The Region - News from Aug. 20, 1987

The former operators of a downtown Los Angeles oil company have pleaded guilty to charges of illegally storing and disposing of petroleum products near the firm’s storage tanks in the Chinatown area. Leo Bortz, 75, and his son Stephen, 41, are to be sentenced Oct. 6 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin. The two men, who have since sold the business, were charged with contaminating the soil at the firm’s 1746 N. Spring St. site with such hazardous wastes as acetone and lacquer thinner. Stephen Bortz, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of illegal disposal and three misdemeanor counts of illegal storage, could receive a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a $600,000 fine.