Clapper, Patti, Schweizer and Mason

A Des Moines, Iowa land developer faces up to 55 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his role in a 2008 conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act.  On March 18^th Bob Knapp, now 61, pleaded guilty to that charge and also admitted failing to remove asbestos material from a building in Downtown Des Moines before renovations began. 

In all, he and his supervisor, Russell Coco were indicted on a total of 13 federal charges in relation to the renovation of the Equitable Building located at 604 Locust St. in Des Moines.  Coco pleaded guilty to the 2 asbestos removal charges brought against him on Feb. 15 and is now awaiting a may 20^th hearing to determine sentencing.  As supervisor of the operation Coco faces a $250,000 fine and up to 12 months in prison for his role in the conspiracy.  Knapp faced a total of 11 charges—each of which carries a 5 year maximum sentence.

Knapp purchased the property for $5 million in 2005 with plans to turn the upper floors into high-end apartments while building offices and professional suites underneath.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa alleged that Knapp knowingly and willfully put workers in harm’s way by allowing for the improper removal and disposal of asbestos, which can cause mesothelioma if the fibers are ingested or inhaled.

Workers hired to do the rebuilding were instructed to remove harmful asbestos materials and place them in open bins while they awaited permanent disposal in local landfills—a violation of Federal Law.  According to the details of the plea agreement filed with the court, Knapp failed to ensure "that workers removing asbestos containing materials were wearing proper protective gear nor did he have required air monitoring analysis performed during the work."  

This could not only create potentially lethal health conditions for the workers and their families but exposed asbestos in open landfills could very well lead to public health concerns.  Exposure to asbestos leads to fatal diseases, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and lung cancer.  No amount of exposure to asbestos is safe.

Knapp has already agreed to pay a $500,000 civil fine—a record in the United States—but Kelli Brook, an attorney working with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says that he’s only paid 1/5 of that amount.  In addition, he is $200,000 in arrears on the payments.  It remains to be seen if Knapp will come up with the rest of the money on time.  (He lost the Equitable Building in 2010 to foreclosure after defaulting on loans amounting to $8.9 million.)  If he does not square accounts with the Department of Natural Resources by May 5^th of this year, Knapp could face contempt of court charges in addition to the federal indictments.

Knapp, who was hospitalized on Feb. 17 with "life-threatening heart related issues," has since been released and now awaits a June 10^th hearing to find out his fate.  William Kutmus, Knapp’s lawyer, is confident that the evidence they can present to Judge James Gritzner during the sentencing will keep Knapp’s sentence as minimal as possible.  Federal standards set the minimum sentence Knapp will face at 33 months in federal prison.

Kutmus said, “We are hoping for a sentence that is reasonable and serves justice.”