Two New Jersey men are being charged in case tied to asbestos disposal. Richard Jones and Joseph Merla, with a third unidentified man, stole bins from a disposal firm when the company refused to transport their trash because it contained hazardous waste. Loose asbestos was mixed in with the refuse, thereby prohibiting the retrieval of the trash.

Because the company would not remove the waste, the three men disposed of it on their own. They painted over the bins' logos as to disguise what they were doing, and dumped out all of their waste before bringing the bins back to Merla's property. Police still do now know where the trash was dumped, but because the asbestos was loose, the waste is highly dangerous. The men face up to three years in prison if convicted. Click here for the full story.

A New Jersey law firm has announced a $30.3 million settlement in the case of a 50-year-old mesothelioma victim.  The settlement is believed to be the state's largest mesothelioma case and will be awarded to the wife and three daughters of Mark Buttitta.  Buttitta was a successful advertising representative who fell victim to what have been named "take-home" asbestos fibers; though Buttitta did not work directly in the presence of asbestos, he contracted mesothelioma from his father and brother who brought home fibers from work on their clothing.

Buttitta's father was a long-time employee of GM, where he handled brakes and clutches made with asbestos.  It is believed that sitting on his father's lap as a child was a primary cause of Buttitta's mesothelioma.

"Mark Buttitta's sad case shows convincingly how blue-collar workers from the automotive, construction and other asbestos-using industries are not the only potential victims of mesothelioma," the family's attorney said. "Men and women who wouldn't know a brake shoe from a horseshoe can be struck down by this horrible disease decades later from simply living with someone who contacted asbestos in his daily occupation. In Mark Buttitta's case we were able to get justice for him and his young family."

Following his 2002 death, Buttitta's family established the Mark Buttitta Memorial Foundation for Research for the "Prevention, Treatment and Cure of Mesothelioma," according to the foundation's website.