A Plainville-based heating contractor has pleaded guilty to the improper removal of asbestos and to witness intimidation, Attorney General Martha Coakley said on February 11.
Nicholas Pasquantonio, 43, of Wrentham, pleaded guilty on Monday in Norfolk Superior Court to one count of witness intimidation and two counts of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act for not following required asbestos removal procedures and failing to file a notice of the removal with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Judge Thomas Connors sentenced Pasquantonio to one year in the House of Correction, with six months to serve and the balance suspended for three years during a period of probation. Connors also ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine and to have no contact with the victims involved.
“This defendant put the public’s safety at risk by violating the guidelines for reporting and removing asbestos, an extremely hazardous toxin,” said Coakley.
The state alleged that despite knowing the job would involve asbestos and not having an asbestos contracting license, Pasquantonio accepted an offer from a landlord in December 2010 to replace the boiler in a Medway property occupied by a family with several children. Prosecutors also said Pasquantonio did not follow required safety procedures, such as properly sealing off the work area.
The state alleged that once Pasquantonio learned he might be charged for the illegal asbestos removal, he intimidated two potential witnesses against him.
The investigation was led by the Massachusetts Environmental Strike Force, an interagency unit overseen by the AG’s office, Environmental Affairs. and MassDEP.
Pasquantonio was indicted by a Norfolk County Grand Jury in January 2012 and arraigned in Norfolk Superior Court in March of that same year.
“Plumbing and heating contractors are well aware that asbestos must be properly removed by trained and licensed asbestos contractors,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell.
“Improper asbestos removal work that exposes workers, tenants and the general public to a known carcinogen is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”