2 Men Face Charges in Illegal Crematory Case
SAN BERNARDINO — Two men were charged Friday with a felony count of illegal disposal of hazardous materials and misdemeanor counts of operating an unlicensed crematory, the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said.
The charges also accused David W. Sconce, 31, of Pasadena, owner of Oscar Ceramics in Hesperia, and John Daniel Pollerama, 27, of Hesperia, operator of that business, of having cremated more than one body at a time at the illegal crematory.
Sconce was charged with additional misdemeanor counts of operating an improper facility, filing false information in an application to run a ceramics plant and violation of air pollution control laws, Deputy Dist. Atty. Glenn Yabuno said.
The men will be arraigned Monday in Victorville Municipal Court and could face two years in prison and up to $50,000 each in fines if tried on the felony charge and convicted, Yabuno said.
Roger Diamond, the attorney representing Sconce and Pollerama in the case, said his clients are innocent of the charges.
Filing of the charges culminated a four-month investigation that began Jan. 20, 1987, when Hesperia Fire District officials visited Oscar Ceramics after neighbors in the area complained about “putrid odors” emanating from the plant. Inside, authorities found two cremation chambers containing partially burned corpses and sludge on the floor composed of body fluids and diesel oil. They closed the facility.
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