Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Illegally Handling Hazardous Waste in Hawaii and Possessing a Stolen Firearm in Kansas
Anthony Shane Gilstrap was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) by illegally transporting hazardous waste in Hawaii, and to possessing a stolen firearm in Kansas. Gilstrap, who had pleaded guilty to the crimes in April, will also serve three years of supervised release during which time he will participate in treatment and programs for mental health, cognitive behavior and substance abuse.
According to documents filed in court, Gilstrap violated the RCRA in Hawaii by contracting to remove 35 drums of the hazardous waste perchloroethylene (perc) from a dry-cleaning operation in Honolulu in January 2017. Gilstrap offered, at a steep discount, to take away the illegally stored, spent solvent. He did not use required safeguards like an RCRA hazardous waste manifest, which traces waste to its ultimate disposal site. Gilstrap moved the drums to a warehouse he controlled where it sat for months without a required permit. He forged a manifest after government officials asked about the drums, falsely saying he had shipped the drums to Oregon.
The company that owned the dry-cleaning operation and its Hawaii regional manager have pleaded guilty and been sentenced. The drums of waste perc were ultimately disposed of properly. Law enforcement in Kansas later stopped Gilstrap for a traffic violation and found in his truck a handgun, which Gilstrap admitted was stolen. The cases of handgun and RCRA violations were consolidated for Gilstrap’s plea and sentencing.
“Laws like the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act help protect people and our environment from hazardous waste exposure by requiring safe transportation and storage practices,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are glad that this unusual case was ultimately resolved without prolonged and serious harm.”
“The illegal storage and transportation of hazardous waste poses very serious public health danger,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Benjamin Carr of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) criminal enforcement program in Hawaii. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that EPA and our law enforcement partners are committed to protecting the American people from reckless criminal activity that jeopardizes human health and the environment.”
U.S. District Judge Eric F. Melgren for the District of Kansas issued the sentence.
EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division; the Sumner (Kansas) County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case.
Senior Counsel Krishna Dighe of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, Assistant U.S. Attorney Oladotun O. Odeyemi for the District of Kansas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Paris Yates for the District of Hawaii prosecuted the case.
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