[Editor’s Note: ‘s important that you be aware of what happened to Mr. Murrell so that it does not happen to you! The following article is also a good reminder that if you or someone else is going to do repairs that you and/or your repair person become RRP Certified. AOA has become one of the primary leaders in this program and you can register to attend the next class by calling 1-800-827-4262.
Read on and please do not call AOA and request that your magazine be delivered to the jail house!]
U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg sentenced Cephus R. Murrell, age 69, of Catonsville, Maryland, to a year and a day in prison, followed by six months of home detention as part of one year supervised release, for improper lead paint abatement at rental properties owned and managed by Murrell, as well as failure to disclose to tenants the presence of documented lead-based paint hazards. Murrell owns and manages approximately 175 rental housing units throughout Baltimore.
The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Deputy Director David G. McLeod, Jr. of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division; Secretary Robert M. Summers of the Maryland Department of the Environment; and Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler.
Cephus Murrell placed Baltimore children at risk of permanent injuries by violating federal law and ignoring repeated orders to comply with lead paint regulations, said U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein. It is unacceptable in 2012 for pregnant women and children to be exposed to lead paint in violation of the law.
Americans need accurate and truthful information in order to make informed decisions about where they will live, said David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Maryland. Landlords and owners who fail to notify prospective tenants about the hazards of lead poisoning put those tenants at serious risk, as witnessed in this investigation by children with elevated blood lead levels. This sentence should serve notice that anyone who fails to comply with environmental regulations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Reducing exposure to lead paint dust is the core of Maryland’s highly successful program to prevent lead poisoning. Landlords must follow all laws that protect children from this entirely preventable disease, said MDE Secretary Robert Summers. This criminal sentence and the repeated findings of violations and related penalties issued by the Maryland Department of the Environment puts all property owners on notice that they have a serious responsibility to protect families from the devastating effects of lead poisoning.
According to Murrell’s plea agreement, he is the president and owner of C. Murrell Business Consultants, Inc., through which Murrell owns and manages approximately 68 rental properties with 175 rental housing units throughout Baltimore. All of these properties were built before 1978 and are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations pertaining to the risks associated with lead-paint exposure. Murrell has been a landlord in Baltimore since about 1974. The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) or its predecessor agencies have conducted environmental lead inspections for many years at properties owned by Murrell after discovering that children with elevated lead blood levels (EBLs) were living there. These inspections identified numerous lead hazards in tenants’ homes. The State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore have issued more than 20 Notices of Violation and compliance orders against Murrell and/or his company, C. Murrell Business Consultants, for lead-based paint violations, including situations in which a child with an Elevated Blood Lead Level was documented as living in a rental property leased by Murrell. Additionally, Murrell entered into a number of Consent Decrees with the State and City of Baltimore designed to achieve compliance with applicable lead requirements.
On July 19, 2011, Murrell pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of violating the Toxic Substances Control Act. According to his guilty plea, on September 15, 2010, Murrell had workers conduct lead-paint abatement work at one of his apartments, located on Frederick Avenue in Baltimore, while one of the apartment tenants and his children were present on site, in violation of the lead-paint abatement regulations. In addition, Murrell provided MDE with a Project Notification Form for this project in which he falsely stated that a particular supervisor would be at that location on a particular date, when in fact no supervisor was on site, also in violation of the lead-paint abatement regulations. Murrell admits that there were several instances in which he falsely certified that workers would be conducting lead abatement work and that a particular supervisor would be on site to supervise the work, when in fact, no supervisor was on site. For example, Murrell had notified MDE that he would be conducting abatement work on August 31, 2010, and that a specific individual would be supervising it. When officials from MDE visited the apartment on that date they found workers conducting abatement work, but no supervisor was on site. The alleged supervisor was, in fact, out of town on travel.
Finally, Murrell admits that he and his company failed to disclose to tenants the presence of documented lead-based paint hazards when they rented units he owned and managed. Many of these units had a history of lead-based paint problems that had been documented by MDE. Despite these findings and prior enforcement actions by the State and municipal agencies, Murrell did not provide tenants with the required Lead-Based Paint Notification Disclosure Form and failed to: (a) give prospective tenants an EPA-approved information pamphlet on identifying and controlling lead-based paint hazards; (b) disclose to prospective tenants any known information concerning lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards, the location of those hazards, and the condition of the relevant surfaces; (c) provide prospective tenants with any records and reports on lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards; and (d) include an attachment to the lease (or to insert relevant language in the lease itself) which provides a Lead Warning Statement and confirms that the landlord has complied with all notification requirements.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, MDE, and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who prosecuted the case.