A city councilmember in California City was arrested on Tuesday on a hazardous waste transportation charge.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that Michael Kulikoff, 39, was charged with conspiracy to transport and cause to be transported a hazardous waste without a manifest and placing another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
Driving the news: In February 2024, Kulikoff, who owned a car wash business, discovered that a mercury exposure incident had occurred at his business.
- Someone spilled a jar containing several ounces of mercury inside the cabin of a vehicle and had attempted to clean it up using a vacuum. That person then drove the contaminated vehicle to a residence in California City, where he then called 911 because he was experiencing symptoms related to mercury exposure.
- Emergency services personnel detected around 20 times the allowable limit of mercury inside the vehicle and also shut down the car wash.
- Kulikoff tried to clean up the car wash himself but was told to stop by emergency services because it was unsafe.
- The next morning, Kulikoff conspired with another person to move the contaminated vehicle outside to Boron because he wanted it to be outside the jurisdiction of California City emergency services personnel.
- Emergency services left the location of the contaminated vehicle to respond to a fire, which was a false report, only to return and find the vehicle to be missing. Within a couple hours, emergency services found the vehicle at the residence of the person who moved it at Kulikoff’s direction. That person also complained of symptoms related to mercury exposure.
What we’re watching: Kulikoff faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to transport hazardous waste, as well as a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $50,000 fine per day of violation for placing another person in imminent danger if convicted.
