ASHLEY, Pa. — The owner of a company charged with environmental crimes at the site of the old Huber Breaker in Luzerne County has pleaded guilty to some of the charges filed against him.
Pasquale Scalleat pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of unlawful conduct and was sentenced to one year on probation. Charges of unauthorized processing of hazardous waste were withdrawn.
In April, state investigators charged Paselo Logistics and Scalleat with numerous accusations related to the management of hazardous waste and unlawful conduct.
Investigators say hazardous materials were stored and disposed of at the site in Ashley without the proper permits from DEP. Also, the company failed to remove asbestos and other liquid waste and operated a solid-waste storage container without a permit.
Agents with the attorney general's office and DEP were seen at the site in 2017.
The Huber Breaker was purchased in October 2013 and demolished in 2014.
Between 2013 and 2018, the company and Scalleat were sent numerous notices about the failure to remove hazardous waste from the property, and they failed to do so. In addition, investigators say Scalleat disposed of asbestos around the property and let it leak into the soil. Waste was stored around the property without the proper permits after the company was told numerous times to remove it. Hazardous waste was also dumped in an old mine shaft.
Scalleat told investigators that the company had been inactive since 2019. The property was sold at a tax sale in August 2019.
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