TENNESSEE – The owners and managers of a former salvage operation at a former textile plant in Tennessee were sentenced to prison for conspiracy to illegally remove asbestos, according to officials.
U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer last week sentenced five people to prison terms for conspiring to commit Clean Air Act offenses in connection with the illegal removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials at the former 
A&E Salvage had purchased the plant out of bankruptcy in order to salvage metals which remained in the plant after it ceased operations, according to authorities.
Judge Greer sentenced the five to the following prison sentences:
- Mark Sawyer, 55, of Morristown, Tennessee, a former manager of A&E Salvage, to five years.
- A&E Salvage manager Newell Lynn Smith, 59, of Miami, Florida, was sentenced to three years and one month behind bars.
- A&E Salvage Manager Eric GruOwners & Managers of Former Salvage Operations at Former Textile Plant in Tennessee Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy Associated with Illegal Asbestos Removal
- Armida, 56, and Milto DiSanti, 54, of Miami, Florida, each received sentences of six months in prison.
The judge ordered all the defendants to pay restitution of more than $10.3 million, which will be returned to Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund, which was used to clean up the plant site contamination.
The sentencing took place over three days and included expert testimony that the exposures of the A&E Salvage workers to asbestos resulted in a substantial likelihood that the workers would suffer death or serious bodily injury as a result of their exposure constituted a risk of death or serious bodily injury, officials said.
“These co-conspirators took unacceptable and illegal risks with workers lives and the community’s health,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Adding, “These significant sentences should send a message that illegal asbestos removal can have serious consequences, including a prison term for those responsible.”
According to court documents, the conspirators, engaged in a multi-year scheme in which substantial amounts of regulated asbestos containing materials were removed the former Liberty Fibers plant without removing all asbestos prior to demolition and stripping, bagging, removing and disposing of asbestos and without providing workers the necessary protective equipment.
Asbestos has been determined to cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, an invariably fatal disease.
The EPA has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.
“We take our responsibility to protect the environment of East Tennessee very seriously, especially when it involves the health and safety of its residents,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee.
Adding, “We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who violate the laws restricting substances which can potentially cause serious diseases. ”