Olumbamidele Dada of Pasadena CA pleaded guilty March 13 to violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act by illegally disposing of hazardous materials.
In 1994, Dada arranged with a shipper in Wilmington CA to transport thousands of containers of chemicals to Nigeria for resale. The highly toxic, corrosive, and flammable chemicals, which were old and declared to be “retrograde,” were purchased from the United States military. Dada never completed the transportation of the chemicals and they were left at the shipper's facility, where their containers began to leak in 1999. The shipper was ordered by the US Coast Guard and the Los Angeles County Fire Department to perform a clean-up that cost about $90,000.
When sentenced, Dada faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the US Coast Guard, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Health Hazardous Materials Division. It is being prosecuted by the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.