CalCity Mayor Pro Tem Michael Kulikoff indicted on federal charges of illegal transport of hazardous waste

Palmdale, CA.- Michael Kulikoff, 39, of California City, was arrested on an indictment charging him with conspiracy to transport and cause to be transported a hazardous waste without a manifest and placing another person in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced.

According to court documents, in February 2024, Kulikoff was a city councilmember in California City and owned a car wash business. On Feb. 25, 2024, Kulikoff learned that a mercury exposure incident had occurred at his car wash. An individual had spilled a jar containing several ounces of mercury inside the cabin of a sports utility vehicle and had attempted to clean up the mercury using a vacuum cleaner. The individual then drove the contaminated SUV to a residence in California City, where he called 911 because he was experiencing symptoms related to mercury exposure.

California City emergency services personnel responded to the scene and scanned the SUV for mercury. They detected approximately 20 times the allowable limit of mercury inside the SUV’s cabin and put yellow caution tape around the SUV to deny entry to it. They also shut down the car wash business. Kulikoff attempted to clean up the business himself but was told by the emergency services personnel that he had to stop because it was a hazardous materials scene and was unsafe.

Early the following morning, Kulikoff conspired with another person to move the contaminated SUV outside of city limits. He directed the other person to drive the contaminated SUV from California City to Boron because the SUV was causing problems for Kulikoff in California City, and he wanted the SUV to be outside the jurisdiction of California City emergency services personnel. Emergency services personnel left the location of the contaminated SUV scene to respond to a report of a fire that turned out to be a false report. When they returned to the scene, the contaminated SUV was gone. A couple of hours later, Kern County emergency services personnel found the contaminated SUV at the residence of the individual who had moved the vehicle at Kulikoff’s direction. That individual also complained of symptoms related to mercury exposure.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey A. Spivak and Arelis M. Clemente are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Kulikoff faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to transport hazardous waste and a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $50,000 fine per day of violation for placing another person in imminent danger. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant