PRINCE GEORGE’S LANDSCAPER SENTENCED FOR COMMERCIAL DUMPING

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today the guilty plea and sentencing of Michael Roy Gordon, 32, of the 9300 block of Frensham Court in Laurel, Maryland for violating Maryland’s commercial dumping laws.

Gordon, who owns and operates a landscaping company, pled guilty before the Honorable Patrice Lewis in the District Court of Maryland for Prince George’s County. According to the statement of facts, in October 2002, Gordon was hired by a Laurel homeowner to haul away household debris. Instead of lawfully disposing of the debris at a licensed landfill as he had been paid to do, Gordon took the debris, which included broken furniture and office equipment, and illegally dumped it on farm property on Church Road in Mitchellville.

By law, the dumping, depositing or leaving of any litter on any public or private place is prohibited unless the property is designated by the State, or one of its subdivisions as a disposal site for such litter. The Church Road property is not an authorized state or county disposal site.

Gordon was ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and placed on eighteen months of probation. The defendant was also ordered to immediately remove all debris and clean up the victim’s property on Church Road. Citing the defendant’s lack of any prior criminal record, Judge Lewis granted Gordon probation before judgment. In the event that he violates the terms of his probation, the Court has reserved the right to impose the maximum sentence of up to five years in jail and/or a fine of $25,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the Prince George’s County Police Department and the Maryland State Police and prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General.

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