HARRISBURG – A New Cumberland man was arrested today on charges that he tampered with a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection inspection report.
Attorney General Tom Corbett identified the defendant as Joseph Nokovich, 64 of New Cumberland. Nokovich is the vice-president and general manager of the Materials Division of Hempt Bros., Inc.
Corbett said the investigation began after Nokovich allegedly presented a forged inspection report to two DEP officials at a meeting in November of 2005.
According to the criminal charges, on Jan. 6, 2005, Dan Welte, a DEP compliance inspector, conducted an inspection of the Toland Sand Mine site to address a problem at the site involving the discharge of water onto a roadway, and eventually into the Yellow Breeches Creek.
Corbett said the inspection revealed that Hempt Bros. needed to install a rock-lined channel for the discharge to flow through before emptying into the creek; however, Nokovich allegedly disagreed with Welte’s proposed solution.
The affidavit alleges that Nokovich has a history of problems with DEP inspectors, including Welte.
Corbett said that sometime after the January 2005 inspection, Nokovich requested a meeting with Welte’s supervisor. During that meeting, Nokovich presented a DEP inspection report dated April 1, 2005 for the Toland Sand Mine site, which allegedly had been written by Welte and included Welte’s electronic signature.
The report indicated that Welte met with Nokovich at the Toland Sand Mine site on April 1, 2005 and that Nokovich agreed with Welte’s recommendations to install a rock-lined channel. Nokovich told the supervisor that the report contained lies because he was not present at the site on that date and he did not agree to the proposed recommendations.
According to the affidavit, Nokovich alleged that he received the April 1, 2005 inspection report in his mailbox, but was unable to locate the document. He decided to duplicate the report so he could discuss it at the meeting in November of 2005.
Corbett said Nokovich photocopied an unrelated DEP inspection report and “whited out” the information in the document and then typed new information on the document based on his recollection of the original April 1, 2005 inspection report he claimed to have received.
Corbett said DEP records indicated that Welte was on leave on April 1, 2005 and could not have conducted a site inspection on that date. Furthermore, the font used in the report was different from the font used by the DEP on official inspection reports. The DEP also has no record of an inspection being conducted at that mine site on the alleged date.
Nokovich is charged with a misdemeanor count of tampering with public records.
Nokovich surrendered himself to authorities today and was released on his own recognizance. He waived his preliminary hearing.
The case will be prosecuted in Cumberland County by Chief Deputy Attorney General Glenn Parno of the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Section.