A Massachusetts asbestos-removal safety trainer faces significant jail time for endangering the lives of asbestos-removal workers.
Albania Deleon, owner of Environmental Compliance Training of Methuen, was convicted last Wednesday on twenty-eight federal charges which included selling fake training certificates to (primarily) illegal immigrants, and then sending them to remove asbestos in the surrounding communities. She paid these workers illegally, faked tax returns, and lied to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA requires that all asbestos-removal workers be licensed by their state, a process that includes completing a training course intended to help protect workers from the harmful effects of asbestos exposure. By granting certificates without actual training, Deleon put hundreds of employees from her temporary employment agency Methuen Staffing at risk for her own financial gain.
The jury was out for less than four hours before finding Deleon guilty of all charges brought against her. She faces five years imprisonment or more for each of the charges. Deleon will be sentenced in mid February.