New York Paralegal Blog

WASHINGTON – Wajdi Waked, 25, of Las Vegas, pleaded guilty today before Judge Philip M. Pro of the U.S. District Court in Nevada, to one count of violating the Clean Air Act by falsifying emissions test results. A grand jury in Las Vegas indicted Waked in January of 2010. Waked was one of nine other defendants, all at different testing locations, accused of similarly submitting false tests to the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (NDMV). The cases came to the attention of Nevada authorities in 2008 when the NDMV hired a contractor to build a vehicle identification database to find possible emissions testing fraud. NDMV discovered that in 2008 alone, there were over 4,000 false vehicle emissions certificates issued in Las Vegas. The database allows investigators to check the vehicle identification number that the emissions tester enters against the vehicle actually tested. Las Vegas and surrounding Clark County is required by the EPA to have emissions testing because the area ...

WASHINGTON—Colorite Specialty Resins, headquartered in Somerville, N.J., has agreed to perform corrective measures at its Burlington, N.J., manufacturing facility that will reduce harmful emissions of vinyl chloride to resolve alleged violations of federal and state environmental laws, the Justice Department, the State of New Jersey, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today. Along with the corrective remedies, Colorite will pay a $1.3 million civil penalty to be split between the United States and the State of New Jersey. Colorite will also perform two federal environment projects valued at over $1 million that will further reduce vinyl chloride emissions from the facility. Colorite’s facility manufactures PVC plastic and vinyl products. As part of its manufacturing processes, the facility emits vinyl chloride. EPA has classified vinyl chloride as a Group A human carcinogen. Exposure to the chemical has been linked to adverse human health effects, including liver c...