The manager of an asbestos abatement project at former L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building was sentenced to probation for two years for lying regarding whether his employer followed the legal requirements intended to protect the workers and the environment.
The sentence handed down on Thursday by Hon. Patrick Michael Duffy, the judge of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina in Charleston, also requires Albert Dickson to wear a monitoring apparatus for 3 months. However, his movements won’t be restricted. Dickson is 62 years old.
The judge said he thinks Dickson was a victim of sabotage by one of the subcontractors. His actions weren’t reflective of his “otherwise outstanding life,” the judge said.
Dickson is currently living in New York. He was facing prison sentence up to 2 years and a fine of up to $10,000 for allegedly lying about a document his business had to file under the federal Clean Water Act (CWA).
Dickson told the South Carolina Health & Environmental Control Department investigators that his company had installed a water filtration system at the building for preventing asbestos from entering the sewer system of the city, the info filed in the case shows. But the investigators realized that the filtration system hadn’t been actually installed when they questioned him during their surprise inspection. The department made the surprise inspection after they received an anonymous complaint regarding the issue.
During their surprise inspection that was conducted on 6th June, 2011, the investigators discovered open drains to the city’s sewer system filled with dangerous asbestos materials. The DHEC then issued a stop-work order to Gramercy Group Incorporated, the employer of Dickson. The company was later allowed to come back and finish the project.
Cassandra Harris, a spokeswoman representing the DHEC, said the asbestos project didn’t pose any public health risk. She said the sewer system in question is a closed one and is inaccessible to the general public.
Dickson said he deeply regrets what he did. The judge waived monetary penalties, saying that Dickson doesn’t have the capacity to pay fines.
The building, located at 334 Meeting Street, was closed in year 1999 after the structure was flooded by Hurricane Floyd. The building’s roofs were damaged and asbestos in the ceiling tiles were disrupted in the Hurricane. The 7-story structure was bought by Dewberry Capital, an Atlanta-based development company, for $15 million in 2008.
