Businessman Jerome "Jerry" Anches pleaded guilty yesterday to illegal storage of hazardous waste at a Sand Island warehouse and faces a maximum of five years in prison, $250,000 in fines and restitution of up to $84,000 when he is sentenced in September.

In an agreement with federal prosecutors, Anches pleaded guilty to one of two criminal counts brought against him last year for illegal storage of the chemical tetrachloroethylene at Martin Warehousing and Distribution from November 2001 to February 2005.

"Due to my own dereliction, I left that container sitting on the site until 2005," Anches admitted to U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang.

A 55-gallon barrel of the chemical was punctured and spilled at the warehouse in August 2001 and Anches arranged for a proper environmental cleanup of the spill, according to federal documents.

But he failed to properly dispose of the cleanup material after being told the cost of disposal would be more than $16,000. Instead, he kept the material in drums stored in a Matson shipping container at the warehouse.

A co-defendant, Stephen Swift, was hired by Anches to move the material in 2005 when the warehouse was sold.

But Swift allegedly moved the Matson container to the street outside his company's offices in Kalihi Kai and later to property in Wai'anae Valley, according to the government. Swift has pleaded not guilty to three criminal counts and is scheduled to go to trial in July.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Silverberg is prosecuting the case. Anches is represented by lawyer Brook Hart.