Man whose house burned on day he plead to illegal dumping surfaces
Post-Tribune staff report July 5, 2012 2:32PM
Updated: August 7, 2012 6:27AM
The man Crown Point officials sought for the cleanup of his burned house has been located, and his federal court sentencing has been delayed.
Stewart Roth contacted Ned Kovachevich, director of the Lake County Plan Commission, about the home Roth owns at 10813 Lane St., on the outskirts of Crown Point that is the target of an Unsafe Buildings Enforcement Authority complaint.
Kovachevich said he was contacted by Roth Thursday after reading in the Post-Tribune Wednesday about the issue concerning his burned-out property that was damaged in a catastrophic fire May 1.
The building authority had tried to reach Roth by mail to request a number of serious issues at the property making it a public safety hazard be addressed or further action would be pursued, but the letter was returned undeliverable.
“Mr. Roth called me (Thursday). He promised to begin cleanup within a week,” Kovachevich said. He added Roth said he was told by his insurance company not to touch the property because of its investigation into the fire’s cause.
Kovachevich said that is a common theme with fire damaged properties.
“I will follow up to make certain that he proceeds with his intention to clear the property and make it safe for all,” Kovachevich said.
Roth had pleaded guilty in May and admitted that he helped to dump waste from Tierra Environmental and Industrial Services, based in East Chicago, directly into the sewers of the Hammond Sanitary District without a permit.
Roth is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 1, but federal prosecutors filed a motion Thursday asking that the sentence be delayed. Roth is expected to testify against his co-defendants NH Environmental Group, which owns Tierra, and owner Ronald Holmes, and that trial has been moved to December. The motion says his cooperation, which is a required part of the agreement, won’t be over until the trial.
The motion does not say anything about the house.
