MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - On the same day voters were headed to the polls, a state House candidate and township supervisor was in jail on an asbestos pollution charge.

Alan Jager, supervisor of Holton Township in rural Muskegon County, is being criminally charged for failing to contain asbestos when his company was demolishing a former manufacturing facility in Muskegon.

Jager was booked into and bonded out of jail on Aug. 7, primary election day. Jager lost his bid for the Republican nomination for the 91st state House seat.

Jager is the owner of Press's LLC, which was contracted to demolish the former Anaconda Wire and Cable building at the end of West Western Avenue near Muskegon Lake.

In 2016, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality accused him of failing to take necessary precautions - in fact even failing to inspect - for the handling of asbestos in the old factory.

He ended up agreeing to a $10,000 fine in a March 2017 consent agreement with the DEQ, documents show.

But that wasn't the end of Jager's troubles.

On July 10, a complaint charging Jager with felony air pollution was issued by the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office. Jager was booked into the Muskegon County Jail on primary election day, Aug. 7, and shortly after posted a $10,000 cash or surety bond.

It's alleged that Jager "negligently disbursed asbestos," said Matt Roberts, chief trial attorney for the Muskegon County Prosecutor's Office. The felony charge under Michigan's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act is punishable by up to 2 years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine.

The primary concern of both the prosecutor's office and the DEQ was the safety of workers on site, Roberts said.

Jager did not return a call seeking comment.

The felony initially was charged in November 2016, but the prosecutor's office decided to wait until the administrative complaint was resolved at the state level before launching the criminal case, Roberts said.

Jager, a former Muskegon County commissioner, was elected Holton Township's supervisor in Nov. 8, 2016. A day after the election, the DEQ issued a violation notice against Jager for his work at the Anaconda property owned by Kirksey Investment Corp.

The notice listed nine asbestos-related air quality violations. They involved the failure to:

Remove asbestos materials prior to demolition.

Thoroughly inspect the project for asbestos-containing materials.

Notify proper authorities of the presence of asbestos.

Wet the asbestos material during and after demolition.

Contain the asbestos in a leak tight container.

Have a contractor supervisor on site.

Deposit the asbestos material as soon as practical.

"The subject property had been partially demolished without a scheduled demolition notification submitted, an asbestos survey was not conducted, and there was no abatement of regulated asbestos-containing material (RACM) that was found in the facility," the violation notices state. "The demolition contractor removed pipes that had asbestos on them, and was not qualified to do so."

Jager founded Press's LLC in 1995.

Asbestos was commonly used in construction because of its insulating and fire protection properties. Ceiling and floor tiles, pipe wraps and spray insulation were common products that used asbestos, which was banned in Michigan in 1974.

Once disturbed, needle-like asbestos fibers can be easily inhaled, penetrating lung and surrounding tissue, according to the Michigan Licensing and Regulation Affairs division. This can lead to fatal conditions including asbestosis, a scarring and hardening of lung tissue; lung cancer; and mesothelioma, a scarring and malignant tumor of the lung lining, according to LARA. Asbestos exposure also has been blamed for an increase in gastrointestinal cancer.

The Anaconda building, which was heavily damaged by fire in 1999, had been on the city of Muskegon's blighted buildings list for years. The city commission ordered its demolition in August 2016.

The Anaconda Wire and Cable Co. was formed in 1919 to produce copper wire. It moved to the site on West Western in the early 1920s and employment peaked at around 400 through the 1960s. But demand for copper declined and the factory closed in 1981.