VENTURA : 2 Plead Not Guilty in Toxic Waste Case
Two Ventura men pleaded not guilty Monday in Ventura County Municipal Court to charges that they illegally handled hazardous waste last month in a district attorney’s sting operation.
Howard B. Nicholls, 42, and Thomas Richardson, 37, denied one count each of unlawful transportation of hazardous waste and one count each of unlawful storage of hazardous waste.
The men were arrested Oct. 26 after undercover investigators from the district attorney’s office answered a newspaper ad that said, “Hazardous Waste Transport and Cleanup--Reasonable.” Investigators said they arranged to have the men dispose of two 55-gallon drums of a flammable organic compound.
Investigators said Richardson and two helpers picked up the drums in a pickup truck from a Moorpark warehouse and drove them to a storage yard in Ventura, where Nicholls had arranged to have them disposed of. The men had no licenses to transport or store hazardous waste, Deputy Dist. Atty. Linda S. Groberg said. The maximum penalty for a single count is a $100,000 fine and three years in state prison.
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