FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	

ENR

TUESDAY, JULY 21, 1998	

(202) 616 2765

TDD (202) 514 1888

 
COMPANY PRESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO MAIL FRAUD


 
	WASHINGTON, D.C. The president of Tucker Environmental
Consultants (TEC), Paducah, Ky., has pleaded guilty to mail fraud
for mailing false laboratory analyses regarding contamination
from an underground storage tank (UST) site to the owner of the
site and to the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection
(KDEP), the Department of Justice announced today.

	Janice Tucker, who was initially indicted in the case on
March 5, pleaded guilty on Monday in U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Kentucky.  According to the indictment,
Tucker had submitted false lab analyses for a number of UST sites
in the Paducah area.

	As part of her plea, Tucker admitted that in April 1993, she
submitted false lab analyses from the clean up of USTs located at
VMV Enterprises, Inc., a railroad yard in Paducah. Tucker charged
VMV Enterprises about $6,000 for the false lab analyses of
contamination at the site and mailed the false analyses to both
VMV Enterprises and KDEP.

	"Those whose business is monitoring, removing and cleaning
up contaminated sites owe a duty to the surrounding community to
tell the whole truth," said Lois Schiffer, Assistant Attorney
General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

	"In the case at hand, Janice Tucker did not tell the truth. 
In fact, she lied about test data from one of the contaminated
sites," Schiffer said.

	Tucker faces up to five years in federal prison, without
parole, and a fine of up to $250,000.  She is scheduled to be
sentenced on October 16.  The case was investigated by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from KDEP.

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