Illegal dumping in NH Harbor trial begins

After dumping sludge and bilge water into New Haven Harbor numerous times, Ionia Management, a Greek shipping company, and an engineer, Edgardo Mercurio, are on trial in New Haven U.S. District Court. The company and engineer, indicted on similar charges in Florida, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this year, are accused of dumping waste oil into the ocean and not completing required pollution logs. In July, Mercurio pleaded guilty under a government plea agreement and could face up to $250,000 in fines and six years of jail time.