Dentist pleads guilty to dumping waste in NJ ocean
Environmental
A Pennsylvania dentist has pleaded guilty to dumping medical waste into the ocean, causing numerous beach closures in New Jersey.
Thomas McFarland had unsuccessfully sought to enter a pretrial intervention program that would have spared him a criminal record.
Under terms of a plea agreement, the state will recommend the 61-year-old be sentenced to one year of probation and be ordered to pay the seaside town of Avalon $100,000 to offset cleanup costs.
McFarland admitted dumping hypodermic needles, cotton swabs and other medical waste into an inlet just before Labor Day weekend in 2008.
His lawyer says the dentist was distraught to the point of mental illness over his wife's lung cancer, and appeared to be acting out in "a cry for help."
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Is Now the Time to Really Call a Special Education Lawyer?
IDEA, FAPE, CHILD FIND and IEPs: The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees all children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE). FAPE starts with a school’s responsibility to identify that a child has a disability (Child Find) and create an Individualized Education Program (IEP) to suit the needs of the child.
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