Ohio man gets prison for failing to clean up illegal landfill

April 9 -- An Ohio man accused of running an illegal landfill and not cleaning up the site after being ordered to do so was sentenced to three years in prison, the Environment Crime Task Force of Central Ohio announced.

Richard Fintak previously pleaded guilty to three counts of open dumping, operating an illegal solid waste facility and operating an illegal landfill or transfer station. In addition to three years in prison, Fintak was ordered to pay restitution of $377,000.

Officials said Fintak operated the illegal landfill in Franklin Township between the fall of 2009 and spring of 2010, when authorities ordered him to stop accepting items. A plea bargain in 2011 required him to clean the site, but officials said it instead accumulated more waste.

"I applaud all members of the Environmental Crime Task Force who worked diligently on this and many other environmental crimes. We will continue to use the full force of the law to prosecute these dumpers who keep the profits and leave taxpayers with a health and environmental hazard," said Ron Mills, executive director of the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio, the group that oversees the crime task force.

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@crain.com or 313-446-6780.

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