|
NEWS RELEASE
PRINCE GEORGE’S MAN GETS JAIL
FOR Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr., announced today that William
Wiley Rodenhauser, Jr., 55, of 3513 Church Road, Mitchellville, was sentenced
to four years in prison following his guilty plea to causing and permitting
illegal dumping for commercial purposes. Prince George’s County Circuit
Court Judge E. Allen Shepherd further ordered The conviction is a result of an investigation by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General regarding a large solid waste dump on property adjacent to Rodenhauser’s farm. When investigators went to the site, they observed a myriad of solid waste including roofing and construction materials, office debris and old appliances, and tens of thousands of scrap tires. Investigators learned that Rodenhauser was allowing people to use his driveway and to dump truckloads of waste on his neighbor’s property in exchange for money. Rodenhauser posted a mailbox on his driveway in which dumpers were directed to leave payment. In December 2000 the Environmental Crimes Unit and Maryland State Police, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, obtained a court order to install a video surveillance camera on Rodenhauser’s property. In a 30-day period, the camera recorded at least 40 trucks entering the dump site, and on 10 occasions Rodenhauser was seen going to the mailbox and removing its contents. During the course of the investigation, the Environmental Crimes Unit also uncovered evidence that Rodenhauser illegally possessed a number of firearms. As part of their investigation, Maryland State Police executed a search and seizure warrant on Rodenhauser’s home with the assistance of federal and state agencies. In addition to recovering evidence relating to the illegal dumping operation, investigators found and seized firearms and ammunition, which Rodenhauser illegally possessed, as a result of prior convictions of armed robbery and felony possession of a firearm.The matter was referred to the United State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecution, and Rodenhauser, upon conviction, was sentenced to six years in federal prison earlier this year. The maximum penalty for illegal dumping is five years and/or $25,000. Rodenhauser will serve his four-year sentence concurrently with the federal sentence. ### |