On October 6, 1999, William Moskowitz, 70, and his Sav-Cote Chemical Laboratories Inc. each pleaded guilty to charges in an eight-count indictment. The indictment charged Moskowitz and his company with violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which prohibits the storage or disposal of hazardous wastes without a permit.
The guilty plea is in connection with seven underground storage tanks removed by the EPA in 1998 as part of a Superfund cleanup in Lakewood, New Jersey. EPA described Moskowitz as an "environmental scofflaw" who "demonstrated total contempt for the environment by dumping harmful chemicals into underground tanks instead of disposing of them properly."
Moskowitz will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. Sav-Cote, Moskowitz's wholly-owned company, faces a $500,000 maximum fine on each count. Each faces an order for restitution. Sentencing is scheduled for December 20.
Moskowitz admitted that until the 1980s, he and the company caused paint solvents to be dumped into its underground tanks. He also admitted that he knew in early 1996 that the tanks were leaking and he failed to remove the tanks or get a permit.
