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| Hugh O'Donnell jailed for illegal waste site near Reading | Hugh O'Donnell jailed for illegal waste site near Reading |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A man from Berkshire has been sentenced to four years in prison for dumping waste and money laundering. | A man from Berkshire has been sentenced to four years in prison for dumping waste and money laundering. |
| Hugh O'Donnell, 63, led a group who dumped building waste at an illegal site near Reading, between 2006 and 2008. | |
| The Environment Agency said it was the biggest court case it had ever brought. | The Environment Agency said it was the biggest court case it had ever brought. |
| O'Donnell, of Andrews Close, Reading, and two other men from the town had earlier pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court to two charges. | O'Donnell, of Andrews Close, Reading, and two other men from the town had earlier pleaded guilty at Isleworth Crown Court to two charges. |
| O'Donnell, along with Peter Lavelele, 28, of Blenheim Terrace; and Robert Evans, 61, of Lynmouth Road, admitted acquiring, using and possessing criminal property and depositing, without licence, controlled special waste, in or on land. | |
| A fourth man originally arrested was released without charge. | A fourth man originally arrested was released without charge. |
| Lavelele was sentenced to 18 months in prison and Evans was jailed for two years. | Lavelele was sentenced to 18 months in prison and Evans was jailed for two years. |
| 'Deliberate and calculated' | 'Deliberate and calculated' |
| When the Environment Agency and Thames Valley Police raided the site O'Donnell was using, near Aldermaston, in September 2008, officers seized £45,000 in cash. | |
| A spokeswoman for the agency said O'Donnell was the landowner of the site and he allowed skip waste to be sorted and disposed there in a landfill and by burning. | |
| He also allowed lorry loads of construction and demolition waste to be buried in the landfill. | |
| She said he also instructed others to set up phoney companies and alias names to hide his involvement in the crimes. | |
| Sentencing the three men, the judge said: "This is deliberate and calculated offending on an industrial scale for profit. | Sentencing the three men, the judge said: "This is deliberate and calculated offending on an industrial scale for profit. |
| "You carried carried on in spite of efforts to stop you and with the clear intention of making as much criminal profit out of the offences as you could before you were stopped." | "You carried carried on in spite of efforts to stop you and with the clear intention of making as much criminal profit out of the offences as you could before you were stopped." |
| The Environment Agency's solicitor, Angus Innes, said the sentence sent a clear message to others contemplating waste crime. | The Environment Agency's solicitor, Angus Innes, said the sentence sent a clear message to others contemplating waste crime. |
| He said: "This is a clear deterrent for others, and there are many of them, in the illegal waste industry, that their activity will be closed down, their profits will be taken, and they'll end up in jail if they don't stop." | He said: "This is a clear deterrent for others, and there are many of them, in the illegal waste industry, that their activity will be closed down, their profits will be taken, and they'll end up in jail if they don't stop." |