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LA seeks to stop zoo nonprofit from allegedly misusing $50M PG 02
Report: Palisades and Eaton fires caused up to $53.8B in property damage PG 28
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MONDAY, MARCH 03- MARCH 09, 2025
EPA completes hazardous materials cleanup in wildfire areas By Joe Taglieri
in alleged jail smuggling operation By City News Service
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of federal and state crews, the first phase of debris cleanup is coming to a close and we can turn our focus fully to structural debris removal,” Newsom said in a statement. “Under the leadership of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, crews cleaned hazardous waste from thousands of properties in less than 30 days, a record pace See Debris Page 27
See Jail drugs Page 28
EPA workers search for hazardous materials to remove from a property destroyed during the January firestorm. | Photo courtesy of Lee Zeldin/X
ing, and we will continue to support our partner agencies as they move through this process.” EPA crews safely disposed of more than 1,000 lithiumion batteries from vehicles, homes and other battery powered products, according to the agency. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Tuesday that more than 4,400 properties had been deferred to Phase 2, while more than 9,000 others had been cleared by the EPA.
Sheriff’s deputy, 17 others accused
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remove hazardous materials and other wastes from those properties during Phase 2 of the debris-removal program. “EPA’s ability to complete this essential first phase of the cleanup is due to the dedication and hard work of our EPA staff and contractors, our federal, state and local partners, and the support of the community,” Tara Fitzgerald, EPA’s incident commander, said in a statement. “We recognize this is just the first step on the road to recovery and rebuild-
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ighteen people, including a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, were indicted for allegedly taking part in a “sophisticated” Mexican Mafia operation to smuggle drugs into county jails. The indictment stems from a sheriff’s department and FBI investigation that began in early 2022 into reports of drugs being smuggled into the county jail system, along with an attack on an inmate. Among the defendants named in the indictment was sheriff’s Deputy Michael Meiser, 39, of Lancaster. “Corruption and criminal activity will not be tolerated in our justice system — especially within our jails,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement. “Ensuring that our correctional facilities remain secure and free of illicit drugs is crucial to public safety. Those entrusted with upholding the law must be held to the highest standards, and we will aggressively prosecute those who betray that trust.” The 51-page indictment details a criminal smuggling operation allegedly orchestrated by an organization controlled by the Mexican Mafia prison gang, and it outlines the alleged actions of the various defendants beginning in early 2022. Charges in the indictment against various defendants include conspiracy to sell a controlled substance (heroin), participation in a criminal street gang-sale of a controlled substance (heroin), conspiracy to commit extortion, extortion, participation in a criminal street gang, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, furnishing a controlled substance to a person in custody, possession for sale of a controlled substance, possession of a firearm by a felon and unlawful possession of ammunition, Meiser is specifically charged with a non-inmate furnishing a controlled substance to a person in custody, attempted non-inmate furnishing a controlled substance to a person in custody, conspiracy to commit non-inmate furnishing a controlled substance to a person in custody and participation in a criminal street gang. The indictment describes various security videos allegedly showing Meiser speaking to other defendants in the case, at one point handing a bag to one of the inmates, and in another instance receiving plastic grocery bag from a woman at a Lancaster gas station, containing about one pound of black tar heroin, which he then allegedly carried into the North County Correctional Facility.
joet@beaconmedianews.com he removal of hazardous materials from areas devastated in the Eaton and Palisades fires has completed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday. Now that Phase 1 of the cleanup work is done, efforts to clear wildfire debris led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is now fully underway. During Phase 2 government crews or private contractors hired by property owners will remove the ash, wood and other debris that remain on thousands of properties in Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The hazardous waste removal finished within the 30 days that local officials requested. Phase 1 first was expected to last for several months, however local and state officials asked the EPA to quicken the pace of its crews’ work and finish the process in 30 days to enable a sooner start to eventual rebuilding efforts. During a briefing Wednesday morning at the county Hall of Administration in downtown Los Angeles, EPA Acting Regional Administrator Cheree Peterson said EPA crews did not remove hazardous substances from several thousand properties that officials deemed too dangerous to clear. The Corps of Engineers will
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