Strongsville company pleads guilty in fish-deaths case

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

A Strongsville company and the owner’s wife have pleaded guilty for their roles in the dumping of liquid cyanide into a storm drain, resulting in the death of almost 31,000 fish in an Ohio river last year.

U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach in Cleveland said Thursday that Kennedy Mint Inc. pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act. The owner’s 74-year-old wife pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.

Stormwater from the business’s parking lot flows into the East Branch of the Rocky River that runs through Cleveland’s western suburbs.

Dettelbach says Kennedy Mint will pay restitution of $30,893 — one dollar for every fish killed. The money will be used to restock the river.