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Terminix moves to vacate scheduled criminal trial

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An attorney for Terminix has asked the federal court to vacate the company's trial scheduled for Monday on charges stemming from the 2015 poisoning of a family visiting St. John.
 
The motion, filed by St. Croix attorney Kevin Rames, points out that federal prosecutors filed a motion last month to dismiss the criminal charges against Terminix International and Terminix International USVI.
 
That came after the defendants filed a notice in August that they intend to withdraw their guilty pleas in connection with felony charges that they misused a pesticide that resulted in the poisoning of a Delaware family on St. John last year.
The pesticide giant and its local affiliate had pleaded guilty in March to multiple violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
 
Those charges came after the Esmond family of Delaware were overcome by fumes from methyl bromide used in a lower unit in Building J at Villa Capri, Sirenusa.
 
The poisoning left the family of four seriously and permanently injured.
 
Documents provided to The Daily News by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have shown that Terminix promoted the use of the pesticide methyl bromide in the territory for the control of powder post beetle colonies in residences.
Records show the highly toxic pesticide was used more than once to treat residential areas at Sirenusa, a high-end condominium development overlooking Cruz Bay on St. John.
 
The criminal charges against Terminix said that the firms "knowingly applied restricted-use fumigants at the Sirenusa resort" in five different units, at 11 residential units on St. Croix, at the Louis Brown Community Center on St. Croix and possibly at one residence on St. Thomas.
 
District Judge Curtis Gomez accepted the initial guilty pleas in the case but rejected the financial settlement, saying he was not satisfied with the "relevant factors that underpin the assessment and distribution of monetary sanctions" in the case.
The court rejected a second plea deal in early August and set the trial date for next week.
Soon after, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed its motion seeking to dismiss the case against the pesticide giant and its Virgin Islands company, suggesting that "on-going discussions" will resolve the matter.
 
Since then, the court has canceled a pretrial conference and another hearing in the case.
 
There is no public record suggesting Gomez has ruled on the motion to dismiss the charges.
 
A report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in July said ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Terminix, had reached a tentative agreement to settle all civil claims of the affected family.
The report said the company would pay the family $90 million, in addition to unidentified amounts that the company's insurance carriers have agreed to pay.

 

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