Posted on 02/09/2004 6:00:27 PM PST by RickofEssex
Environmental consultant faces jail for falsifying reports
An Emeryville environmental consultant will head to jail for falsifying lab results of potentially contaminated soil at highway construction sites across California, including the upgrade of the Webster Tube connecting Oakland and Alameda.
For two years, according to the Alameda County District Attorney's office, Eric Rothwell of Rothwell Consulting Inc. repeatedly falsified laboratory data he supplied to various contractors, certifying that dirt dug up at a site was clean when no such tests had been done.
Contractors hired Rothwell to assess the extent of the contamination and to both develop health plans for workers handling the soil and determine how to safely dispose of the material.
"Somewhere along the line he found he could save money by not doing the lab work," said Lawrence Blazer, senior deputy district attorney for the county's Consumer and Environmental Protection Division. "The soil got dealt with without anyone knowing what was there."
The scheme collapsed, Blazer said, after a Southern California contractor working on a job in Contra Costa County called the Martinez lab Rothwell said he used to test the samples. Alerted to the fraud, the contractor called authorities, he said.
Rothwell will be sentenced to three years in state prison but will likely serve only 18 months, according to his attorney, San Francisco lawyer Stuart Hanlon.
Hanlon described Rothwell as a "very conscientious guy ... who did some stupid things" while undergoing a messy divorce and experiencing financial distress.
"He was going through an awful period and his whole life fell apart," he said. No one was ever at real risk of harm, as reflected by the light sentence, Hanlon added. "He was very vehement with me that he didn't endanger the public."
Blazer said investigators found no evidence suggesting the contractors were involved or aware of the fabrications. "We were very interested in finding out if he got paid a premium or a kickback from a contractor," Blazer said. "We never got that sense. These people were flabbergasted."
Rothwell was charged with 48 counts, including at least 12 felonies, and an arrest warrant was issued in June. He fled to his mother's house in Ohio, eluding arrest there, and remained a fugitive until his surrender on Jan. 14.
Under a plea agreement with the district attorney, he pled no contest to two felonies and two misdemeanors.
Hanlon [his lawyer]described Rothwell as a "very conscientious guy ...
What lying cr*p these lawyers spew, without an iota of shame.
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