Three Year Prison Term For N.J. Man in Zurbrugg Hospital Asbestos Removal Case
By David Madden
RIVERSIDE, N.J. (CBS) -- A Middlesex County, NJ man who admitted to cutting corners in the disposal of asbestos materials during the demolition of a Burlington County hospital was sentenced today to three years in state prison.
Frank Rizzo, 57, of Old Bridge, NJ (no relation to the former Philadelphia mayor), teamed up with another man to bring in day workers instead of licensed professionals to handle the asbestos "remediation" at Zurbrugg Memorial Hospital, in Riverside, almost five years ago.
"They got this contract and, in order to make more money off of it, they took dangerous shortcuts," says Elie Honig, director of the state's Division of Criminal Justice.
Those shortcuts included not issuing protective clothing or apparatus to the asbestos removal workers, and disposing of the asbestos improperly. According to prosecutors, they were more interested in retrieving scrap cooper and steel from the building.
Co-defendant Michael Kouvaras was given a year in the county jail along with three years probation when he was sentenced last summer.
