Former Official of SOS Gets 15 Days on Waste Counts

The former general manager of Space Ordnance Systems was sentenced Wednesday to 15 days in jail, wrapping up the prosecution of the Santa Clarita Valley firm and three of its executives for hazardous-waste violations.

Joseph R. Cabaret, 51, of Northridge, who had pleaded no contest to three hazardous-waste counts, was given a 15-day jail sentence by Los Angeles Municipal Judge Xenophon F. Lang. Lang gave Cabaret a year to complete the sentence, which will be served on weekends by arrangement with authorities at the Burbank City Jail.

Cabaret’s April plea bargain with the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office provided for a 10- to 30-day jail sentence. Lang decided on a 15-day sentence after hearing Cabaret’s lawyer argue for 10 days and prosecutors for 30.

Charged With 87 Violations

Space Ordnance, the defense and aerospace contractor known as SOS; Cabaret, and two other officials were charged in August, 1984, with 87 identical misdemeanor violations of state and county hazardous-waste storage, transportation and disposal rules. The violations were alleged to have occurred from the fall of 1983 to March 8, 1984--the day an army of state and county health and law enforcement officials raided the SOS Sand Canyon plant near Canyon Country and Mint Canyon plant at Agua Dulce.

SOS, a division of Sherman Oaks-based TransTechnology Corp., pleaded no contest in April to 10 waste-disposal, storage and transportation counts and agreed to pay $300,000 in fines and investigative costs.

Cabaret, a TransTechnology vice president and the other two executives pleaded no contest to three counts of illegal waste storage.

Must Give 3 Talks

Michael Murphy, former manager of one of the SOS plants, got a 30-day jail sentence as part of his plea agreement. James E. Smith, former director of administration for SOS, averted a jail sentence by agreeing to give three lectures on the consequences of violating hazardous-waste laws. The rest of the charges against the three individuals were dropped.

Smith, 38, who was subpoenaed as a prosecution witness, testified that he had recommended to Cabaret on various occasions that the company improve its procedures for waste handling. But his requests, including one for funds for engineering studies, were denied, he said.

Smith, who said he is now unemployed, also testified that the company regularly disposed of solvent-contaminated waste water by spraying it from sprinkler-like devices at both the Mint and Sand Canyon plants, and that Cabaret was aware of this practice.

However, under cross-examination by Cabaret’s attorney, James M. Epstein, Smith said neither he nor Cabaret was aware that the liquid was considered hazardous waste and could not legally be sprayed.

A ‘Message of Deterrence’

In closing arguments, Deputy Dist. Atty. Clifford L. Klein said Cabaret should get the full 30-day sentence to send a “message of deterrence” to other corporate officials.

But Epstein, who portrayed Cabaret as largely a victim of circumstance, said it was “absurd to suggest” that 30 days in jail would be a deterrent but the 10 days he sought would not be--given the “trauma” criminal prosecution had caused Cabaret and his family.

The charges against Space Ordnance mainly involved mishandling of waste that was explosive or ignitable but not highly toxic. The company makes a variety of explosive components of weapons systems and spacecraft, including decoy flares for fighter planes and bolts that explode to separate stages of missiles and rockets.