State says probe continues into illegal pollution

More than two years have passed since state law enforcement agents quietly searched an upper Montgomery County home, looking for evidence in a probe of illegal pollution and fraud.

No charges have been filed against the Harleysville homeowners, Sloane Six and J. Scott Clemens, who own and operate Hazleton Oil & Environmental, an oil recycling company in northeast Pennsylvania.

The investigation into the company remains active, said Carolyn Myers, spokeswoman for the state Attorney General's Office, though she declined to elaborate. Earlier this fall, state prosecutors asked a Carbon County judge not to seal an ongoing civil case involving the company because they said they wanted to observe proceedings "in furtherance of the conduct of a criminal investigation."

Through their lawyer, Richard Scheff, Six and her husband also have declined to discuss the investigation. In a statement, Six said she was minimally involved in the daily operations at the business.

Scrutiny of her role in the fuel company runs counter to the public image of Six. The 53-year-old also owns Quarry Hill Farms, an organic food operation next to the couple's home, and she has expressed a deep commitment and personal connection to healthy and organic living.

Four months after buying the farm, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and, in news stories in The Inquirer and other outlets, she credited organic eating for helping her fight it.

"Living and working on the farm through my period of treatment, rehabilitation, and recovery, which continues to this day, has been nurturing and tremendously rewarding during a very stressful period of life for my family," she said in her statement to The Inquirer.

Hazleton Oil collects petroleum products - including fuel, any form of used oil, and oil-contaminated water and soil - for storage, treatment, and disposal. It serves customers throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Tainted or polluted oil can hurt people or the environment, particularly if customers burn it as fuel, creating poisonous gases. Burning may also damage the ozone layer, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman said. Illegal dumping complaints are common, the spokeswoman said, but few lead to criminal cases.

Six bought the oil recycling business in 2003, according to her statement. She says she served as chief executive officer and is listed in state documents as president.

Her statement said she wasn't involved in day-to-day operations at the oil recycling business and was primarily responsible for broad financial decisions. Her involvement with the business diminished after 2008 as she battled cancer, she said.

"Hazleton Oil & Environmental's operations have always been managed by others," her statement said, "including my husband."

An affidavit filed in support of the June 18, 2012, search warrant of Six and Clemens' home said she was actively involved at Hazleton Environmental. "Nothing is done without her knowing about it," it said.

The affidavit included information from six employees who said they were ordered to falsify reports or observed fraud, including selling customers untreated or improperly treated waste oil passed off as reprocessed oil, and illegal dumping.

They also told investigators that Clemens or his son often ordered or committed the acts under investigation - including filling a sample jar with tap water for a state mandated test of the business' wastewater, directing employees to dump antifreeze down the drain, and burying waste behind the Hazleton business.

Hazleton Oil remains open and is cooperating with the investigation, according to a statement released by Scheff.