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PA PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM AND PLANT MANAGER PLEAD GUILTY
Release Date: 09/26/97
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1997
PHARMACEUTICAL FIRM AND PLANT MANAGER PLEAD GUILTY
On Sept. 19, Warner-Lambert Co., of Morris Plains, N.J., pleaded guilty to six counts of violating the Clean Water Act, and agreed to pay a $3 million criminal fine in U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The guilty plea was for falsifying discharge monitoring reports on the levels of pollutants it was releasing from its Vega Bajo, Puerto Rico pharmaceutical plant into a drainage channel that feeds the Cibuco River. In addition, the company will pay a civil penalty of $670,000 for routinely releasing excessive levels of pollutants between 1992 and 1995. The plant’s manager, Juan Ruiz Orengo, also pleaded guilty to false reporting under the Clean Water Act and faces a maximum sentence of up to 27 months imprisonment. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI.
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