Chardon business owner heads to prison

The owner of a Chardon demolition company was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for violating the Clean Air Act when he did not take steps to abate asbestos when he tore down a building in Canton.

Russell P. Stewart, 48, was sentenced to a year and nine months in federal prison and ordered to pay $876,228 in restitution. The sentence will be served concurrently with a state prison term for a related case in which he improperly disposed of hazardous waste.

He previously pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Youngstown to one count of improper asbestos demolition and one count of failure to timely dispose of asbestos waste.

Stewart is the owner and operator of Chemstruction. He entered into a contract on Nov. 1, 2011, to demolish the former Stark Ceramics facility on West Church Street in Canton. The site covered about 500 acres and consisted of numerous commercial buildings, according to court documents.

The contract provided that all asbestos-containing materials would be removed and abated in accordance with environmental regulation and industry standards. Stewart participated in and directed the demolition of the structures from November 2011 through January 2013.

“We will aggressively prosecute those who pollute our environment, whether it’s releasing asbestos into the air or dumping waste into our lakes and stream,” Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja said.

“The defendant’s actions in this case released asbestos fibers into the environment and resulted in an $800,000 cleanup funded by the U.S. EPA,” said Scot Adair, acting special agent in charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio.