School charged in asbestos certification scam

By Brian Fraga
Standard-Times staff writer
August 24, 2007 6:00 AM

The president of a Methuen asbestos training school, where several illegal immigrants from New Bedford received certificates to become asbestos workers and supervisors, was indicted in U.S. District Court on charges of issuing diplomas to people who never completed the course.

According to a federal affidavit, Environmental Compliance Testing routinely issued asbestos certificates to people who did not attend required training courses or pass the test. Albania Deleon, president of ECT, arranged for them to receive fraudulent certificates in exchange for $400, the affidavit said. The regular cost of the course and exams was $350.

U.S. Attorney Jonathan Mitchell said several people who received fraudulent certificates appeared to be illegal immigrants from New Bedford. They worked across Massachusetts at demolition and construction sites, overseeing asbestos removal.

However, Mr. Mitchell said it is difficult to say how many local immigrants attended the school in Metheun, which is 86 miles north of New Bedford.

"We went through a number of the asbestos licenses the state issued, and New Bedford had a number of hits," Mr. Mitchell said. "But this is such a transient population, it's difficult to know how many."

Mr. Mitchell said authorities initiated an investigation after hearing rumors that ECT was a "diploma mill." According to the affidavit, an undercover agent was sent to ECT. The agent paid the company $400 in exchange for a certificate saying he completed the required asbestos training course. The transaction was caught on a hidden camera, according to the affidavit.

"The majority of these certified recipients from ECT did not take the course," Mr. Mitchell said. "Therefore, they were untrained to do the dangerous work of asbestos removal that they were ultimately engaged in."

Ms. Deleon and Jose Francisco Garcia-Garcia, an ECT employee, are charged with willfully providing fraudulent documents and statements to the Massachusetts Department of Occupational Safety.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbc ... 011/TOWN10