Ex-fireworks executive pleads guilty

ST. LOUIS -- A former executive of two sister fireworks companies pleaded guilty Monday to lying to investigators in the last of several cases that followed three serious explosions at a St. Louis-area plant.

Russell Nickel, 39, faces sentencing Aug. 13 on a federal charge of making a false statement to a government agency. He was the final defendant in the case against Dittmer, Mo.-based Pyro Products and its sister Next F/X Inc.

Three separate explosions dating to 1999 killed two workers and injured five others at the plant that made fireworks for both companies. None of the executives was accused in the deaths or injuries.

Next F/X is now based in Columbus, Mont., where Nickel and co-defendants Ronald Robert Walker, 41, and his wife, Kim Joan Walker, 39, also live.

Ronald Walker was the former president of Pyro and Next F/X, while his wife was Pyro's chief financial officer. Both pleaded guilty last week to one felony count of conspiracy to illegally transport hazardous wastes and illegal storage of explosives.

Both companies also pleaded guilty last week to transporting hazardous materials.

Sentencing for the Walkers and the companies is set for July 30. Pyro has agreed to pay a $70,000 fine and terminate its operating license, U.S. Attorney Ray Gruender said. The company also agreed to settle civil claims with the Department of Labor and pay a $100,000 penalty.

Nickel's plea stemmed from an explosion on June 6, 2001, in which three workers were injured. Gruender said Nickel lied to investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration when he denied any involvement with Next F/X. In fact, Nickel was listed in Missouri incorporation documents as vice president, Gruender said.

In August, a seven-count federal indictment accused the Walkers and Nickel of obstructing government investigators, failing to report explosions at Pyro, and directing workers to lie to authorities and move or hide unsafe conditions and violations from inspectors.