Countywide : Waste Firm Critical of Sheriff’s Report

An official with Waste Management of Ventura has described as “disappointing” a Sheriff’s Department report that summarized the giant firm’s record of criminal and civil litigation over the past 20 years.

The report, requested by Supervisor Maggie Erickson Kildee in response to critics of a landfill proposed by Waste Management in Ventura’s Weldon Canyon, found no link between the company’s officers and organized crime.

But the report, compiled under the direction of Undersheriff Larry W. Carpenter, identified 10 criminal cases against the firm during a 10-year period, and described the 1985 and 1987 convictions of two employees in Illinois for bribery.

In a response issued Thursday, Project Manager Jim Jevens criticized the report for failing to fully describe Waste Management’s record or the size of its operations. While not denying the instances of wrongdoing cited in the sheriff’s report, Jevens emphasized the company’s overall record of compliance with regulations.

“In all fairness, Waste Management has more than 50,000 employees working in hundreds of business locations across the United States,” Jevens said. “Our people are working in a difficult, complex and highly regulated industry.”