Calais Man Fined $5,000 and Sentence To Probation For False Statement

Contact: Jim Moore
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine:  United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Clyde Eldridge, 65, of Calais, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr, to one year of probation and fined $5,000 for making a false statement to federal agents.

According to court records, Eldridge owned C&E Feeds, a feed and pet store in Calais.  In 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its Canadian counterpart, Environment Canada, were investigating the illegal use of the pesticide cypermethrin. On September 23, 2010, when asked by two EPA special agents to identify anyone to whom he had sold cypermethrin and whether he had kept records of the sales, Eldridge said he sold different amounts of cypermethrin to different people and that he did not keep track of the sales.  The investigation revealed, however, that Eldridge sold cypermethrin on 10-11 occasions to one regional production manager employed by Kelly Cove Salmon Ltd., a subsidiary of Cooke Aquaculture, and that on each occasion Eldridge made a note of the quantity picked up by the manager.  In April of 2013, Cooke Aquaculture pled guilty in New Brunswick Provincial Court and paid a $490,000 fine for illegally using pesticides that killed hundreds of lobsters in waters that were about a mile from Maine’s border.

In imposing a sentence, Judge Woodcock said that Eldridge violated the trust of his fellow citizens in selling the pesticide, knowing that it would likely be used in violation of Canadian law and that violating laws meant to protect the environment is a serious matter.

The investigation was conducted by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and Environment Canada.