United States v. Johnson & Towers, Inc., Jack W. Hopkins and Peter Angel

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Before us is the government’s appeal from the dismissal of three counts of an indictment charging unlawful disposal of hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In a question of first impression regarding the statutory definition of “person,” the district court concluded that the Act’s criminal penalty provision imposing fines and imprisonment could not apply to the individual defendants. We will reverse.

I

The criminal prosecution in this case arose from the disposal of chemicals at a plant owned by Johnson & Towers in Mount…