The second of two men convicted of using a Donegal Township property as an illegal dumpsite and burn grounds eight years ago was sentenced Thursday.

John Oliver, owner of Oliver Development Corporation, was ordered to serve 6 months of probation, 20 hours of community service and pay a $5,000 fine to the state's Solid Waste Management Fund.

Oliver, 51, who has developed several properties in the county, issued an apology to the court and community Thursday.

"I've learned a very expensive lesson," he said.

He was accompanied in court by his wife and Robert Ging, a former assistant attorney General for the Department of Environmental Resources.

Speaking on Oliver's behalf, Ging told Butler County Judge William Shaffer that Oliver's crimes, three counts of unlawful conduct in violation of the Solid Waste Management Act, are "everyday occurrences in Western Pennsylvania... The burn pile in the backyard is a violation of the Solid Waste Management Act."

But Andrew Thiros, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the state attorney general's office, argued that Oliver's actions went well beyond accepted practice and caused a drain on the resources and neighbors of Donegal Township.

Oliver, who lives in Allegheny County, and his co-defendant, Ralph Unis, owner of Unis Demolition in Beaver County, were responsible for at least nine dump truck loads of waste that were hauled from a building being demolished in Butler to a Duffy School Road property.

Court records indicate Oliver, who owned the property until 2001, rented the home to tenants during the time in question. One of the tenants was paid $10 or "some beer and cigarettes" for each dump truck load of waste he burned.

Neighbors complained to township supervisors about large burns at night, and on at least one occasion, on June 2, 1998, the Chicora Volunteer Fire Department was called when the burning got out of control, according to court records.

Unis already pleaded no contest to two counts of unlawful activities and was given the same sentence as Oliver.

Thiros had unsuccessfully asked the judge to give Oliver a more aggressive punishment than Unis because Unis accepted responsibility.

"But (from Oliver)Isee no contrition or remorse. He blames Unis, his prior attorney, and his tenant,"Thiros told the judge.

The attorney general's office has been prosecuting the case since 2003, when the evidence was first heard by a statewide grand jury in Allegheny County.

The grand jury recommended charges be filed in Butler, but a series of court decisions, appeals and petitions kept it from court until last year, four years after the property was sold.

The statute of limitations for solid waste violations is 20 years.