Boss Called to Face Court for Pollution : Pennwalt Executive Forced by Judge to Appear, Enter Plea
The chief executive of the Pennwalt Corp., making an extraordinary court appearance at a judge’s demand, entered a guilty plea on his company’s behalf today to charges of polluting a waterway in 1985.
Edwin E. Tuttle, Pennwalt chief executive and chairman, assured U.S. District Judge Jack Tanner that the chemical company will do all it can to avoid another toxic spill.
Environmentalists and legal experts have said Tanner, by requiring Tuttle to appear in person, could set a precedent for punishing corporate negligence.
The charges against Pennwalt grew out of the spill of at least 75,000 gallons of bleach into a waterway opening onto Puget Sound. The bleach, sodium dichromate, contained hexavalent chromium, a cancer-causing agent.
$1.1-Million Fine
In May, Pennwalt agreed to pay a $1.1-million fine and to plead guilty to five misdemeanor counts after criminal charges against four company officials, including three executives, were dropped. Tuttle was not charged.
Twice, however, Tanner refused to accept guilty pleas from attorneys and lower-ranking executives of the Philadelphia-based company, demanding instead that the “top man” appear before him.
Prosecutors have said the case is one of the first in which the government based its prosecution on corporate negligence rather than deliberate wrongdoing.
It may also be the first instance in which a corporate executive has been ordered to plead the guilt of the corporation.
In close questioning during a one-hour hearing, Tanner today repeatedly asked Tuttle who would be accountable for the spill and for preventing a recurrence.
“I’m here to tell you that as chief executive officer of Pennwalt that I’m here to represent Pennwalt and say that Pennwalt is responsible” for the events that occurred, Tuttle said.
Prosecutor David Marshall, questioned extensively by Tanner about the terms of the plea agreement and why the government agreed to it, pointed out that Pennwalt was paying a higher fine than called for under the law.
