Company Sentenced for Selling False Asbestos Training Certificates

April 5, 2000
Between January 1994 and August 1996, Omar Gonzalez and his company falsified training certificates required to certify individuals to remove asbestos.

A Virginia man and his company, Industrial Training Support Services (ITSS), were recently sentenced for violating the Clean Air Act.

Some of the individuals who received false certificates were undocumented aliens who were issued certificates under false names.

Gonzalez also pleaded guilty to evading federal income taxes.

The court ordered Gonzalez to serve 27 months in prison, pay a $90,995 fine, pay $68,089 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service and serve two years probation.

ITSS was ordered to jointly pay the $90,995 fine with Gonzalez and was placed on one year probation.

The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division.

About the Author

EHS Today Staff

EHS Today's editorial staff includes:

Dave Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief: During his career Dave has led the editorial management of many of Endeavor Business Media's best-known brands, including IndustryWeekEHS Today, Material Handling & LogisticsLogistics Today, Supply Chain Technology News, and Business Finance. In addition, he serves as senior content director of the annual Safety Leadership Conference. With over 30 years of B2B media experience, Dave literally wrote the book on supply chain management, Supply Chain Management Best Practices (John Wiley & Sons, 2021), which has been translated into several languages and is currently in its third edition. He is a frequent speaker and moderator at major trade shows and conferences, and has won numerous awards for writing and editing. He is a voting member of the jury of the Logistics Hall of Fame, and is a graduate of Northern Illinois University.

Adrienne Selko, Senior Editor: In addition to her roles with EHS Today and the Safety Leadership Conference, Adrienne is also a senior editor at IndustryWeek and has written about many topics, with her current focus on workforce development strategies. She is also a senior editor at Material Handling & Logistics. Previously she was in corporate communications at a medical manufacturing company as well as a large regional bank. She is the author of Do I Have to Wear Garlic Around My Neck?, which made the Cleveland Plain Dealer's best sellers list.

Nicole Stempak, Managing Editor:  Nicole Stempak is managing editor of EHS Today and conference content manager of the Safety Leadership Conference.

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