Doing time for environmental crime.

• Author: Skertic, Mark
• Position: Criminal charges against C&M Plating Co.

Doing Time for Environmental Crime

From the outset, there was no doubt the state was treating its case against C&M Plating Co. as a potentially major crime. The presence of more than 40 state troopers and Indiana Department of Environmental Management investigators at the company made that clear.

They descended on the Northeastern Indiana town of Roanoke in April 1987 when more than 200 criminal charges were filed against Dale L. John, C&M board chairman, and his son, Martin D. John, president of the company. C&M Plating itself was hit with 220 charges. The state said the electroplating company company had dumped metal-laden wastes, failed to inform local officials of the potential health problem and lied to cover up its actions.

State officials have said the criminal cases they prepared against C&M Plating - and the fact they eventually got guilty pleas to some charges - is an indication the state takes environmental enforcement seriously.

According to state findings, the Johns' company allegedly dumped substances that contained high levels of various metals, including cadmium, copper and zinc. Although the town's drinking water was not affected, the waste was blamed for contaminating Roanoke's sewage-treatment lagoons. The town of less than 1,000 was left with a $1 million-plus mess to clean up.

When the charges were filed, C&M employed about two dozen people. The company, which was founded in 1946, has never re-opened.

The criminal case against the Johns and C&M continued until November 1990, when they accepted a plea agreement with the state. Each man pleaded guilty to one felony count of operating a hazardous-waste facility without a permit. In exchange, other felony and misdemeanor charges against the pair were dismissed. Each of the men was sentenced to a one-year home-detention program and fined $3,000.

The company itself entered guilty pleas to 10 felony counts, among them failing to notify Roanoke town officials about discharge violations. It was fined $25,000 on each count - at a quarter million dollars, it was one of the largest environmental fines in the state's history. But it's hard to...