PA CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND DRUG CRIMES

PA CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND DRUG CRIMES

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1996

CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND DRUG CRIMES

On Nov. 12, Peter Coley of Alta Loma, Calif., received a prison sentence of 48 years and two months from a federal court in Roanoke, Va., for felony convictions involving a conspiracy to manufacture phencyclidine (PCP) and a five year prison sentence for felony hazardous waste violations. Both sentences will be served concurrently. Coley was also ordered to immediately pay a $10,000 fine. He directed a large PCP manufacturing enterprise which transported precursor chemicals needed to manufacture PCP across the country to the Appomatox and Farmville areas of Virginia where at least four million doses of the illegal drug were produced. The investigation of the Virginia portion of this case began in May 1995 when a citizen complained about trash being dumped off a bridge into Ward's Creek in Charlotte County. The material being dumped was a PCP-laden chemical sludge which is a byproduct of the PCP manufacturing process. Coley's co-conspirator, Denise Charlerie, was sentenced to five years and eight months imprisonment on drug conspiracy charges. Other co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 20. This case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Virginia Department of Emergency Services, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office, the Appomattox County Sheriff's Office, the Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

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