Greek Maritime Officer Acquitted in Pollution Trial
A jury in Houston federal court cleared Greek maritime officer Ioannis Mylonakis of charges that he engineered the dumping of oil tanker waste off of the Texas coast in early 2009, according to the Berg & Androphy law firm. The jury rejected claims by U.S. Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section that Mylonakis, as chief engineer of the 40,000-ton M/T Georgios M, ordered his crew to use a so-called "magic pipe" to bypass pollution control equipment and discharge sludge and oily waste into the seas near Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas. Mylonakis is represented by lead attorneys Joel Androphy and Kathryn Nelson, of Berg & Androphy, of Houston, and assisted by George M. Chalos and George A. Gaitas, of the Chalos & Co., P.C., of New York.
Georgios M Engineers Indicted
A federal grand jury in Houston has returned an indictment charging two crewmembers of the oil tanker Georgios M with making false statements, violating federal law designed to prevent pollution from ships and obstruction of justice, the Justice Department announced. According to the indictment, Ioannis Mylonakis and Argyrios Argyropoulos, served as Chief Engineers aboard the oil tanker Georgios M and each have been charged with violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), making material false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard and obstruction of justice. Both are accused of maintaining false oil record books aboard the oil tanker that concealed deliberate discharges of oil-contaminated waste directly into the ocean.
