The US District Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts branch, has aided in the discovery and conviction of an asbestos related criminal. Albania Deleon is now facing a potential 230 years of prison time. Deleon taught classes at Environmental Compliance Training, the largest asbestos removal training program in Massachusetts. It was found that between 2001 and 2006, the majority of Deleon’s students received less than adequate training before being placed in the work field. Worksheets and tests were provided to class participants with answers already filled in; students only needed to sign their names to be passed in the exercise.
Deleon also had a large number of illegal aliens in the program she taught, but failed to report these individuals to the proper authorities. Both illegal aliens and legal citizens who graduated from the program were paid under-the-table once they began work. Deleon used fraudulently prepared payroll documents to cover the financial illegalities.
The US requires specific training, licensing and certification for individuals and companies working with asbestos. The state-to-state requirements may vary, but all regulations are in line with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Air Act commitments to maintain and enhance the quality of air in America.
Asbestos has been used for decades in the US particularly in building and construction and some manufacturing industries. However, as associated health risks became known asbestos use has dropped and laws have been put in place to protect the public from the toxic chemical.
Asbestos causes severe respiratory conditions including lung cancer and asbestosis. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer caused almost exclusively by asbestos fibers which, if inhaled, can began a mutation process in lung lining and lining of other abdominal cavities which leads to this cancer.
Mesothelioma takes decades to develop, demonstrating symptoms like that of pneumonia twenty to fifty years after original asbestos exposure. Life expectancy following diagnosis is grim, averaging eighteen months. There are mesothelioma treatments available, but no known cure.
Deleon was found guilty in November 2008, on a collective 27counts of conspiracy to make false documents, making false documents, hiring illegal aliens, encouraging illegal aliens to live in the US, payroll tax fraud and mail fraud. She fled the state following conviction but was found almost seven months later in Santa Domingo.
In a press release Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said,
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