Environmental Criminal Consultants

Experts in EPA Enforcement for Your Defense Case

When you or your client are facing criminal or civil investigation by the EPA & DOJ, there is no better substitute than guidance from former EPA CID Special Agents. Our team brings decades of environmental criminal investigative experience to your side of the table. We speak plainly and don't mince words. We will tell you like it is and try to guide you to a better outcome.

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(630) 352-7438

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Retired EPA Agents Providing EPA Defense Consulting

Who we support

No one starts out wanting to be the target of an environmental criminal investigation. In fact, no one starts out wanting to be a pollutor. However, due to lack of training, lack of personnel, lack of equipment, increases in production, downturns in the economy and the like, businesses and individuals routinely find themselves squarely in the cross hairs of the US Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division or a state counterpart.

  • Law Firms

    We support defense attorneys in both criminal and civil cases. Environmental Law is one of the most complex areas of white collar criminal defense work, often blurring jurisdictional lines between federal, state and local authorities.

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  • Organizations

    EPA CID nearly always charges corporations. This is true because the acts or omissions of your employees bind the corporation. We offer expert support as an integral member of your defense team.

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  • Individuals

    EPA CID moves up the chain of command. Any manager, including Line Supervisor, Environmental Manager, Owner or CEO, can get charged. Employees within an organization often work against each other once EPA investigations begin.

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Areas of Expertise

Our team has seen just about everything during our tenure as EPA CID Agents. Our experience in criminal investigations includes:

  • Hazardous Waste

  • Asbestos

  • Air Pollution

  • Water Pollution

  • Drinking Water

  • UST

  • Injection Wells

  • Mining

  • NPDES Permits

  • Laboratory Fraud

  • False Statements

  • Conspiracy

If you or your client

  • Find out agents are knocking on your doors
  • Have been served with a search warrant
  • Have been served with a grand jury subpoena
  • Have had waste streams sampled by EPA CID
  • Have received a target letter asking you to come in for a pre-indictment meeting
  • Have received numerous notices of violation
  • Have been asked to pay extraordinary penalties or treble damages
  • Have been asked to take onerous corrective action
  • Are preparing for a regulatory inspection
  • Just found unreported violations or otherwise discovered you are out of compliance
Free Consultation

How we can help

Although we do not offer legal advice, we can provide invaluable support and guidance when you or your client are under criminal or civil investigation.

  • Issue spotting
  • Strategic planning
  • Telephone consultations
  • Document reviews
  • Employee interviews
  • In-person site visits
  • What to expect and what is required
Free Consultation

Matthew Siler

ECC Founder,
Retired EPA CID Special Agent,
Former Assistant State's Attorney
ARDC No. 6226100

About Us

ECC’s founder, Matthew Siler, is a retired EPA CID Special Agent with 23 years of experience investigating knowing and willful violations in all areas of evironmental law. Before that he was an Assistant State's Attorney in Illinois for 5 years. Mr. Siler is based in Southern Wisconsin and works with clients across the US. If you need all hands on deck, we have a cadre of retired EPA CID Agents and experienced environmental regulatory inspectors on call.

EPA CID Special Agents are intelligent, educated, highly trained experts in the investigation of environmental crime. The law allows EPA CID Special Agents to conduct surreptitious sampling, record phone calls, conduct clandestine surveillance and even conduct undercover operations. They bring cases in federal and state court every day of the week.

Do not count on anyone other than a retired, experienced EPA CID Agent to handle your file. Other retired Special Agents that were not EPA CID just do not have the requisite environmental criminal investigative knowledge to make a difference.

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Consulting for Law Firms

Environmental law is undoubtedly one of the most complex areas of white collar criminal defense work.

Cases often blur jurisdictional lines between federal, state, and local authorities. Furthermore, cases require intimate knowledge of regulated industries, environmental permitting, reporting requirements, and scientific processes.

Not understanding these complex issues can allow even seasoned attorneys to make mistakes or even turn down cases that may not be in their purview.

Also, if your client, an outside vendor to the target, receives a grand jury subpoena, initiated by EPA CID, it might be wise to have an experienced agent assist in reviewing the records requested. This is because we have seen cases where vendors have arguably participated in assisting their clients in a way that can be construed to being part of the conspiracy.

Consulting for Organizations

EPA CID nearly always charges corporations. This is true because the acts or omissions of your employees bind the corporation.

Organizations can be on the witness list, the subject list or the target list. They can easily move from one list to the other during the investigation.

EPA CID also looks for information from corporations, such as when vendors are subpoenaed or their employees are interviewed. Vendors often have the ugly task of trying to help a rogue company from falling out of compliance. We have even seen vendors prosecuted when they help the target evade compliance.

Consulting for Individuals

Who gets charged?

  • Line Supervisors
  • Environmental Managers
  • Plant Managers
  • Owners & CEOs
  • Corporations

EPA CID moves up the chain of command with respect to who is targeted first. They first gather information from the hourly employees about how things were actually run on a daily basis.

The actions of your subordinates can get you criminally charged if the government can show you had knowledge of the problems and did not solve them or self-disclose. All it takes is an email sent to you, a meeting with you or even a witness willing to testify against you.

The lower echelons always roll over on their bosses. It becomes a race to the courthouse to sign cooperation agreements in order to receive acceptance of responsibility points. Do not be surprised if a sealed plea agreement has already been filed.

Even if you did not direct it, be aware there are jury instructions commonly called the ostrich instruction. It stands for the notion that, if you are responsible, yet buried your head in the sand like a ostrich, you might end up on the target list rather than the subject or witness list.

The clock is ticking, but it's not too late

If you or your client are facing action from the EPA, the earlier you contact us the better. There's no one better to have on your side than our retired EPA CID Agents. We're here to help you, and we're just a phone call away.

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