John Chick, a carpenter with the Cayuga County, NY Buildings and Grounds Department, was fired late last month. A year earlier, he plead guilty to conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act by illegally removing asbestos from the county Board of Elections building in February 2006. He had been on paid suspension for most of 2007. Chick claims he has been scapegoated and he was acting under orders from his superiors, but federal prosecutors do not expect to charge anyone else in connection with these asbestos violations. Sentencing is scheduled for February 20, 2008. Chick could be required to serve up to five years in prison and pay a fine of up to $250,000.
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