Judge orders pension garnished
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A federal judge ordered the entire monthly pension of a former Tangipahoa Parish school bus driver be garnisheed to pay restitution for the Superfund cleanup of a trailer contaminated with pesticides, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Mary Ann Vial Lemmon ordered the garnishment Wednesday over the objections of the former driver, Emanuel Johnson, and the Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System, prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Orleans said in a statement.
Johnson, of 126 Garon Road, Independence, and the retirement system claimed his $653.70 monthly pension is exempt from garnishment, court records say.
Johnson was accused of improperly selling restricted-use pesticides in the Amite and Independence areas, including methyl parathion, that led to illnesses, prosecutors said.
Johnson was convicted in 1999 of two counts of unlawful distribution of a restricted use pesticide and sentenced to two, consecutive one-year prison sentences, plus a year of supervised release, records say.
Johnson owed $131,104 in restitution plus interest when the court entered a judgment against him in March 25, 1999.
According to a December writ of garnishment filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, Johnson now owes $187,358.25 after credits, payments and accrued interest.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund spent more than $120,000 to clean up and replace a trailer residence contaminated with methyl parathion Johnson sold, prosecutors said.
Methyl parathion can cause loss of conscious, dizziness and even death in high concentrations.
The EPA has restricted its use.
In rejecting the claim of exemption, Lemmon adopted recommendations filed March 27 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Wilkinson Jr. that held state exemptions do not apply for federal criminal restitution, records show.
Randy Zinna, retirement system attorney, did not return a message for comment Thursday.
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