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Contractor Charged with Running Sham Training School
Asbestos removed by untrained workers
The US Department of Justice has charged the owner of the largest asbestos training program in the state with running a sham school. According to charges filed in federal court, Albania DeLeon, owner and operator of Environmental Compliance Training (ECT) of Methuen, MA, falsely reported to the state that ECT had trained dozen of workers to remove asbestos. Under state and federal law, individuals who work in the asbestos abatement industry must complete a 32-hour introductory training course. And while ECT offered such courses weekly, few workers ever received any training, attended classes, or were tested on what they knew. DeLeon also tried to cover up ECT's practice of handing out worthless completion certificates by having applicants sign final exam answer sheets that had already been filled in and graded. If convicted, DeLeon and one of her office employees, Jose Francisco Garcia-Garcia, face up to five years in prison and a quarter million dollar fine. State officials say that they hope that the crackdown on ECT will send a serious message to other employers who endanger the health and safety of their workers. "Asbestos work presents some risk to workers even under the best of circumstances," said Massachusetts Secretary of Labor, Suzanne Bump. "We hope this indictment and prosecution will deter other companies from similar actions that place workers in harm's way."
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