Jury convicts Grubstake Auction and owner for spreading chemicals at site used by homeless people

An Anchorage jury Tuesday found the owner of an auction company guilty of spreading a hazardous chemical on the ground at a downtown Anchorage site commonly used by homeless people.

Ronald Alleva and Grubstake Auction Co., where he is president, were found guilty in Anchorage District Court of four misdemeanors, including reckless endangerment and misuse of a pesticide.

Alleva, 67, directed employees at the company to spread Zappit 73, a pool cleaner containing calcium hypochlorite, on the ground within a block of Bean’s Cafe and Brother Francis Shelter last June, the Alaska Department of Law said in a prepared statement Wednesday.

The soup kitchen, shelter and nearby area are among the city’s most popular gathering places for homeless people.

The chemical was spread on June 7 on a dirt strip that runs alongside a single city block, on the east side of Karluk Street between Third and Fourth avenues.

A call to Grubstake Auction on Wednesday was directed to Alleva, who could not be immediately reached for comment.

Lisa Sauder, executive director at Bean’s Cafe, said Alleva’s actions put people at serious risk of burns or other health problems.

“I’m thankful the courts realized the danger posed to people through those actions,” she said. “All these people need to be treated with respect. We have to care for our fellow man, even people who are struggling.”

Zappit 73 is a registered pesticide and is labeled as hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The pollution prompted an extensive cleanup and removal of 1,400 pounds of contaminated soil from the site.

The action put people “at risk of serious physical injury including blindness and even death had the substance been ingested,” the Department of Law said. “It also polluted state lands and would likely have polluted Ship Creek if it had rained.”

Grubstake Auction is located in the area and Alleva has waged a yearslong campaign against the shelter and soup kitchen, saying the homeless who frequent the agencies and erect tents in the area desecrate the neighborhood.

Alleva had previously told a reporter that he was providing a public service, using “bleach” to clean up an area polluted with human feces, vomit and rotting food.

Alleva had pleaded “not guilty” in the case, said Carole Holley, an assistant attorney general for Alaska.

The jury found him guilty after less than three hours of deliberation, she said.

Alleva could face up to two years in jail and a $50,000 fine, Holley said. The company could face up to $1 million in fines.

Alleva is scheduled to be sentenced May 21 by Anchorage District Court Judge Leslie Dickson, Holley said.