Tennessee Salvage Company Owners Plead Guilty to DOJ Charges

The Department of Justice has announced that three owners of A&E Salvage Inc., a Tennessee salvage firm, have pled guilty to charges that they conspired to violate the Federal Clean Air Act.

The companies made their plea on April 18 in federal court in Greeneville, Tenn.

According to a news release from DOJ, Newell Smith, Armida Di Santi and Milto Di Santi pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Greer for the Eastern District of Tennessee to one criminal felony count for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act’s “work practice standards” salient to the proper wetting, stripping, bagging and disposal of asbestos. According to the charges, Smith and the Di Santis, along with other co-conspirators, engaged in a multi-year scheme in which substantial amounts of regulated asbestos containing materials were improperly removed from components of the former Liberty Fibers Plant or were illegally left in place during demolition.

Smith and the Di Santis face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss to the victims.