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EAST ST. LOUIS - Charles Powell Jr., a former local political leader who was sentenced to a 21-month imprisonment for for election fraud, is now facing another 15 or more months in prison. He admitted Friday that he had committed federal environmental violations.Mr Powell pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court in East St. Louis to a conspiracy charge and a charge of failing to inform concerned officials before asbestos removal.
Powell, former East St. Louis councilman, St. Clair County Board member and head of the Democratic Party in East St. Louis, was hired to renovate the Spivey Building, at 417 Missouri Avenue in East St. Louis. He then hired a man named Isaiah Newton in early 2002. According to the court documents, both removed and disposed of hundreds of feet of asbestos-covered pipes and other asbestos-containing material though they were aware that the building contained malignant asbestos. Neither they notify the Illinois EPA as required, nor told the refuse haulers that so many trash bins that they were taking to the Milam Landfill contained the carcinogen.
The charge also states that Powell informed the workers that the asbestos present in the building is not the "hazardous kind" and, instead of respirators, he provided the workers with masks. Workers who threw building materials out the windows and scattered debris down Missouri Avenue were asked to lie that they were not tearing out walls and removing pipes.
Asbestos-containing debris were later found on the sidewalk and asbestos-contaminated dust inside the building.
The indictment says that all these were done to save money. Powel is facing 15 to 21 months in prison and a fine of $3,000 to $30,000 under federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors are to recommend no fine, but a sentence at the low end of the range.
According to the plea agreement, Powell has agreed to cooperate with the government and testify concerning all criminal activities that he knows, whether or not he himself was involved.
Powell agreed to cooperate with the government and testify if necessary "concerning all criminal activity about which he knows, whether or not defendant was himself involved," the plea agreement says. Powell may win a reduction of his sentence if his cooperation is sufficiently helpful.
Philip H. Cohn, owner of the building, had pleaded guilty in 2004 of improperly removing asbestos from the building and other charges, and had been punished with an imprisonment for five years.
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