LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Los Angeles-based owner of the property that formerly was the site of Lucerne’s Riviera Motel has agreed to a large settlement in an environmental case brought against him by the District Attorney’s Office, with both the project’s contractor and foreman pleading no contest to misdemeanor violations related to the building’s demolition.

Lake County District Attorney Don Anderson announced the resolution of two cases related to environmental and worker safety violations that occurred during and after the demolition of the Riviera Motel in Lucerne between June and September 2016.

Earlier this year, the District Attorney’s Office brought a civil lawsuit against property owner Frank McHugh and filed a criminal case against McHugh’s contractor Benjamin Farcas and Petru Belea, who acted as an on-site foreman.

Both the civil and criminal actions were filed by the District Attorney’s Office as the result of a months-long investigation by the Office of Criminal Investigations for the Department of Toxic Substances Control in Sacramento.

The environmental and worker safety violations were initially discovered when the Lake County Air Quality Management District responded to a citizen dust complaint at the Riviera Motel on Friday, June 10, 2016.

The District Attorney’s Office said Inspectors discovered that Farcas and Belea had begun demolishing the existing building without first surveying for the presence of asbestos or notifying the air district, as required by law, and ordered Farcas and Belea to stop work.

Despite the order to stop, the demolition was completed over the weekend while county offices were closed, the District Attorney’s Office reported.

Farcas paid cash to local, untrained Lake County residents for assisting Belea with the demolition and failed to provide these workers with any protective equipment or adequate water for on-site dust control, officials said.

Tests of the demolition debris revealed that chrysotile, a type of asbestos, was present, according to Anderson’s office. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, has long been known to cause diseases of the lung in any exposed population.

Anderson assigned prosecution of this matter to Rachel Monten, a deputy district attorney in Lake County and environmental circuit prosecutor with the Circuit Prosecutor Project at the California District Attorneys Association.

Circuit prosecutors, like Monten, bring specialized experience in prosecuting environmental and workplace safety crimes to rural counties in California that are often hard-pressed to allocate resources to prosecute these types of crimes, at no cost to the county.

On Oct. 10, a civil settlement against McHugh was filed in Lake County Superior Court and approved by Judge Michael Lunas.

McHugh admitted wrongdoing for multiple ongoing hazardous waste and asbestos NESHAP violations, was placed under an injunction to prevent future violations, and was ordered to pay $272,825.81 in civil penalties and investigative cost recovery, divided between the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Lake County Air Quality Management District, the Lake County District Attorney’s Office and the Circuit Prosecutor Project.

On Nov. 1, Farcas pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor violation of Health and Safety Code section 25189.5(d) for unlawful storage of hazardous waste between June and September 2016.

Farcas was sentenced to three years’ informal probation, six months’ jail, and two hundred hours of community service, the District Attorney’s Office said.

In addition, officials said he was ordered to pay a criminal penalty of $10,220 plus $5,000 to the Mendocino Community Health Clinic in Lakeport to fund health screenings for exposed workers and their families.

Finally, both of Farcas’ contracting licenses issued by the Contractors’ State Licensing Board were revoked for a minimum period of one year, Anderson reported.

On that same day, Belea pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor violation of Business and Professions Code section 7028 for contracting without a license. Belea was sentenced to three years’ informal probation and one hundred hours of community service, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

In addition, he was ordered to pay a criminal penalty of $720 plus $2,500 to the Mendocino Community Health Clinic in Lakeport to fund health screenings for exposed workers and their families.

The District Attorney’s Office and the Circuit Prosecutor Project are dedicated to protecting the citizens of Lake County, Anderson said.

“These violations posed a serious threat to both the Lake County residents who were exposed to asbestos on-site with no protection, and the surrounding community,” Anderson said.

He thanked the Lake County Air Quality Management District for its thorough documentation of the initial violations, and to the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s Office of Criminal Investigations for its tireless efforts and commitment to these cases over the past year.

“The District Attorney’s Office takes environmental and worker safety crimes seriously, and will prosecute any individuals who cut corners and endanger local citizens to the fullest extent of the law,” Anderson said.