STATION OPERATOR CHARGED WITH 23 CRIMINAL OFFENSES FOR 2005 GASOLINE LEAK AT PARKLAWN SHELL STATION IN ROCKVILLE

Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Mahboob Alam Awan, 54, of 9605 Traville Gateway Drive, Rockville, Maryland has been charged in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County with twenty three counts of violating Maryland’s oil pollution control laws. The charges allege that Awan, as the operator of Parklawn Shell Service Station, made false statements in required inventory reports, failed to keep daily gasoline inventory, failed to investigate irregularities in the station’s gasoline inventory and failed to report inventory shortages between July 1, 2005 and August 7, 2005. Parklawn Shell was located at 11800 Parklawn Drive in Rockville.

If convicted of making false statements, Awan could be sentenced to up to six months in prison and/or fined $10,000. If convicted of the other inventory related offenses, Awan could be sentenced to up to one year in prison and/or fined $50,000 for each offense. The filing of a criminal information is merely an accusation of criminal wrongdoing and each individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

These charges follow a joint investigation conducted by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General and the Maryland State Police with the assistance of the Maryland Department of the Environment, Oil Control Program. An arraignment has been scheduled for August 25, 2006 in Montgomery County Circuit Court in Rockville.