaris Elliott-Engel can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 282 or at amaris.elliot-engel@lee.net
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