Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte and Special Agent in Charge Michael Hubbard of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division announce that Samuel E. Rosario Moreta (D.O.B. 7/9/1959) of Lawrence, Massachusetts pled guilty on February 22, 2007, in Merrimack County Superior Court to one misdemeanor count of Tampering with Public or Private Records. The defendant admitted that on June 6, 2006, he certified on his asbestos abatement certification application submitted to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services that all information was true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief when, in fact, he had submitted a falsified asbestos abatement training certificate with his application.

Judge Philip P. Mangones accepted the defendant’s plea and sentenced him to six months at the House of Corrections suspended for a period of two years, and a fine of $1,000.00. The defendant’s sentence is conditioned upon his good behavior. Moreover, the defendant is not permitted to perform any asbestos abatement work while he remains unlicensed to do so.

Investigators from the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office and the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated these charges, with assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.