LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Two Las Vegas men have been sentenced to prison after releasing toxic asbestos fibers into the air while doing renovation work.
According to the Justice Department, Rene Morales and Hector Vasquez owned a company called Top Rank Builders, which was hired to renovate a warehouse near Interstate 15 and Sahara Avenue and turn it into a facility suitable for growing marijuana.
Court documents state during the renovation, the two men made workers remove drywall and ceiling texture that they "should have known would contain asbestos" and didn't do any abatement measures, which allowed asbestos fibers into the air.
Department officials said the pair also admitted to lying to investigators about their involvement in the renovation and took steps to cover it up by claiming that bags marked as asbestos were "intended for a training exercise rather than disposal of asbestos-containing materials at the warehouse."
Earlier this year, Morales and Vasquez pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act by allowing those asbestos fibers into the air. On Tuesday, they were each sentenced to six months in prison.
