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PA TWO CHICAGO MEN CHARGED FOR ISSUING FALSE ASBESTOS CERT.

Release Date: 06/14/96
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PA TWO CHICAGO MEN CHARGED FOR ISSUING FALSE ASBESTOS CERT.

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1996

TWO CHICAGO MEN CHARGED FOR ISSUING FALSE ASBESTOS TRAINING CERTIFICATES

On June 13, Robert G. Cooley was charged with mail fraud in a fraudulent asbestos certification scheme. Bogdan Mucha was arrested on June 11 and has been charged with mail fraud in a criminal complaint. Cooley's company, I.P.C. of Northbrook, Ill., allegedly issued thousands of training certificates between 1991 and 1995 knowing that more than half of the customers had not received some or all of the required training. Mucha, the owner of Midwest Institute of Asbestos Inc., was arrested as the result of an undercover investigation in which he allegedly sold federal agents three fraudulent asbestos abatement training certificates. Mucha was released on a $75,000 bond on June 11. Trainees were charged up to $550 for supervisor training certificates and lesser fees for certificates indicating that initial training courses and refresher courses had been satisfactorily completed. Cooley was also charged with bank fraud in connection with a check kiting scheme that allegedly floated $79 million between three accounts at Harris Bank Bartlett in Bartlett, Ill., between January 1991 and May 1995. This scheme allegedly caused the bank to lose a total of $652,794. If convicted of mail fraud, Cooley and Mucha each face a maximum prison sentence of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. In addition, Cooley faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on the bank fraud count. The court may also order him to pay restitution. The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, the EPA Office of Inspector General, the FBI, and the U.S. General Services Administration Office of the Inspector General.

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