Local News in Brief : Man Gets House Arrest in Toxic Dumping Case
The former manager of a defunct Van Nuys metal-plating company was sentenced to 6 months under house arrest and fined $10,000 Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to pouring hazardous waste into city sewer lines.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Candace Cooper ordered Louis L. Reynolds, 58, of Canoga Park to begin serving his 6-month term Jan. 1, said Deputy Dist. Atty. William Carter.
Reynolds, a former general manager of Gaylord Plating Lab, was charged with dumping cadmium, a toxic metal used by the company to plate aircraft parts, into sewer lines on 10 occasions in March, 1987, Carter said.
The plant had been under surveilance by Los Angeles health and sanitation inspectors, who found high concentrations of cadmium in sewer lines under company property, Carter said.
The company--charged in March, 1987, along with Reynolds--pleaded guilty in August to two counts of illegal dumping and was fined $20,000, Carter said. The firm shut down soon after the charges were filed.
Reynolds, who also pleaded guilty in August, will be confined to his home. A special electronic bracelet will be locked on his wrist so that the county Probation Department can monitor his movements, Carter said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
