This could be the press role in cases of white-collar crime in general. Until the late 1970's, the attitude toward white-collar crime in the Netherlands was characterized by apathy on the part of the judicial authorities, criminologists, the media, and the general public. The passage of environmental laws at the end of the 1970's coincided with the appearance of press reports about environmental crimes and other forms of white-collar criminality. Complaints against UNISER, an industrial waste-processing concern, led to a major investigation starting in May 1980 and the arrest of the five top company officials in August 1981. From November 1981 until February 1982, these men were tried for crimes relating to illegal processing and dumping of chemical wastes. They received prison sentences ranging up to 25 years. Although the judicial authorities defined the case in terms of traditional criminality, the press did not uncritically accept these definitions. It extensively reported the views of the defense and the suspects and emphasized the issues of environmental scandal, governmental failure or involvement, and the responsibilities of chemical industries generally. Thus, it set the agenda for a broader issue: that of chemical waste disposal in general. Nineteen references are listed.