Contractor Sentenced for Asbestos Scheme at Waukegan Medical Site

A contractor from Highland, Indiana, Carl Fioravanti, 58, has been sentenced to over six and a half years in federal prison. He caused an ‘environmental disaster’ by leaving significant amounts of asbestos during the demolition of a medical campus in Waukegan in 2023. Fioravanti admitted guilt to wire fraud and tax fraud, having received upwards of $1.8 million from the general contractor for the project, despite knowing that asbestos remediation had not been fulfilled at the Lake Behavioral Hospital site. He falsified documents and misled state and federal authorities to hide this fact.

Photos from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration showed workers at the demolition site without protective gear. The remediation of asbestos was supposed to be handled by Fioravanti’s company. Prosecutors noted the general contractor later learned that asbestos had been improperly left with demolition debris, leading to over $26 million in clean-up and legal expenses.

Previously president of Lansing-based Alliance Environmental Solutions, Fioravanti acknowledged he misrepresented asbestos removal in another project at the old Harvey Hotel and evaded more than $2.7 million in taxes over eight years through false tax returns.

U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama emphasized the callousness of Fioravanti’s actions, driven by profit, and noted the potential health risks to workers and neighbors due to airborne carcinogenic material.

Valderrama found the behavior particularly egregious, observing how unprotected workers exposed to asbestos could unknowingly spread harmful particles to their families. Due to asbestos exposure delivering health repercussions years later, the threat to those at the site remains uncertain.

Fioravanti was condemned for allowing monetary greed to overshadow concern for people’s health. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Chapman underscored Fioravanti’s awareness of asbestos risks, calling the resulting disaster foreseeable.

In court, Fioravanti expressed remorse, acknowledging wrong choices, document alterations, and overall deterioration of the situation he created. Despite his previous success and clean record, Fioravanti faced extensive consequences for his actions.

The plea deal included no cooperation with investigations into other parties, including James Bracken, owner of KLF Enterprises, the main demolition contractor. Fioravanti confessed to directing improper disposal of asbestos, which was wrongly dumped at a Bracken-controlled site. Though subpoenaed, Bracken has not been charged.