Worker claims boss ordered him to dump waste into Youngstown sewer 24 times
CLEVELAND, Ohio - There is new information about the federal investigation into drilling waste allegedly dumped into a Youngstown sewer.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson, Michael Guesman of Cortland admitted in U.S. District Court in Cleveland Thursday that his former boss at Hardrock Excavating, Ben Lupo ordered him to dump brine waste on 24 separate occasions.
Guesman claims Lupo ordered him to dump the fluids into a sewer after dark when all other employees had left the Hardrock property on Salt Springs road.
Guesman pleaded guilty violating a provision of the federal clean water act and faces fines and up to three years in prison when he is sentenced on November 15.
Beeson tells 21 News that Guesman may be asked to testify in the pending case against Lupo who is also charged with violating the clean water act.
According to a federal affidavit, Lupo directed the discharge of brine and oil-based drilling mud into a storm water drain which flowed into a tributary of the Mahoning River and ultimately into the Mahoning River.