CARGO COMPANY CHAIRMAN CONVICTED FOR DUMPING OIL
CONTAMINATED GRAIN AND CONSPIRING TO CONCEAL THE ACTIVITY

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Thomas L. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division; Jonathan Sall, Special Agent in Charge, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, SE Region; and Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida late yesterday announced that Rick D. Stickle, Chairman and CEO of Sabine Transportation, Inc. a Cedar Rapids, Iowa based company was convicted by a federal jury in a trial before United States District Court Judge Alan S. Gold, in Miami, Florida, for his role in the overboard dumping of part of an oil-contaminated grain cargo from the S. S. Juneau, a U.S. flag vessel, into the waters of the South China Sea in early February, 1999 and his efforts to impede the United States Coast Guard and other authorities from learning of the illegal conduct.

Specifically, Stickle was convicted of engaging in a multi-purpose conspiracy to illegally discharge the oil contaminated grain at sea; of obstructing a proceeding initiated by the United States Coast Guard by presenting the Coast Guard false and misleading statements and records; and of defrauding the United States by hampering and impeding the Coast Guard and the Department of Agriculture in their efforts to enforce environmental laws and the laws and regulations governing the carriage and delivery of donated agricultural commodities.

Stickle’s sentencing hearing is set before Judge Gold on February 9, 2005 at 4:30 P.M. Each count carries a maximum statutory sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine of the greater of $250,000 per count or twice the gain or loss caused by the relevant conduct.

Other senior Sabine employees, Michael R. Reeve, President of Sabine, Michael M. Krider, Port Engineer; George K. McKay, Master of the S. S. Juneau, and Philip J. Hitchens, Chief Officer of the S. S.Juneau were previously convicted for their involvement in the scheme.

"Today's verdict reflects the Department's commitment to prosecute those who do not act in accordance with the law," said Mr. Sansonetti. "From the ship operators to the corporate executives in the boardroom, all corporate officials will be held accountable for breaking the nation's environmental laws by dumping wastes into our waters and on the high seas."

“The oceans are irreplaceable and must be protected," said Thomas V. Skinner, Acting Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, Environmental Protection Agency. "This prosecution sends a clear message that those who violate the law and pollute our waters, including senior corporate officials, will be vigorously prosecuted.”

“This prosecution reflects the commitment of this office to hold accountable unscrupulous operators who choose profits over the legal use of the world’s resources,” said Marcos Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

The government’s investigation began when the S. S. Juneau arrived in Portland, Oregon at the end of a voyage to Bangladesh carrying a cargo arranged and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by C.A.R.E. Crew members alerted a Coast Guard inspector that a diesel oil leak into one of the S.S. Juneau’s main cargo tanks was discovered while a humanitarian shipment of grain was being off-loaded in Bangladesh in December of 1998. According to information provided by the crew, approximately 442 metric tons of wheat became saturated with the oil and could not be off-loaded.

Subsequently, it in alleged that, company officials intentionally misled Coast Guard officers in Singapore and Portland by failing to disclose the true nature of the contaminated residue while seeking authorization to discharge the residue at sea under the guise of it merely being an oily waste. Such wastes ordinarily can be processed through an oil pollution prevention device on a ship, which would limit any oily waste discharge to the standards set by U.S. and international law. The Sabine officers and employees allegedly were well aware, as alleged, that discharging the oil-laden mixture in this fashion from the S. S. Juneau was neither legal nor feasible. Nevertheless, they allegedly decided to hire a team of 15 Bulgarian nationals and a technician to board the S. S. Juneau in Singapore and directly discharge the contaminated wheat into the ocean during the return voyage to the United States. Over seven days in February 1999, the S. S. Juneau, while transiting the South China Sea, emptied the contaminated cargo tank and failed to report the discharge to the U.S. Coast Guard as required by law.

Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the United States Environmental Protection Agency - Criminal Investigation Division, United States Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

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