OCEAN CITY, Md.- The owner of the Americana Hotel in Ocean City pleaded guilty Thursday to 10 counts of failure to provide carbon monoxide detectors as required by law in connection with a CO leak at the hotel that sent several people to the hospital in August.

During his appearance in Ocean City District Court, Americana owner Salvatore Rinaldi also agreed to donate $1,000 to the Ocean City Fire Department to assist it in its CO detector outreach programs, according to Fire Chief Chris Larmore.

Worcester County State's Attorney Joel Todd said the Ocean City Fire Marshal's office requested that in lieu of a $10,000 fine, a donation be made. Todd said he was not personally prosecuting the case, and could not explain why the Fire Marshal's Office requested that move.

In a statement to WBOC, Larmore said, in part:

"Although all donations are always greatly appreciated, I am disappointed with the court's decision, thinking now property owners may not take our carbon monoxide ordiance seriously."

Larmore said he could not imagine why the Fire Marshal's Ooffice would make that request.

On Aug. 11, the Americana, located on 913 Atlantic Ave., had to be evacuated after high levels of carbon monoxide were detected in the building. An investigation determined that CO detectors were not installed in the hotel's rooms at the time of the August incident, according to the Ocean City Fire Marshal's Office, which also referred to the Americana as the Americana Stowaway Motel in its inspection report.