TRENTON
- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and
Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw
announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice - Environmental Crimes Bureau has
obtained guilty pleas from defendants in
four separate cases of illegal dumping.
“Illegal
dumping harms our environment and poses
a serious threat to public health in New
Jersey,” said Attorney General Farber.
“We will continue to vigorously investigate
and prosecute these crimes.”
State
v. George Kooz. According to Director Paw,
George Kooz, 61, of Franklin Lakes, pleaded
guilty yesterday before Hudson County Superior
Court Judge Fred W. Theemling to an accusation
charging him with third-degree unlawful
disposal of solid waste. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice determined
that in April, Kooz illegally abandoned
a truck on Fish House Road in Kearney containing
at least ten 55-gallon drums, fifteen 30-gallon
drums and 10 five-gallon pails of solid
waste from his business in Paterson. Deputy
Attorney General Betty Rodriguez and State
Investigator Steven Ogulin coordinated the
case. The Passaic County Sheriff’s
Department, Kearny Police Department, state
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
and CSX rail/truck transportation company
police assisted in the investigation.
In
addition, the Division of Criminal Justice
- Environmental Crimes Bureau recently obtained
the following guilty pleas:
- State
v. Ellsworth C. Bailey. Bailey,
63, Brooklyn, N.Y. pleaded guilty on
July 31 before Bergen County Superior
Court Judge Eugene M. Austin to receiving
stolen property and criminal mischief.
Bailey admitted that he coordinated
the dumping of tires in remote areas
surrounding the Meadowlands. On July
29, 2003, Moonachie police arrested
Bailey and Bruce Hargrove, 47, of Brooklyn,
N.Y., in the act of using a stolen trailer
to dump more than 400 tires behind an
industrial complex on Purcell Court
in Moonachie. The investigation revealed
that Bailey allegedly dumped hundreds
more tires in at least two other nearby
areas, between a railroad bed and a
parking lot near Loehmans on Thomas
E. Dunn Memorial Highway in Rutherford,
and in a wooded area off Route 202 North
and Lake Road in Far Hills. The investigation
was coordinated by Deputy Attorney General
Betty Rodriguez and State Investigator
Jeffrey Hill. The Meadowlands Commission,
Moonachie Police, Montville Police and
Far Hills Police assisted in the investigation.
Hargrove pleaded guilty on February
2, 2004.
- State
v. Glasshouse Village Properties.
Glasshouse Village Properties pleaded
guilty on July 31 before Judge Waters
to third-degree abandonment of hazardous
waste. The company admitted that in
July 2002, employees of the company
illegally abandoned at least 90 containers
of hazardous waste in a wooded area
in Bevan Wildlife Management area in
Cumberland County. An investigation
by the Division of Criminal Justice
determined that many of the containers
were leaking material onto the ground.
Bonanno and State Investigator Jeffrey
Gross coordinated the investigation.
DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife
assisted in the investigation.
Attorney
General Farber noted that the key to a successful
enforcement initiative against illegal dumpers
must include the “eyes and ears”
of neighborhood residents and community
watch groups reporting suspicious activities.
The DEP maintains a 24-Hour Environmental
Hot Line – 877-927-6337
– to receive reports of environmental
crimes. Illegal dumping activity should
also be reported to the Division of Criminal
Justice, 609-984-4470,
local police department or county prosecutor’s
office.
Additional
information regarding environmental enforcement
activities can be obtained by logging on
to the Division of Criminal Justice Web
site at www.njdcj.org
or the Department of Environmental Protection
Web site at www.state.nj.us/dep.
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