Ex-LCP Officials Sentenced
 

News Staff Writer

Two former executives of LCP Chemicals-Georgia Inc. were sentenced in U.S. District Court in Brunswick Wednesday, but the sentence for a third executive will wait.

On Jan. 15, a jury found the three men guilty of illegally storing and releasing hazardous materials and endangering workers at the plant.

Christian Hansen Jr., the former CEO and founder of the Hanlin Group which owned LCP, was sentenced to 108 months in prison followed by two-years supervised release, a $20,000 fine and $2,050 special assessment.

Hansen was also ordered to pay a $250,000 bond.

His attorney asked that he be placed at a correctional facility at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina.

Alfred R. Taylor, a former plant manager, was sentenced to 78 months in prison to be followed by two-years supervised release and a $1,000 special assessment. Taylor was also ordered to pay a $50,000 bond within one week.

His attorney asked that he be placed at the correctional facility in Jesup.

Both men have 10 days to appeal the sentences. They must report to prison in 30 days.

The judge postponed the sentencing of Hansen's son, Randall, who was the Hanlin Group's chief operating officer.

Character witnesses were called to testify for Randall Hansen, including his wife, who compared him to the character George Bailey in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

Defense attorney John Ossick Jr. told the judge that Randall Hansen had joined the company to help his father and had made attempts to find money to solve the plant's problems.

"He was a young man and he was in way over his head," said witness Robert Warren, vice-president of a Christian college in North Carolina.

U.S. District Court Judge Anthony Alaimo read a list of people who had sent letters supporting Randall Hansen and commented that he could see no way to deviate from sentencing guidelines.

The judge then suddenly rose and made an announcement.

"I'm not going to impose sentence on Randall Hansen today. I'm going to think about it," he said before leaving the courtroom.

A new date for sentencing has not been set.

In asking for a lenient sentence, Taylor's attorney argued that his client acknowledged his actions but did not know it was criminal.

"We don't argue that he told them to get rid of (the hazardous materials). We argue that he did not tell them to illegally dump it," Malcolm MacKenzie told the judge.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William McAbbee argued that under Taylor's management, "almost 1 million gallons per day was under-reported to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division."

Alaimo noted environmental officials in charge of the cleanup at the plant had lauded Taylor's assistance; however, prosecutors pointed out that Taylor had been paid $30 per hour to help in the clean-up.

Christian Hansen told the court he had many regrets for what had happened and apologized for the plant's environmental record.

The Brunswick plant was closed in 1994 shortly after the state Department of Natural Resources revoked its operating permits.

The site was then placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund list and a $55 million cleanup began.

Three other LCP officials were sentenced by Alaimo last month.

D. Brent Hanson, the plant's former environmental manager, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $5,000.

James Christopher Dunn, a former assistant production manager, was sentenced to nine months in prison.

Former production manager Wilbur Duane Outhwaite was sentenced to 10 months of house arrest and five years probation.