Former Owner of Fulton County Tannery Plant Pleads Guilty to Felony Storage of Hazardous Waste

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Robert Carville, age 56, formerly of Johnstown, New York, pled guilty today to storing hazardous waste without a permit at the former Carville National Leather Corporation building in Johnstown.

The announcement was made by United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID) in New York.

Carville National Leather Corporation was a family owned tannery business that operated in Johnstown from 1976 until it closed for financial reasons in September 2013. Robert Carville owned and operated Carville National Leather for approximately 10 years leading up to its closing.

In pleading guilty, Carville admitted that as the owner and manager of the tannery, he was responsible for the materials inside the tannery when it closed. Carville ultimately moved to another state and left behind, in the tannery building, hundreds of containers of hazardous chemicals, including some that had labels on them such as “corrosive,” “acidic,” and “hazardous.” Carville admitted that he did not have a permit to store hazardous materials at the tannery (or anywhere else).  Carville also admitted that he stored these chemicals illegally for more than 2 years.

Carville will be sentenced on May 20, 2019 by Senior United States District Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr.  He faces up to 5 years in prison and a maximum fine of up to $50,000 per day of violation. 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 was investigated by EPA-CID and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.