Cypress Man Arrested in Toxic Wastes Probe

A Cypress man who allegedly used a dead man’s permit to haul hazardous wastes was arrested Saturday by investigators who secretly watched him transport and unload drums, said Lt. Bill Kelley of the California Highway Patrol.

Ronald Paul Martin, 47, was booked on suspicion of felony transport and disposal of hazardous wastes and held in lieu of $50,000 bail in Orange County Jail, Kelley said.

Martin used an expired permit that had belonged to a man now dead to transport wastes from at least seven companies in Southern California in the last six months, Kelley said. The Los Angeles County Hazardous Materials Task Force, composed of several agencies, began investigating Martin several months ago. The probe culminated with surveillance of Martin’s activities Friday and Saturday.

Martin was watched as he picked up drums and cans filled with hazardous organic solvents and mixtures of styrene resins from the Magnetic Metals Co. in Westminster, Kelley said. Martin left his truck overnight at the Medical Center of Garden Grove parking lot before taking it to the Intercem Co. in Anaheim, Kelley said.

There, Martin allegedly began unloading the drums and cans and putting them into Intercem’s storage area, apparently without the company’s knowledge, Kelley said. Intercem, he said, is not licensed to transport or dispose of hazardous wastes.

Neither Magnetic Metals nor Intercem is suspected of having knowledge of the suspect’s activities, Kelly said. In fact, he said, the seven companies Martin serviced “had no way of knowing he was not legitimate.”

Martin, who worked out of his van, used an answering service to receive calls from customers, Kelley said.

About 20 to 25 55-gallon drums and an equal number of five-gallon metal cans were involved in Saturday’s haul, Kelley said.

“If it were to go into the sewer system or be disposed of other than in the manner designated by law, it could be very dangerous,” he said.

Investigators do not know where the suspect may have dumped previous loads. “We were hoping he would lead us . . . ,” he said.

Kelley said that “without a doubt,” a large number of people are dumping wastes illegally because of the closing of local disposal sites.