- Office of Attorney General Maura Healey
Media Contact
Chloe Gotsis
Lawrence — The former owner of a Lynnfield asbestos removal company has been sentenced to 60 days in the House of Correction for violating his probation by working for another asbestos abatement company, Attorney General Maura Healey announced today.
Essex Superior Court Judge John T. Lu Tuesday sentenced David Harder, age 51, of Lynnfield to 60 days in the House of Correction for violating his probation, imposed as a result of a 2012 case in which he was found guilty of violating the state’s asbestos management laws. Under the terms of his probation, Harder was barred from working in the environmental remediation business, including the asbestos abatement business, whether independently or for any company engaged in environmental remediation.
“This individual blatantly disregarded the terms of his probation after pleading guilty to improperly removing and disposing of asbestos debris,” said AG Healey. “Asbestos is a hazardous and dangerous material that must be properly handled to ensure public safety.”
In May 2015, authorities with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) discovered that Harder had been working on an asbestos abatement project in Dedham on behalf an asbestos abatement company.
“MassDEP will work to ensure that the environmental laws of the Commonwealth are there not only to protect residents and the environment, but also to support the majority of registered and licensed environmental workers and businesses that do it right,” said MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg. “MassDEP investigations play an important role in the state’s efforts to make sure that these protective regulations are followed by all.”
Harder pleaded guilty in July 2012 and was sentenced to 30 days in the House of Correction and three years of probation on charges of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act, violating the Massachusetts Solid Waste Act, and of Evasion of Unemployment Assistance.
The pleas were the result of an investigation by the Massachusetts Environmental Crimes Strike Force. The Strike Force investigates and prosecutes crimes that harm the state’s air, land or water or that pose significant threat to human health. The Strike Force is an interagency team that includes prosecutors from the AG’s Office, detectives from the Massachusetts Environmental Police, and investigators, engineers and attorneys from MassDEP.
In September 2010, the Strike Force received information that Harder, co-owner of AEI Environmental, LLC (AEI), was illegally storing bags of asbestos at a self-storage facility in Lynnfield. Further investigation of the facility found hundreds of bags containing asbestos debris from work performed by the company. Under the Solid Waste Act, the storage units were not a permissible location for the storage of asbestos debris.
The Strike Force’s investigation also revealed that Harder and the other AEI co-owner had engaged in the illegal and improper removal of asbestos at numerous locations in Lynn, Beverly and Marblehead, as well as other locations in Massachusetts, without properly notifying MassDEP, as required by law. The removal of asbestos must be performed by a licensed contractor pursuant to MassDEP regulations with notification as to that agency as to when the removal will occur. During the time period, Harder was not licensed to perform asbestos removal.
Further investigation of AEI and the defendants by the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development’s Division of Unemployment Assistance found that Harder and the other AEI co-owner failed to make any unemployment insurance contributions for their employees.
The probation violation case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Tasnin Chowdhury, of AG Healey’s Environmental Crimes Strike Force Division, with assistance from Essex County Superior Court Probation, John Macauley and Grady Dante of MassDEP, and Massachusetts Environmental Police detectives assigned to the Attorney General’s Office.
###
Media Contact
