Post by Bill on Sept 16, 2005 15:24:10 GMT -5
Austin Powder pleads guilty to felonies, closes Greencastle Site
By Joyce F. Nowell
The Greencastle area storage and distribution facility of Austin Powder Company has closed in the wake of federal felony charges it pleaded guilty to and for which lost its license to operate at the Peters Township location.
The United States Department of Justice announced on Aug.22 that the Austin Powder Company, one of the country's largest federally licensed explosives manufacturers, pleaded guilty to a three-count felony information charging it with knowingly and willfully making false record entries in an attempt to conceal shortages in its explosive inventories at three locations, according to a news release from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
One of the locations was a storage and distribution facility at 7000 Stitzell Road that was served with a search warrant, which subsequently led to the charges.
Mike Gleason, executive vice president at Austin Powder in Cleveland, Ohio, said the local facility has closed. He said about 15 people worked there and were offered employment at other Austin Powder facilities.
According to the ATF news release, the investigation began with an undercover purchase of high explosives by ATF's Washington D.C., Field Division and the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Special agent John Hageman, public information officer in the Philadelphia ATF office, said explosives could be traced if they are in the original packaging since they are marked with the date and location of its manufacture.
"The explosives were stolen from an Austin Powder, Greencastle delivery truck and then traded for cocaine," the release said.
A search warrant was executed at Austin Powder's Greencastle facility. The release continued, upon review of the, records, it was determined that false entries had been made to cover up missing explosives on a regular basis.
"Many other Austin Powder sites had their records reviewed and the investigation grew to 19 states in which both criminal and regulatory violations were uncovered," the release said.
Those states were: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Gleason said, "We are disappointed that we didn't comply in the past."
"We have made changes and plan on complying in the future."
According to the Austin Powder web site, Austin Powder was founded in 1833 "to produce the black powder that would help break the rocks, mine the coal and build the canals" of America's growth.
Austin Powder has main plants in Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Mexico and distribution through 65 company-owned facilities.
Gleason added that the company is undecided what will happen with the local property.
The charges against Austin powder were brought by the office of Thomas A. Marino, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, upon agreement with U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meeliand, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Northern District of Illinois; and Special Agent in Charge Mark W. Potter of the Philadelphia Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The criminal plea, and accompanying administrative settlements involving 23 federal judicial districts, levies fines and permanent and temporary federal explosives license revocations for many of the Austin Powder sites nationally, according to the news release.
In pleading guilty on Aug. 22 to the criminal information filed July 27, Austin Powder has agreed to pay $500,000 in criminal fines and to pay another $510,000 in an administrative forfeiture to ATF for falsifying required record entries into its daily summaries of explosives magazine transactions, said the release.
It further said that the record entries were "false statements meant to deceive ATF explosives inspectors and make it appear that detonators and blasting agents, both high explosives, were not missing from the company's inventory."
The release said the violations occurred in Greencastle, Northampton and Dixon, Ill.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct.24.
"In today's environment, it is extremely important that explosives manufacturers such as Austin Powder fully comply with the law and notify ATF of missing or stolen explosives which can end up in the hands of terrorists," said Marino.
"When a company regularly attempts to conceal missing inventory rather than making required notifications, it creates a dangerous situation which can not be condoned."
The news release continued, "The plea agreement also incorporates three administrative licensing settlements that resulted from violations uncovered during the ATF regulatory inspections of 29 Austin Powder sites and one Austin Powder subsidiary site, Austin Star Detonator Company. " AEF will permanently revoke federal explosives licenses at Greencastle, Palmyra, Va. and Raleigh, N.C. Eleven other sites have been temporarily revoked for a total of 80 days.
"ATF will investigate all violations of the explosives laws, whether committed by one individual or a corporation as was the case with Austin Powder," Potter said.
"We will regulate the explosives industry fairly, but when criminal violations are uncovered that risk the safety of the public, ATF will aggressively take action."
In 2002, Austin Powder pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor violations. of failing to notify ATF of missing explosives in Nevada and improperly storing explosives in Kentucky. The plea resulted in fines and forfeitures totaling $240,000.
ATF is the federal agency with jurisdiction for enforcing the federal explosives laws and for regulating the explosives industry.
September 7, 2005, The Echo Pilot, Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Reprinted with permission
So much for opening lines of communication in the post 9-11 era.
By Joyce F. Nowell
The Greencastle area storage and distribution facility of Austin Powder Company has closed in the wake of federal felony charges it pleaded guilty to and for which lost its license to operate at the Peters Township location.
The United States Department of Justice announced on Aug.22 that the Austin Powder Company, one of the country's largest federally licensed explosives manufacturers, pleaded guilty to a three-count felony information charging it with knowingly and willfully making false record entries in an attempt to conceal shortages in its explosive inventories at three locations, according to a news release from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
One of the locations was a storage and distribution facility at 7000 Stitzell Road that was served with a search warrant, which subsequently led to the charges.
Mike Gleason, executive vice president at Austin Powder in Cleveland, Ohio, said the local facility has closed. He said about 15 people worked there and were offered employment at other Austin Powder facilities.
According to the ATF news release, the investigation began with an undercover purchase of high explosives by ATF's Washington D.C., Field Division and the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Special agent John Hageman, public information officer in the Philadelphia ATF office, said explosives could be traced if they are in the original packaging since they are marked with the date and location of its manufacture.
"The explosives were stolen from an Austin Powder, Greencastle delivery truck and then traded for cocaine," the release said.
A search warrant was executed at Austin Powder's Greencastle facility. The release continued, upon review of the, records, it was determined that false entries had been made to cover up missing explosives on a regular basis.
"Many other Austin Powder sites had their records reviewed and the investigation grew to 19 states in which both criminal and regulatory violations were uncovered," the release said.
Those states were: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Gleason said, "We are disappointed that we didn't comply in the past."
"We have made changes and plan on complying in the future."
According to the Austin Powder web site, Austin Powder was founded in 1833 "to produce the black powder that would help break the rocks, mine the coal and build the canals" of America's growth.
Austin Powder has main plants in Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Mexico and distribution through 65 company-owned facilities.
Gleason added that the company is undecided what will happen with the local property.
The charges against Austin powder were brought by the office of Thomas A. Marino, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, upon agreement with U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meeliand, Eastern District of Pennsylvania; U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, Northern District of Illinois; and Special Agent in Charge Mark W. Potter of the Philadelphia Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The criminal plea, and accompanying administrative settlements involving 23 federal judicial districts, levies fines and permanent and temporary federal explosives license revocations for many of the Austin Powder sites nationally, according to the news release.
In pleading guilty on Aug. 22 to the criminal information filed July 27, Austin Powder has agreed to pay $500,000 in criminal fines and to pay another $510,000 in an administrative forfeiture to ATF for falsifying required record entries into its daily summaries of explosives magazine transactions, said the release.
It further said that the record entries were "false statements meant to deceive ATF explosives inspectors and make it appear that detonators and blasting agents, both high explosives, were not missing from the company's inventory."
The release said the violations occurred in Greencastle, Northampton and Dixon, Ill.
Sentencing has been scheduled for Oct.24.
"In today's environment, it is extremely important that explosives manufacturers such as Austin Powder fully comply with the law and notify ATF of missing or stolen explosives which can end up in the hands of terrorists," said Marino.
"When a company regularly attempts to conceal missing inventory rather than making required notifications, it creates a dangerous situation which can not be condoned."
The news release continued, "The plea agreement also incorporates three administrative licensing settlements that resulted from violations uncovered during the ATF regulatory inspections of 29 Austin Powder sites and one Austin Powder subsidiary site, Austin Star Detonator Company. " AEF will permanently revoke federal explosives licenses at Greencastle, Palmyra, Va. and Raleigh, N.C. Eleven other sites have been temporarily revoked for a total of 80 days.
"ATF will investigate all violations of the explosives laws, whether committed by one individual or a corporation as was the case with Austin Powder," Potter said.
"We will regulate the explosives industry fairly, but when criminal violations are uncovered that risk the safety of the public, ATF will aggressively take action."
In 2002, Austin Powder pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor violations. of failing to notify ATF of missing explosives in Nevada and improperly storing explosives in Kentucky. The plea resulted in fines and forfeitures totaling $240,000.
ATF is the federal agency with jurisdiction for enforcing the federal explosives laws and for regulating the explosives industry.
September 7, 2005, The Echo Pilot, Greencastle, Pennsylvania
Reprinted with permission
So much for opening lines of communication in the post 9-11 era.