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PA CANADIAN CAR DEALERSHIP OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO CFC CHARGES
Release Date: 10/20/97
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FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1997
CANADIAN CAR DEALERSHIP OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO CFC CHARGES
On Oct. 7, Larry Joseph LeBlanc and Ann Marie LeBlanc of Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Maine in Bangor in connection with the illegal importation of 75 tons of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants into the U.S. Larry LeBlanc admitted to seven counts of violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) and seven counts of customs violations. Ann Marie LeBlanc admitted to three CAA violations. Larry LeBlanc owned and managed City Sales, Ltd., an automobile dealership in Fredericton, where Ann LeBlanc was also employed. The LeBlancs shipped 75 tons of CFCs, for use in automobile air conditioners, to a number of automotive shops in the U.S. on eight separate occasions between September 1993 and July 1994. This activity took place after Environment Canada had determined that City Sales did not possess CFC “consumption allowances” required for export, and had prohibited City Sales from exporting CFCs to the U.S. CFCs cause depletion of the earth’s ozone layer, which protects people from high levels of ultraviolet radiation that can cause cataracts and skin cancer. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Customs Service, Canada Customs Service and Environment Canada.
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