PA TWO MEN ARRESTED ON CHARGES ALLEGING ILL. REMOVAL OF ASBES

PA TWO MEN ARRESTED ON CHARGES ALLEGING ILL. REMOVAL OF ASBES

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1996

TWO NEW YORK MEN ARRESTED ON CHARGES
ALLEGING ILLEGAL REMOVAL OF ASBESTOS

On Sept. 4, Isaac Itzkowitz and Ephriam Landau of Brooklyn, N.Y., were arrested on a five-count indictment charging them with violations of the Clean Air Act and with witness tampering in connection with the alleged illegal removal of asbestos from a Brooklyn apartment building in February 1994. Hundreds of feet of asbestos insulation were removed from pipes in the basement of an apartment building which was owned by Landau's family. Landau allegedly hired Itzkowitz to manage the removal of the asbestos, and Itzkowitz allegedly hired two workers to do the physical labor. No protective equipment was provided to the workers, nor were the workers trained in the proper techniques of safe asbestos removal. When the asbestos was removed, visible clouds of asbestos fibers were released, which created a severe health hazard to the workers and the tenants and staff of the apartment building. In addition, each defendant is charged with attempting to persuade witnesses to conceal the true extent of the defendants' involvement in the removal of the asbestos. An alert tenant in the building videotaped the asbestos removal job, and the New York City Department of Sanitation Environmental Police responded to the scene immediately, preserving crucial asbestos sampling and photographic evidence. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division in close cooperation with New York City authorities.

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