FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The former president of a Fort Wayne barrel recycling plant where toxic waste was left behind when the company closed in 2003 has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.

Alan D. Hersh also was ordered to pay $1.7 million in restitution during a hearing federal court on Monday.

Prosecutors say Hersh’s firm, Hassan Barrel Co., left behind leaking barrels full of caustic chemicals and open pits where the company apparently dumped hazardous waste into the ground.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has removed more than 10,000 full or empty barrels from the site a few blocks from an elementary school.
Hersh brushed aside questions from reporters as he left the courtroom.