The Region - News from April 24, 1986

After more than two years of legal maneuvering, two executives of Space Ordnance Systems pleaded no contest to three misdemeanor charges of illegally storing hazardous waste at their company’s plants in the Santa Clarita Valley. Los Angeles Municipal Judge Xenophon F. Lang ordered Michael Murphy and Joseph Cabaret to appear May 29 for sentencing. Murphy reportedly is facing 30 weekend days in County Jail, while Cabaret is expected to be sentenced to 10 to 30 days, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. John Bernardi, who said 84 similar counts against the two were dropped in exchange for their pleas. Charges are still pending against one other executive of the firm and the firm itself, but attorneys said both the executive and the firm are expected to enter no-contest pleas. Bernardi said more than 2,300 barrels of explosive waste were stored without proper permits at the two plants.