Investigations

On August 16, Nikoleta M. Tiliakos, secretary/treasurer for J&N International Coatings, Inc. (J&N), Houston, TX, was ordered by a U.S. District Court judge to pay a $2,600 fine for knowingly delivering a $3,000 bribe to a contract inspector. Tilaikos was also placed on 24 months of supervised release. KTA-Tator, Inc. had a contract with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation to provide inspection services on two federally-funded highway projects involving sandblasting lead-based paint from bridges and disposing of the hazardous waste by J&N. Former KTA inspector Michael Zacker pled guilty in May 2005 to charges of accepting bribes in exchange for falsifying waste analysis reports and other documents that saved the company thousands of dollars in disposal fees at the expense of increasing risk to public health. Sentencing is pending for Zacker, as well as for J&N and its president who pled guilty on related charges. This is a joint investigation with EPA-CID with assistance from OK-DOT.