Jail Term Extended in Waste-Dumping Case

A man sentenced to jail last year for dumping cyanide waste from his North Hollywood plating company had three months added to his term Monday after a judge was told that the court-ordered cleanup of the business had not been done, authorities said.

Yoav (Joe) Pantilant, 52, of Woodland Hills had his nine-month sentence extended to a year during a probation violation hearing before Los Angeles Municipal Judge David S. Milton.

Pantilant was originally sentenced by Milton on Dec. 15 after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of recklessly handling and storing hazardous materials at his now-defunct business, All-American Plating. Prosecutors said dangerous chemicals were being stored improperly at the business, and cyanide waste water was being dumped illegally into the city sewer system daily.

In addition to jail time, Milton sentenced Pantilant to two years probation, fined him $10,000 and ordered him to clean up the site within six months.

Deputy Dist. Atty. William W. Carter said that since the sentencing, no cleanup has occurred at the site in the 7100 block of Vineland Avenue. Firefighters have been called to the closed business twice after chemical drums were found leaking, he said.

Carter filed a violation of probation charge against Pantilant last month and requested six months additional jail time.

Carter said Pantilant acknowledged the violation of the cleanup order at a hearing Monday but showed the judge that he had recently given the landlord $50,000 to begin a cleanup. Milton added three months to Pantilant’s sentence.

Carter said authorities will continue to monitor the All-American Plating site, for which the total cleanup has been estimated at $200,000.