Ex-Head of Toxic Waste Firm Guilty in Dumping
A federal jury convicted the former president of a toxic waste treatment company Wednesday for illegally transporting more than 400 drums of hazardous waste and dumping them at a defunct mill in a small Nevada town.
Following a two-week trial in Los Angeles, Michael Robert Speach was convicted of 15 environmental crimes stemming from the dumping of the 55-gallon drums at Monarch Milling Co. in Austin, Nev., in 1986 and 1987. Speach, 66, faces a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison and fines exceeding $10 million when he is sentenced Nov. 19.
At the time of the crimes, Speach was president of ENV Inc. of Rancho Dominguez, which treated electroplating waste for disposal. Prosecutors said the company now performs tests on toxic material.
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