Former Fulton County Tannery Owner Charged with Illegally Storing Hazardous Waste

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert James Carville, age 56, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was arrested today on charges that he illegally stored hazardous waste in an abandoned tannery building in Johnstown, New York, where Carville had owned and operated a tannery known as Carville National Leather.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID), Regions 1 and 2.

Carville was arrested today in West Palm Beach and appeared before a United States Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.  He is scheduled to be arraigned in Albany federal court on April 16.

The indictment alleges that Carville knowingly stored hundreds of gallons of hazardous waste, including chromium, lead, and both ignitable and corrosive chemicals, without a permit for more than two years beginning in April 2014 at the abandoned Carville National Leather facility located at 10 Knox Avenue in Johnstown, New York, in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The indictment also alleges that Carville failed to report the release of these hazardous substances by failing to notify appropriate governmental agencies that he had abandoned these hazardous chemicals, in violation of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as the Superfund law.

The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charges filed against Carville carry a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison, a maximum fine of more than $41 million (based on the number of days of violations alleged in the indictment), and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 1 year. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by EPA-CID and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.

Spills and other environmental violations can be reported to EPA’s Superfund National Response Center hotline at 1-800-424-8802 or online at epa.gov/tips.