Everett Steel Officers Plead Guilty To Polluting -- President, Two Sons Face Year In Prison, Huge Fines

The president of Everett Steel yesterday contended in court that he and his sons did not know the company was dumping hundreds of drums of hazardous paint waste in southwest Washington and Oregon, even as the three pleaded guilty to violating environmental laws.

His voice quiet and angry, Manney Berman, 71, reluctantly told U.S. District Court Judge William Dwyer his company was responsible for more than 300 55-gallon drums abandoned at a Klickitat County cow pasture and a trailer company in Molalla, Ore. So did his sons, Leon and Leonard, vice presidents of the company.

The drums were full of metal-laden waste from a wheelabrating and priming operation at 3126 Hill Ave. in Everett run by Panama Machinery and Equipment Co., which does business as Everett Steel. Wheelabrating is the process of cleaning steel before painting.

As a result, the Bermans probably face prison terms and owe $533,000 for the cleanup performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Ecology.

The U.S. Attorney's Office has agreed to recommend a one-year prison sentence for each man in exchange for their pleas, in addition to fines of up to $250,000 each. The maximum term is five years each. Sentencing is scheduled for April 6.

In a statement unsealed yesterday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Helen Brunner alleged the Bermans conspired with Terry Dean Lingle, David Rieman and Merlin Long to find a cheap way to get rid of the waste after an environmental consultant outlined the cost and legal requirements of proper disposal. The men were paid $38,160 - far less than the consultant's estimate - to move the drums in March and April 1991.

Yesterday, attorneys also released a grand-jury indictment charging Lingle, Rieman and Long with 10 counts of conspiring to violate laws governing transportation and storage of the Everett Steel waste. The men have declined plea agreements and plan to go to trial, Brunner said.

Brunner would not comment on how the Bermans' pleas might affect the case against the others.

She told the court that containers of hazardous waste had been stored since July 1986 at the Everett facility without proper permits or the EPA's knowledge. The waste, including heavy metals such as chromium and various solvents, was collected in containers labeled "liquid slop." The company did not have the material tested for toxic properties for two more years.

Then the Bermans met Terry Lingle, Brunner wrote. At the end of April 1991, Lingle picked up several loads of drums for disposal.

"My client believed at all times these drums were to be taken to a treatment facility in Arlington, Ore.," said David Bukey, Leon Berman's attorney.

In fact, the drums ended up in a cow pasture in Wahkiacus, Klickitat County. The only exception was a load driven by a man who allegedly became spooked when he saw an Army helicopter overhead. The driver diverted from the pasture to deposit 28 drums and 400 smaller containers at a trucking yard operated by Molalla Transport Systems Inc. in Oregon.

The containers at both locations were seized last summer after an informant told an FBI agent the driver's story.

Asked yesterday by Dwyer whether he had been coerced or threatened into pleading guilty, Manney Berman paused, then indicated to his lawyer that the potential for grand-jury indictment was in itself threatening.

"I won't take any threats," he told Dwyer, shaking. But then he agreed to the plea.

The Bermans refused to comment after yesterday's appearance in District Court in Seattle. Their lawyers released a statement from the family that said, "Their decision to accept responsibility demonstrates their personal integrity and commitment to their community. By acceptance of the agreement . . . the Bermans will be able to maintain Panama as an employer of 70 people in these difficult economic times."