Downtown St. Louis developer Matthew E. Burghoff recently pleaded guilty in a federal court on Wednesday, October 1. He pleaded guilty to environmental charges relating to asbestos, as well as charges of bank fraud. Burghoff faces a prison sentence of up to two and a half years.

Burghoff admitted to the fraud saying he had taken out a loan to renovate a commercial building, but instead used the money to buy a home in Mexico and pay personal bills.
He also admitted to improperly removing asbestos from the Ford building in downtown St. Louis.

The Ford building is on the National Register of Historic Places and was planned to be developed into a luxury condo building with a deadline of fall 2008. However, the windows are still boarded up and the building has now been sold, according to one of Burghoff’s lawyers.

Burghoff’s problems began in 2007, when an anonymous letter tipped off the St. Louis Air Pollution Control Division that asbestos was being improperly removed from the building.

When state and federal investigators inspected the site, they found asbestos-containing debris had been left in piles throughout most of the building’s thirteen floors. The inspectors also found approximately 60 bags of asbestos waste. Such carelessness of asbestos materials causes those around the site to be exposed, which can result in serious diseases.

One illness that can be attributed to asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that is typically diagnosed during the advanced stages of development. One of the most common types of the disease is pleural mesothelioma, which is formed within the tissues surrounding the lungs.

After the asbestos discoveries were made, suspicion fell upon the financing Burghoff was using for the project. The investigation subsequently found that Burghoff had taken several loans in a short period of time, including one for development of the property, and another for $237,000 to pay off personal debts. Burghoff also tried to take out another loan using false documentation to inflate his income.

For the asbestos violations and bank fraud, Burghoff faces between 24 and 30 months in prison. However, there has been mention that he may be able to reduce his sentence if he provides information about another ongoing investigation.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Asbestos Litigation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS feed. Responses are currently closed, but you trackback from your own site.