Owners of 2 O.C. Firms Indicted

The owners of two Anaheim wheel polishing companies have been indicted on charges of conspiring to hide toxic acid in desert mine shafts, leaving drums of chemical waste in a Victorville supermarket parking lot, and other offenses related to a paint-stripping operation, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The eight-count federal indictment handed up Tuesday afternoon names Donald Wayne Unrein, 47, of Newport Beach and Leonard Louis Stahl, 43, of Lake Arrowhead, co-owners of Wheel Specialties, and Dennis Eugene Unrein, 39, of Lake Elsinore, owner of Wheel Technix Inc. The companies had no permits to handle or dispose of hazardous waste, authorities said.

The acids and solvents were used to remove paint from new car wheels so they could be polished to a high gloss, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Joseph Johns.

He said the compounds included hydrofluoric acid, known as a “bone seeker” because it can burn straight through a victim’s flesh.

All three defendants are charged with illegally storing, transporting or disposing of hazardous wastes, and Stahl and Donald Unrein also are accused of conspiracy. For each count, they face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

They will be summoned later to enter pleas in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Johns said.

Reached at home, Stahl’s wife, Cindy, said the three would have no immediate comment.