A Farmington man has been indicted after allegedly failing to properly inspect a building for asbestos before it was renovated.
James Marshall, 67, served as a maintenance supervisors with the Finger Lakes Office for People with Development Mental Disabilities and was the person who had oversight over buildings that were being renovated and demolished.
Authorities say that in October 2014, the Hillcrest Building on East Maple Avenue in Newark was identified to be inspected. He requested four samples from two locations in the 300,000 square foot building be taken.
Those results came back negative for asbestos, and that information was included in the bidding process that took place in November 2014.
Months later, in May 2015 when crews worked in the building – asbestos was found in the building. Asbestos needs to be properly wetted and be placed in leak-tight containers before being stripped, removed and disposed.
Marshall is accused of failing to thoroughly inspect for asbestos before renovations began. He’s also accused of lying about the asbestos sampler walking through the entire building during testing. He knew that not to be the case, according to court docs, but indicated such anyway.
Marshall was charged with violation of the Clean Air Act, negligent endangerment under the Clean Air Act, and making a false statement.
The maximum sentence for the charges is five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
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