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SACRAMENTO – An investigation by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation has led to a guilty plea on criminal charges that involved illegal pesticide sales to consumers, including internet sales.

Appearing in Riverside Superior Court last week, Orrin William Tanke, 67, of Riverside, pleaded guilty to five felonies and five misdemeanors. The Riverside District Attorney’s Office charged Tanke with the illegal manufacture and sale of pesticides -- including highly toxic chemicals -- to consumers online and through the mail.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Tanke faces potential penalties ranging up to about $300,000 or a prison term. DPR officials said it is one of the few pesticide cases to be criminally prosecuted in California history.

“The Web has become a conduit for all kinds of commerce, including the illegal sale of pesticides,” said DPR Director Mary-Ann Warmerdam. “As state regulators, we have very limited resources and authority to pursue internet crime, but the violations in this case were flagrant. They presented a real threat to public health and safety,” she said.

Online pesticide sales are legal in California, but all out-of-state vendors, and most in-state sellers, must be licensed by DPR. They also must comply with state regulations that prevent consumers from purchasing professional products, which may be more toxic than over-the-counter products.   

DPR investigators said Tanke obtained pesticides never intended for consumer use; repackaged pesticides with his own, phony label and inadequate safety instructions; placed false advertising for pesticides on his Web site; illegally stored pesticides, and sold pesticides that weren’t approved for legal use.   

DPR opened the case in May 2007, when the Department received a complaint from a consumer who mail-ordered the insecticide diazinon from Tanke. Diazinon is an older-generation organophosphate that disrupts the nervous system. Even highly diluted diazinon formulations were phased out of consumer products in 2004 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under a federal law to protect children’s health. 

On Tanke’s Web site, a professional-strength diazinon product was described as “totally safe to be used around humans, pets, and food areas.” DPR had samples tested that showed the product as sold contained nearly 50 percent of the highly toxic chemical, a much higher concentration than considered safe for non-professional users. However, testing on some other pesticide products sold by Tanke showed they were so diluted as to be practically ineffective.
 
Subsequent investigation of Tanke -- who operated under the business name “Quality Supply Company” -- unraveled aliases and internet sales transactions that initially made it difficult to trace his business activities. DPR investigators say the actual volume of his illegal pesticide sales in California and other states may never be known, since it appeared that he kept few sales records for years.

In 2004, DPR had begun a civil investigation of Quality Supply Company, located at the same Riverside address where Tanke resides. In 2006, DPR charged that Quality Supply and an individual who identified himself as “Bill Johnson” illegally sold an organophosphate pesticide via the Web. The case resulted in a $25,000 default judgment in DPR’s favor, but Johnson could not be located and the penalty went uncollected.       

By June 2007, DPR had collected enough information on Tanke, using the Quality Supply Web site (PDF, 300 kb), to seek assistance from Riverside authorities. (These Web pages have since been deactivated)

Riverside Police served a warrant at Quality Supply, which also was Tanke’s residence. In the process, police were forced to break down the front door. Tanke attempted to flee but was detained for questioning. 

Inside the residence, investigators found weapons, along with evidence that Tanke was conducting an illegal pesticide business – including some invoices, shipping records, credit card receipts, and printouts from a Web site – but no pesticides. A DPR investigator then began canvassing local self-storage units and found one rented by Tanke.

Several days later, a second warrant was executed on the storage unit and investigators found restricted-use pesticides, unregistered pesticides packaged and ready for shipment, and boxes of invoices. DPR seized the chemicals under its authority to quarantine hazardous and illegal pesticides. As investigators worked at the scene, Tanke pulled up in a vehicle and was recognized by a DPR investigator before he sped away.

DPR worked closely with the Riverside District Attorney’s Office, which filed the unusual criminal complaint against Tanke last May, leading to his arrest and the recent plea. Tanke is scheduled for sentencing in October.

One of six departments and boards within the California Environmental Protection Agency, DPR regulates the sale and use of pesticides to protect people and the environment.