Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/988763
W EEKLY EDITION MAY 30, 2018 California Portable Restroom Company Leaders Sentenced …continued Penalties were handed down last week in connection with felony charges for illegal waste disposal In September 2017, there was a new development when DES Operations Safety and Compliance Manager Ronald Fabor was found guilty of two counts of perjury after falsely testifying in June that he did not see illegal dumping occur at any DES site. In January 2018 he "was sentenced to five years probation and fined $500 for his crimes." This coverage brings us to present day, as DES Owner Eric De Jong has been sentenced to five months in federal prison. He was ordered last week to report to federal prison by 5 :00 pm on July 6. He was fined $15,000 and will serve three years' probation. Under the plea arrangement that he agreed to last June, De Jong could have faced up to 30 months or more behind bars. Just before his sentencing, Eric De Jong stated how "it was a huge mistake." "I made a mistake I never thought would get to this level," he said. His lawyer "argued in favor of probation, saying his client was a community philanthropist and quickly accepted responsibility for his actions after the company was su bjected to a federal search warrant." The prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Melanie Pierson, felt strongly that De Jong should face 12 months in prison. "He's a thief, pure and simple," Pierson argued. "This is a scheme to dump portable waste down the s ewer to save money. This is his idea. He planned it. He experimented with it. Then he implemented it across all of his facilities." Warren Van Dam, DES C.O.O., could have faced up to six months in custody. Instead, he received five years' probation and 25 0 hours of community service. The company was also charged as a whole, and was sentenced to five years' probation. "The three defendants combined were ordered to pay a fine of $2.64 million and $2.5 million in restitution to five different sanitation agen cies. The company also forfeited $2.2 million in illegal profits." Judge Benitez, who presided on the case, felt that the prosecutor and defense attorneys made solid arguments on behalf of their clients, but the five - month prison term was fair. "Custodial time is necessary in order for people to understand you can't be doing this sort of thing and come in and expect to write a check," the judge said directly to De Jong. The sentencing "close[s] a lengthy investigation and prosecution that showed Diamond E nvironmental shaved millions of dollars from its operating costs by illegally dumping contents of its portable toilets for years." The PSAI reached out to several of our California operator Members to hear their thoughts, though none were interested in commenting on the sentencing at this time. If you' d like to comment on the ongoing coverage , contact us at info@psai.org . The above coverage of recent events is based on an article in the San Diego Union Tribune. Read the full sto ry here . P AGE 4