A Bettendorf man pled guilty for himself and his company to a charge of failure to maintain worker’s compensation insurance after a man died in a 2024 workplace accident.
A news release from the Johnson County Attorney’s Office said James Watts, 83, pled guilty on January 16 to a charge of failure to maintain workers’ comp insurance, a class D felony, on behalf of himself and Hawkeye Waste Systems.
Johnson County Attorney Rachel Zimmermann Smith filed charges against Hawkeye Waste Systems and four of its employees and corporate officers in April 2025 for failure to maintain worker’s compensation insurance after an employee died after a workplace accident at their Iowa City location. Matthew Reuwsaat died on November 9, 2024 from injuries sustained in a workplace incident…