Massachusetts Woman to be Sentenced on Asbestos Charges

BOSTON - On Feb. 17 of this year, former businesswoman, Albania Deleon, 39, of Andover, will be sentenced in U.S. District Court for multiple violations of federal laws relating to the illegal, asbestos abatement activities of the Methuen-based Environmental Compliance Training, Inc., and Methuen Abatement Staffing, Inc., both companies owned by Deleon. After a two-and-a-half-week trial that took place in November of 2008, Deleon was convicted on multiple charges relating to her companies' fraudulent asbestos education and abatement practices that involved, among other things, providing false asbestos training documentation to illegal aliens.

Deleon was convicted of providing illegal immigrants with falsified education certificates that fraudulently documented their completion of state and federally required training courses designed to educate individuals on the safe and lawful handling of asbestos. Altogether, Deleon was convicted of: one count of conspiracy to make false statements, to encourage illegal aliens to reside within the United States, and to hire illegal aliens; five counts of making false statements to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); 16 counts of procuring false payroll tax return statements, and five felony counts of mail fraud.

If sentenced to the maximum sentence on each count, Deleon could face up to 220 years in prison, and the government is asking for a harsh sentence for the woman who employed up to 800 illegal and untrained workers whose health was potentially put at risk due to their improper handling of and exposures to asbestos. Serious offenses, and Jonathan Mitchell, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case, will argue strenuously against leniency at Deleon's sentencing next week.

"The government is going to seek a sentence that sends a loud and clear message to the asbestos industry that it is extraordinarily important that workers be properly trained to handle asbestos, both for their own safety and to protect the public," said Mitchell during an interview about the case. When asked about Deleon's conviction, the EPA responded by stating that the case could be responsible for "leveling the playing field," a sentiment issued by EPA spokesman, Joseph Ferson, who referred to economic fairness for those asbestos abatement companies that do comply with state and federal regulations governing asbestos. "We welcome those who are properly licensed to do business," Ferson concluded.

Asbestos is a mineral that can be found in countries around the world, and while it exists in a wide variety of colors, chemical compositions, and types, all forms of asbestos are considered to pose a threat to human health. Largely banned in many countries around the globe, asbestos was a popular material once used extensively in numerous manufactured products and industrial processes. In the 1970s, the medical and scientific community concluded that microscopic fibers of airborne asbestos, once inhaled into the lungs, could lead to serious respiratory illnesses, lung diseases that could develop up to 50 years after the initial exposure had occurred. Health experts have never established any safe level of exposure to the fibers that can lead to asbestosis-severe lung tissue scarring that results in decreased lung function-as well as the far more dreaded and highly aggressive killer, malignant pleural mesothelioma, an incurable form of lung cancer.

Clearly Deleon's actions, through what used to be the state's largest asbestos-removal training school and employment agency, has potentially harmed the health of hundreds of workers, as well as members of the various communities where Deleon's companies performed improper and unsafe asbestos abatement procedures. And while Deleon's conviction has served to close her illicitly run businesses, there now remains a significant asbestos training and abatement void that other entrepreneurs will seek to fill. It is for this reason that the government intends to plead for a harsh sentence in Deleon's case-a prison sentence that will send a clear and convincing warning to others who might also decide to ignore critically important asbestos safety laws.

To receive a FREE Mesothelioma Web information packet** or to make a request, please fill out the following form :

**For a FREE information packet including treatments, clinical trials, and specialists, please complete the form above or call a Mesothelioma Web coordinator at 1-877-367-6376.

News

Resources

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here

If you would like to receive a FREE information packet or have questions about mesothelioma, call us at:

Toll-Free 1-877-367-6376