BALTIMORE CITY COMPANY SENTENCED FOR WATER POLLUTION

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Masons Unlimited, LLC, a Maryland Corporation, located on the 2400 block of James Street, was sentenced yesterday by the Honorable Paul A. Smith to a $15,000 fine for discharging a pollutant into the waters of the State. Judge Smith suspended $7,500 of the fine and placed the company on three years of probation.

This sentence came after a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. During the trial, evidence was presented that on December 22, 2004, Masons Unlimited’s employees discharged brick-washing sludge that contained highly toxic levels of lead into the storm drains on S. Potomac and Fleet streets.

This case was prosecuted by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General, with the assistance of the Baltimore City Police Department, and the Special Projects Team of the Pollution Control Section of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works.

The maximum penalty for discharging a pollutant into the waters of the State is one year in jail and/or a $25,000 fine.