The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a list of most wanted criminals and apparently the authority to make membership meaningful. On Tuesday, the that the EPA had Albania Deleon, 40, tracked down in Santo Domingo and extradited from the Dominican Republic for running a fraudulent asbestos training institute in Massachusetts, where she was arrested for the crime in 2008.
Two days before Deleon was sentenced in 2009, she fled the state. Deleon dyed her hair blond, had false identification fashioned, and left for the Dominican Republic. She was pulled over last Saturday, and promptly sent back to the United States.
Deleon faces sentencing for 28 counts of fraud, hiring illegal immigrants, making false statements, and procuring false payroll tax returns, all of which carry penalties of 5 to 20 years in jail.
The EPA's list of wanted fugitives that included Deleon – complete with mug shots – is two years old, and is populated by people wanted for crimes such as dumping oil, contaminating soil, and importing vehicles that fail to meet emissions standards.
–Riley Blanton