DC Athlete's Father Involved In Asbestos Conspiracy?

In 2006 a Syracuse New York contractor was arrested by special agents of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for asbestos related environmental safety issues.  The man was the supervisor of an asbestos removal job in which he oversaw improper disposal and removal of asbestos.  According to reports:

"[He] supervised the illegal removal activities at numerous locations throughout the building, discharged asbestos which ran down the outside of the building and onto surrounding grounds, disposed of asbestos as if it were merely construction debris, and released asbestos into storm drains which led to the Erie Canal system." (US Fed News*)

From San Diego Asbestos

That is not good...according to OSHA:

"Breathing asbestos fibers can cause a buildup of scar-like tissue in the lungs called asbestosis and result in loss of lung function that often progresses to disability and death." (OSHA Site)

In other words, it is probably not a very good thing to throw the stuff around like it water and let it float around in the neighborhood.  As an experienced asbestos remover, the supervisor clearly knew the dangers of the substance and knew that the consequences would be bad if it was improperly removed.

The supervisor faced several years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and when he plead guilty, he told federal officials that he would fully cooperate.  (Associated Press Newswire*)

The story on that particular contractor ends there, but eventually the owner of the company he worked for ended up getting in trouble for a variety of things and by 2010 a whole decade of asbestos removal conspiracy was uncovered.  The whole company and it's partners were shady.  (If you care, this kind of sums it up)

Was the supervisor's "cooperation" the domino that brought down the whole scam?

So what the hell does all this have to do with the Washington Wizards? Well, that particular asbestos removal supervisor's name is Everett Blatche from Syracuse, New York.  And I'm pretty sure that is Andray Blatche's father.

According to a 2006 article by Bob Cohn, Blatche does not have a good relationship with his father.

"Blatche's father, Everett Blatche, went to prison on drug charges when his son was 12 and was released when Andray was 17. The elder Blatche has returned to his old job in asbestos removal and stayed out of trouble, but the two are not close." (Washington Times)


So while I am not 100% sure that the 2 Everett Blatches from Syracuse are the same guy, I'm pretty darn sure.  I guess when a company deals with a deadly substance and when they are corrupt, they don't mind giving guys who missed work due to a 5 year prison sentence their job back as supervisor.

I guess he was asbestos they could do...
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Non-Linked Sources:


INFORMATION ISSUED BY U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ON NOV. 29: SYRACUSE, N.Y., MAN INDICTED ON CONSPIRACY TO VIOLATE CLEAN AIR ACT, CLEAN WATER ACT, SUPERFUND LAW RELATED TO ILLEGAL ASBESTOS REMOVAL ACTIVITIES - US FED NEWS - NOVEMBER 29TH, 2006 - Accessed Via Factiva 



CONTRACTOR FACES FINES FOR ASBESTOS REMOVAL - ASSOCIATED PRESS NEWSWIRE - ARPIL 9TH, 2007 -Accessed Via Factiva