(La Porte, IN) - A La Porte man has pled guilty in federal court to using illegal pesticides in rental housing units.  41-year-old Zai Feng "Kevin" Yang faced three counts of violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

Yang was accused of sneaking various bottles of liquid pesticides into the country from China.  He was allegedly using them to kill cockroaches, bedbugs,  and other pests in apartments at 701 Maple Street and 606 Tipton Street.  The former location is a 30-unit apartment building condemned by the city in June.  That property was found by inspectors to be vermin-infested, structurally unsound, and generally unfit for habitation.

Yang was fined over $14,000 by the La Porte County Health Department in 2016.  He’ll find out his federal punishment at his sentencing on October 27.