FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         ENR
FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 1995                              (202) 616-0189
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 

                 TOP CORPORATE OFFICIALS CHARGED
                   IN $1 MILLION RECYCLING SHAM

     The Justice Department today announces federal criminal
charges against two New Hampshire corporate officials for
allegedly participating in a $1 million fraud conspiracy which
falsely claimed to recycle oil contaminated soil into asphalt.  
The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H.,
alleges that officials with the New Hampshire-based Beede Waste
Oil Corp. and Cash Energy, Inc., failed to recycle most of 28,000
tons of contaminated soil transported to the now defunct Beede
facility in Plaistow, New Hampshire, adjacent to Haverhill,
Massachusetts.
     Mark O. Henry, a director and treasurer of Beede Waste Oil
and the owner of Cash Energy, Inc., and Robert D. Laflamme, the
manager of both companies, were charged with 17 counts of mail
fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy for the recycling scam and
violations of environmental law.  Each could receive up to 5
years in prison and fines of up to $4,250,000. 
     The indictment charges Henry and LaFlamme with devising a
scheme to defraud approximately 75 companies and individuals who
were trying to comply with environmental rules by hiring Beede
Waste Oil to transport and recycle their contaminated soil.  The
indictment alleges that Henry and LaFlamme knew that the material
would not be recycled and that Beede's Plaistow facility could
not accept any more contaminated soil, having exceeded a 3,000
ton permit limit for soil storage imposed by the State of New
Hampshire.  Among those defrauded were the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, Mobil Oil, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and the
Shawmut Bank.  In furtherance of the scheme, the defendants
produced false recycling certificates claiming the waste had been
or would be recycled, according to the indictment.  Allegedly,
some of the approximately 28,000 tons of petroleum contaminated
soil that Henry and LaFlamme transported to Beede also contained
the pollutants cadmium or lead.   
     Beede Waste Oil received $1 million as a result of Henry's
and LaFlamme's activities, according to the indictment.  The type
of waste involved frequently originates from the cleanup of
underground storage tanks and oil spills.   
     Assistant Attorney General Schiffer said:  "Sham recycling
will be vigorously prosecuted because it violates the law and
undermines the efforts of those who are trying to comply with the
law and cleanup the environment."
     Paul M. Gagnon, U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire, said: 
"This case makes perfectly clear that environmental crimes are
serious crimes and will be prosecuted fully." 
     Ms. Schiffer and Mr. Gagnon commended the EPA Criminal
Investigation Division for investigating the case and the New
Hampshire Department of Environmental Services for contributing
to the investigation.  
     The indictment represents charges brought by a federal grand
jury; it is not itself evidence.  As in all criminal cases, the
Government has the burden of proving charges at trial beyond a
reasonable doubt.
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95-116