Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte and Special Agent in Charge Michael Hubbard of the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division announce that Celso N. Gervacio, age 29, previously of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pled guilty on April 10, 2008, in Merrimack County Superior Court to one misdemeanor count of Tampering with Public or Private Records. The defendant admitted that on June 6, 2006, he falsified an asbestos abatement training certificate he submitted to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services with his asbestos abatement certification application and certified on his application that the information he submitted was true and correct to the best of his knowledge and belief when, in fact, it was not.

Judge Robert E.K. Morrill accepted the defendant's plea and sentenced him to six months at the House of Corrections suspended for a period of two years, and a fine of $830 plus statutory penalty assessment for a total of $1,000. The defendant's sentence is conditioned upon his good behavior. Moreover, the defendant is not permitted to perform any asbestos abatement work while he remains unlicensed to do so.

Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte said: "In matters related to our environment and the management of hazardous materials my Office will continue to actively investigate and vigorously prosecute those who violate the laws designed to keep the people of New Hampshire safe."

Investigators from the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and the Environmental Protection Agency's Criminal Investigation Division investigated these charges, with assistance from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.