Las Vegas Sun

November 26, 2009

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One-year sentence given in hazardous dumping

Jace Radke

Wednesday, May 29, 2002 | 9:49 a.m.

A Las Vegas man was sentenced to one year in prison Tuesday after a jury found him guilty of five misdemeanor charges of violating the Clean Water Act.

Gene Moran, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro, who said he hoped that the sentence would serve as a deterrent to others who think they can save money by dumping dangerous chemicals into the sewer system.

In December 2001 a federal jury found that Moran, the former owner of Silver State Plating, should have known that his employees were dumping hazardous materials into a toilet and into an alley where the materials could run into a storm drain.

The jury found that water contaminated with lead, copper, chromium, nickel and zinc was dumped. Officials with the Environmental Protection Agency said in court Tuesday that such substances can retard the sewer system's ability to break down waste.

Moran's company used the metals to coat parts at a plant at 4246 Bertros Drive, near Flamingo Road and Arville Street.

According to court documents, Moran bought a used treatment system in 1996 that could have treated the company's waste water and brought it up to standards, but the system was never installed because of lack of money.

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