United States V. M/G Transport Services Inc.

This appeal stems from a federal prosecution of alleged environmental crimes involving the non-permitted discharge of pollutants into the Ohio River from tow boats owned by M/G Transport Services, Inc. After a seven-week trial, a jury convicted M/G Transport and J. Harschel Thomassee, an official with the company, on the charge of conspiracy to violate the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1386, popularly known as the Clean Water Act. The jury further convicted M/G Transport and Thomassee of failure to notify the appropriate agencies of the discharge of a harmful quantity of oil from one of the company's vessels, as charged in Count 2 of the indictment. Finally, M/G Transport, Thomassee, and Fred Morehead and Robert Montgomery, captains of M/G Transport vessels, were found guilty of various charges in Counts 4 through 9 entailing the dumping of ash and other pollutants into federal waterways. The district court, however, granted the defendants' motions for judgment of acquittal on all charges contained in Counts 4 through 9.