Contractor jailed for violating Clean Air Act
A Montgomery County demolition contractor was sentenced to a year and a day in prison for failing to notify the EPA before removing asbestos from a Philadelphia church.
Anthony Biello II, who ran D&E Solutions, LLC, had been hired in 2009 to remove asbestos from the former Church of the Assumption, a 19th Century structure at 11th and Spring Garden Streets that was being prepared for demolition.
Prior to removing asbestos, an owner or contractor is required to notify the federal Clean Air Act the EPA or Air Management Services in the City of Philadelphia. Biello, 56, allegedly failed to notify either agency and faked papers that indicated he had received approval for the asbestos abatement, according to court documents.
In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Paul S. Diamond ordered Biello to, pay restitution to the city of $12,000 and serve two years of supervised release. Biello was also ordered not to work in asbestos removal during the time of his supervised release.
"Asbestos must be removed and disposed of safely and legally," said David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA's criminal enforcement program in the Middle Atlantic States. "There is no 'safe' level of exposure to asbestos. It is a serious threat to the general public's health and safety. Today's sentencing demonstrates that those who try to make money by breaking the law and putting others at potential risk will be vigorously prosecuted."