Man Admits Trying to Smuggle Chemicals

An auto supply store owner from North Hollywood pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to smuggle ozone-depleting chemicals into the United States, authorities said Wednesday.

Avner Meshulam, 48, admitted to one felony count of conspiracy to smuggle prohibited refrigerants into the U.S.--a violation of the federal Clean Air Act.

Meshulam, who entered his plea Tuesday in Los Angeles, admitted to conspiring with an undercover agent to purchase 400 30-pound cylinders of a refrigerant known as CFC-12, for $120,000, said Assistant U.S. Atty. William W. Carter. Meshulam, whose sentencing is scheduled Sept. 23, faces a maximum of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

The refrigerant, a chlorofluorocarbon, had been used in automobile air-conditioning systems until the end of 1995. But since January 1996, the Clean Air Act has prohibited the production of the refrigerant in the U.S.

“Even though the American companies may not [manufacture] Freon in this country, they’re doing it in Mexico,” Carter said. “There is a huge black market where people buy this stuff and sell it three or four or five times what it’s worth down there.”

Meshulam, reached at his business, Tic Tac Automotive Supply in Culver City, declined to discuss his case. His business remains open.

“I’m going nowhere,” he said.

Carter said an undercover agent with the Environmental Protection Agency had called Meshulam at his business and asked him if he was interested in purchasing the refrigerant. The two eventually agreed to smuggle the refrigerant from Mexico in a truck in October 1997.

Meshulam was arrested at the time of the delivery, Carter said. He is currently free on bail.

The refrigerant is still used in the U.S., but may be taken only from preexisting stockpiles. It is illegal to bring more CFC-12 into the country, Carter said.

Only those certified by the EPA may install and handle the refrigerant, and Meshulam did not have such training, Carter said.