“I just got greedy.”
That’s what a defendant in a recent environmental crime case told Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criminal investigator Justus Derx as his reason for conducting illegal asbestos removal operations. Derx said getting “greedy” to make money is often the main motivation for environmental criminals.
As the resident agent-in-charge at the EPA’s Syracuse, N.Y. office, Derx investigates some of the nation’s most serious environmental crimes, ranging from hazardous waste issues to asbestos violations, and then helps prosecutors bring criminal charges against the violators.
“One day we can be crawling through a wetland trying to find a point source for a water discharge, and the next day we can be dressed up in a courtroom testifying,” Derx said.
In 2008, Derx investigated members of a Utica, N.Y. family who were conducting questionable asbestos removal procedures and dumping the dangerous asbestos on an unwitting landowners’
property. The in-depth inquiry led to the indictment, conviction and jail time for three family members.
Asbestos has been determined to cause lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, an invariably fatal disease. The EPA has determined that there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos.
“He has demonstrated that there is no defendant who can outwork him when it comes to obtaining evidence and putting a case together,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Benedict.
“He has surprised individuals committing crimes by walking in on them at 2:00 a.m. on a weekend, and initiated search warrants in the middle of blinding snow storms when workers thought they were going to be able to get away with criminal activities,” said Benedict.
Derx and his team follow many potential leads, conduct interviews, execute search warrants and learn the history of the company or individuals during the environmental investigations.
“It’s not unusual to go through hundreds of boxes and millions of pieces of paper as part of our cases,” Derx said.
One such case involved a company that for years improperly removed asbestos from buildings and provided fraudulent air monitoring results to clients. The lengthy and detailed inquiry led to criminal charges and convictions of the individuals involved.
In addition to conducting investigations and helping federal prosecutors prepare cases, Derx often serves as a witness during the trials.
“He has this innate ability to get people to trust him. Juries fall in love with him, and he’s honest with them up front,” said Mike Dwyer, Derx’s EPA colleague.
Derx never planned to become a criminal investigator. After working as an accountant, he applied for a job with the Internal Revenue Service in 1986 assuming he would do audit work, but his application was transferred to the criminal division. “I am thankful every single day that somehow my name got pulled out of that pile of resumes because this is without a doubt the perfect job for me,” said Derx. He joined the EPA is 1997.
A seasoned expert in his field, Derx has participated in more than 100 investigations related to large-scale asbestos violations alone.
“I’ve gone to a lot of places where people have been put in situations where I know their health and the environment have been put at serious risk,” he said. “If you’re talking to someone who’s been exposed to something and then harmed, they’re basically looking at you as the only person who can help them.”
This article was jointly prepared by the Partnership for Public Service, a group seeking to enhance the performance of the federal government, and washingtonpost.com. Go to http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/fedpage/players/ to read about other federal workers who are making a difference.
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