(WNY News Now) – A 65-year-old Lockport man has pleaded guilty to making a materially false statement during a federal investigation into hazardous waste dumped at a Niagara Falls property.

Michael J. Hale, 65, of Lockport, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to making a materially false statement, according to U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The investigation began in October 2023 after a community member reported that a large quantity of hand sanitizer had been dumped outside a property at 3800 Highland Avenue in Niagara Falls.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) executed a search warrant at the property in December 2023. Investigators documented a pile of expired hand sanitizer measuring approximately 73 feet long, 24 feet wide and five feet high.

Samples collected from the hand sanitizer were determined to be ignitable under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), making the material hazardous waste under the law.

At the time, Hale was vice president of Regional Logistics Group LLC, a warehousing business that leased space at the Highland Avenue property.

During the EPA search, investigators contacted Hale and asked how the hand sanitizer came to be on the property. According to prosecutors, Hale said he did not know how it got there or when it had been brought to the location.

Prosecutors said Hale knew the hand sanitizer had been dumped outside the property and that it had originally been brought to the Highland Avenue location between January and May 2022.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango is prosecuting the case.

The investigation was conducted by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

Hale is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 22, 2026, before Judge Arcara.