Sept. 7, 2004: Refrigerant Black Market Produces Prison Time
LOUISVILLE - A former refrigerant distributor and at least a dozen ex-employees of contracting companies are about to learn their fate after having been caught illegally selling and obtaining a variety of refrigerants.
In mid-August, Roger Whitaker pleaded guilty in Kentucky's Jefferson Circuit Court to criminal syndication and dozens of counts of theft for leading what police said was a black market ring that distributed more than 10 tons of stolen refrigerants. He will be sentenced in late October, after having already agreed to a 10-year prison sentence without parole, according to the Aug. 20 online edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal.