Bed-bug chemical nets importer probation – Chicago Tribune

A Dyer man who used illegal pesticides to quell a bed bug problem at two Indiana hotels he operated has been spared jail time.

Dipen Patel, 34, who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), was sentenced to a year of probation, with 60 days of that served under location monitoring or home detention, according to court records.

Between February 2014 and January 2015, Patel supplied his housekeeping staff at the Knights Inn in Michigan City and at the Super 8 Motel in Howe with a commercial pesticide called DOOM, which he had transported in his luggage from India, according to the federal indictment.

DOOM contains Dichlorvos, a chemical nerve agent found in outdoor pesticides in India. Federal authorities say Patel's failure to disclose a pesticide containing Dichlorvos upon his return was a violation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Border Patrol regulations.

In February 2015, the Indiana state chemist performed an inspection of both motels. Twenty-nine rooms at Knights Inn, which Patel owns, and 27 rooms at the Super 8 motel, where he is the manager, tested positive for Dichlorvos, court records stated.

Federal authorities alleged Patel instructed housekeeping staff to mix DOOM with water and apply it to carpeting, bedding and mattresses to rid the rooms of bed bugs.

Local health officials condemned the rooms at both motels, and ordered Patel to replace bedding and mattresses and decontaminate all affected surfaces at his own cost.

Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.

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Bed-bug chemical nets importer probation - Chicago Tribune