Ohio AG right to go after Mahoning River polluter

One year and 10 months ago, Ben Lupo, the Mahoning Valley’s serial polluter, caught a huge break when he was fined a mere $25,000 for violating federal environmental protection laws 31 times.

To be sure, Lupo was sentenced to two years and four months in federal prison, a sentence he began serving on Sept. 30, 2014.

However, U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent could have thrown the book at the man who had no qualms about intentionally poisoning the Mahoning River.

Judge Nugent had the option of sentencing Lupo, former owner of Hardrock Excavating of Youngstown, to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

We had urged the judge to show no mercy because Lupo orchestrated the dumping of 20,000 gallons of oily black ooze in a Mahoning River tributary near his business in Youngstown.

It is important to remember that he had the gall to deny responsibility – through a spokesman – for his actions, even after he was caught red-handed. Of course, rather than get his own hands dirty, he ordered an employee, Michael P. Guesman of Cortland, to dump the fracking waste into the river. Guesman pleaded guilty to violating the federal Clean Water Act. He was sentenced to three years’ probation and 300 hours of community service.

We harken back to what occurred in 2014 to set the stage for the next judicial chapter in the saga of serial polluter Lupo.

Last week, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court against Lupo, two of his companies and three of his employees, seeking more than $25,000 in penalties under state law. The suit alleges that the defendants “discharged and caused the discharge of brine, oil-based drilling muds and other oil-field wastes and wastewater” without a permit into the storm water drain that flowed into the Mahoning River tributary.

Numerous violations

But from where we sit – given our belief that Lupo got a break from the federal judge – the most important aspect of the lawsuit filed by DeWine is this: The attorney general contends that state environmental protection laws were violated at least 25 times. Each offense carries a penalty of up to $10,000.

If you multiply 25 by $10,000 you get $250,000.

Remember, $250,000 is the amount U.S. District Court Judge Nugent could have ordered the former businessman to pay.

The wheels of justice may finally – and justifiably – crush a morally deficient individual.

In addition to Lupo, the defendants in the state case are Guesman, Mark A. Goff, David Jenkins, Hardrock Excavating and D&L Energy.

In the federal case, Hardrock pleaded guilty to violating the federal Clean Water Act and was fined $75,000. The company also was required to make a community-service payment of $25,000 to be split equally between Friends of the Mahoning River and the Midwest Environmental Enforcement Association of St. Charles, Ill.

According to the lawsuit filed by the Ohio attorney general, Lupo directed Hardrock employees to dump the pollutants from one or more storage tanks on D&L’s Salt Springs Road property into the storm sewer.

Given the seriousness of the charges, we urge DeWine to seek the maximum penalty.

The $25,000 referred to in the lawsuit is the base, but it ultimately will be up to the court to determine the total number of violations and the appropriate fines the defendants must pay.

Lupo, set for release from the Federal Medical Center Devens in Ayer, Mass., in October, perpetrated a criminal conspiracy that was harmful to the Mahoning River.

The oily mess from the waste dumping necessitated a $3.1 million cleanup paid for by D&L and lasting more than a month.

In 2014, after Lupo pleaded guilty in federal court, DeWine made the following comment: “Ben Lupo put his own business interests ahead of the health and safety of our citizens, our natural resources and wildlife. … He will now be held accountable for this terrible crime.”

We urge common pleas Judge John M. Durkin to consider the ramifications of the defendants’ actions and to show no mercy.