U.S. EPA's first woman fugitive was captured last weekend and faces decades in prison for falsely certifying that hundreds of individuals had taken asbestos removal training.

Law enforcement authorities arrested Albania Deleon, 41, in the Dominican Republic, to which she had fled after being convicted almost two years ago of a slew of charges stemming from her asbestos training school. She had eluded authorities for 19 months, having returned to her home country under the false identity of Elba Henriquez Peña.

Agents from Dirección Nacional de Control de Drogas -- the Dominican Republic's drug enforcement department -- arrested Deleon on Saturday after spotting her at a Santo Domingo residence. She is now being held at DNCD headquarters, pending an extradition hearing, according to an EPA press release.

"Albania Deleon put communities at risk by issuing fraudulent asbestos-removal training certificates to hundreds of untrained workers," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in a statement. "This is yet another example of great teamwork and dedication of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, U.S. Marshals Service and our own special agents who protect the American people from environmental crimes."

The arrest is good news for EPA's criminal enforcement office, which is undergoing some management changes after an internal review found that "harsh" discipline had led to low morale and a loss of talented staff. The nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has also criticized the office for not pursuing enough cases.

Deleon was one of EPA's most wanted fugitives, convicted in November 2008 on one count of conspiracy to make false statements, to encourage illegal aliens to reside in the United States and to hire illegal aliens; five counts of making false statements within EPA's jurisdiction; 16 counts of procuring false payroll tax returns; and five counts of mail fraud, according to the EPA release.

Deleon owned an asbestos training school called Environmental Compliance Training from 2001 to 2006, offering training courses at her offices in Methuen, Mass. But the school issued many certificates to individuals who never took the course, injecting hundreds of untrained workers into the asbestos removal industry.

To cover up this practice, Deleon had the applicants sign final examination answer sheets that had already been completed. Many were illegal aliens who did not want to forgo pay to take the four-day course, according to the release.

Deleon then hired most of the untrained recipients for Methuen Staffing, her temporary employment agency that specialized in asbestos demolition. She sent employees to places throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and elsewhere; most were paid under the table.

Deleon fled two days before her sentencing in Massachusetts, prompting a nationwide search. The U.S. State Department then submitted a request to the Dominican government to arrest and extradite Deleon. Before she fled, prosecutors recommended a sentence of 84 months, but Deleon faces up to 155 years in prison if given the maximum penalty for each count, according to the EPA.

"We are pleased that Albania Deleon will at last face punishment for the crimes for which she was convicted," U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz said in the release. "I wish to commend and thank the Dominican law enforcement authorities and U.S. Marshals Service for their hard work in pursuing her."