TRENTON
— New Jersey Attorney General Peter
C. Harvey announced that the Division
of Criminal Justice - Environmental Crimes
Bureau, in conjunction with the Department
of Environmental Protection and public-interest
environmental organizations, has achieved
recent successes in the investigation
and prosecution of urban environmental
crimes, including the criminal indictment
of two New York men charged with dumping
hundreds of used tires in the environmentally
sensitive Meadowlands in and around Bergen
County.
Attorney General Harvey said that since
announcing the "Environmental Urban
Initiative" earlier this year, the
Division of Criminal Justice - Environmental
Crimes Bureau has indicted, convicted,
and jailed illegal dumpers and unscrupulous
"businessmen" for acts ranging
from the dumping of hundreds of tires
in communities surrounding the Meadowlands
to discharging contaminated wastewater
into the Hackensack River to dumping truckloads
of debris in a vacant lot in Trenton.
The Attorney General noted that the "Environmental
Urban Initiative" represents a partnership
between the Department of Environmental
Protection's Compliance and Enforcement
Bureau and the Division of Criminal Justice
- Environmental Crimes Bureau and is geared
to response, investigation and prosecution
of environmental crimes in urban communities
and industrial areas. The initiative targets
criminal activity such as illegal dumping
of construction debris and other solid
waste, illegal discharges of pollutants
into waterways and the air, and other
activities which negatively impact the
quality of life for residents in urban
neighborhoods and communities.
"The
Environmental Urban Initiative emphasizes
law enforcement's commitment to protecting
urban communities from the illegal, unscrupulous
and often dangerous practice of dumping
debris and hazardous materials in disadvantaged
communities and neighborhoods," Attorney
General Harvey said. "The Attorney
General's Office and the Department of
Environmental Protection are determined
that New Jersey's urban communities will
not be dumping grounds and that the residents
living in urban settings are not the forgotten
New Jerseyans."
First Assistant Attorney General Edward
M. Neafsey announced that the Division
of Criminal Justice - Environmental Crimes
Bureau obtained a State Grand Jury indictment
charging two New York residents with illegally
dumping hundreds of used tires in and
around the Meadowlands, including areas
in Moonachie, Rutherford and Far Hills.
The indictment charges Ellsworth C. Bailey,
60, Brooklyn, NY and Bruce Hargrove, 44,
Brooklyn, NY, with receiving stolen property
and criminal mischief. If convicted on
all counts, Bailey faces up to 18 years
in state prison and a fine of up to $65,000,
while Hargrove faces up to 18 months in
state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Both Bailey and Hargrove will be ordered
to appear in Bergen County Superior Court
for arraignment. The indictment was handed-up
to Mercer County Superior Court Judge
Maria Marinari Sypek on Dec. 3.
The indictment alleges that Bailey coordinated
the dumping of tires in remote areas surrounding
the Meadowlands and recruited Hargrove
on one occasion to assist in the illegal
endeavor. The indictment charges that
on July 29, Moonachie Police arrested
Bailey and Hargrove in the act of dumping
more than 400 tires behind an industrial
complex located at 7 Purcell Court in
Moonachie. While the Division of Criminal
Justice - Environmental Crimes Bureau
had previously initiated investigations
targeting illegal tire dumping in the
Meadowlands, the Bailey investigation
determined that the duo allegedly dumped
hundreds more tires in at least two other
nearby areas. On July 8, a conservation
officer from the Meadowlands Commission
uncovered a pile of tires dumped between
a railroad bed and a parking lot near
Loehmans at 299 Thomas E. Dunn Memorial
Highway in Rutherford. Additionally, on
Aug. 25, the Far Hills Police Department
located an illegal dump of tires and plastic
material in a wooded area off Route 202
North and Lake Road in Far Hills. The
indictment charges that the panel truck
used to transport and dump the tires had
been stolen from a Great Neck, NY trucking
firm on June 18. The investigation was
coordinated by Deputy Attorney General
Betty Rodriquez and State Investigator
Jeffrey Hill assigned to the Division
of Criminal Justice - Environmental Crimes
Bureau.
According to Vaughn L. McKoy, Director,
Division of Criminal Justice, recent investigations
and prosecutions conducted by the Environmental
Crimes Bureau and the "Environmental
Urban Initiative" have resulted in
the indictment, conviction and sentencing
of several individuals charged with environmental
crimes.
State v. Anthony Urcioli & Tunnel
Barrel Drum Co.: On Nov.14, the Division
of Criminal Justice obtained a guilty
plea from Anthony Urcioli, 59, Tuxedo
Park, NY, on a charge of water pollution.
In entering the guilty plea, Urcioli,
the owner/operator of the Tunnel Barrel
& Drum Company located at 329 Veteran's
Boulevard, Carlstadt, Bergen County, admitted
discharging wastewater from the drum cleaning
operation into a tributary of the Hackensack
River. The Accusation charged that on
June 13, the Department of Environmental
Protection's Bureau of Emergency Response
investigated a report of green liquid
being pumped into a storm sewer on Oehler
Place in Carlstadt. The investigation
determined that employees of the Tunnel
Barrel & Drum Company would clean
and recondition 55-gallon drums and flush
the cleaning fluids and residual materials
into the storm drain. The potentially
toxic materials flowed into Berry's Creek
in the Meadowlands and ultimately into
the Hackensack River. Under the terms
of the guilty plea, Urcioli will pay a
$25,000 fine to the Clean Water Enforcement
Fund and $10,000 to the Hackensack Riverkeeper
for continuing educational and river stewardship
programs. Urcioli will also be required
to serve two years probation. The plea
was entered before Bergen County Superior
Court Judge Sebastian Gaeta, Jr. Sentencing
in scheduled for Jan. 9, 2004.
State v. Heriberto Hernandez: On Sept.
29, the State Grand Jury handed-up an
indictment charging Heriberto "Junior"
Hernandez, 33, Summer Avenue, Newark,
Essex County, with receiving stolen property
and criminal mischief. The indictment
charges that between July 22 and Aug.
4, Hernandez, an owner/operator contract
truck driver, stole two trailer-size waste
containers from a Port Newark container
company, filled them with construction
and lawn debris and abandoned the trailers
instead of legally disposing of the debris.
One container was located on Aug. 19 on
a residential street in Hillside, Union
County, while the second container was
left at a storage yard maintained by ASA
Apple, Inc., located in Port Newark. Hernandez
was arrested by the Division of Criminal
Justice on Sept. 4. If convicted on all
charges, Hernandez faces up to 20 years
in state prison and $60,000 in fines.
The case has been assigned to Essex County
for trial.
State v. Jose Marte & Trio Auto: On
Sept. 26, Jose Marte, 46, Baldwin Avenue,
Jersey City, Hudson County, was ordered
by Hudson County Superior Court Judge
Elaine L. Davis to pay $50,000 in restitution
to Jersey City and the Consolidated Rail
Corporation (Conrail) for allowing contaminated
fluids from a salvage operation to seep
into the ground. In pleading guilty to
a charge of criminal mischief, Marti,
the owner/operator of Trio Auto Yard located
on Conrail property in Jersey City, admitted
that oil, gasoline and other automotive
fluids from vehicles stored at the salvage
operation had leaked onto the ground.
As part of the sentence, Marti was ordered
to serve five years probation and to cease
and desist salvage operations at the Garfield
Avenue location.
State v. Anthony Iannuzzio: The Division
of Criminal Justice - Environmental Crimes
Bureau secured a five-year state prison
term against Anthony V. Iannuzzio, (age
unknown), formerly of Kent Street, Trenton,
Mercer County, on charges of contempt
of court for violating a Department of
Environmental Protection restraining order
and criminal mischief. A State Grand Jury
indictment charged that from May 1 - Sept.
23, 2002, Iannuzzio operated an illegal
solid waste collection operation in and
around Trenton which collected construction
and related debris. The Environmental
Crimes Bureau investigation determined
that Iannuzzio rented a lot on Enterprise
Avenue in Trenton and dumped thousands
of pounds of construction debris and abandoned
25 "roll-off" containers filled
with solid waste at the facility.
State v. Gary Kantor: On Sept. 19, the
owner of a Union County manufacturing
facility was ordered to pay a $15,000
fine and serve two years probation for
unlawfully storing hazardous waste and
allowing waste material from the manufacturing
operation to be discharged into the municipal
sewage system. The Division of Criminal
Justice - Environmental Crimes Bureau
charged Gary Kantor, 51, Cleveland Terrace,
West Orange, Essex County, via a State
Grand Jury indictment. The indictment
identified Kantor as the owner/operator
of Exact Anodizing located in Elizabeth,
Union County. Exact Anodizing coats plastic
or metal electrolytically with a protective
oxide. The investigation by the Department
of Environmental Protection and the Division
of Criminal Justice - Environmental Crimes
Bureau determined that numerous 55-gallon
vats and/or drums containing hazardous
waste were being stored without authorization
from the DEP. On-site inspection and analysis
of chemical materials leaking from two
of the drums indicated high levels of
hazardous substances, including chromium,
lead, barium and arsenic.
Attorney General Harvey said 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 --
609- 292-7172 -- to receive reports
of environmental crimes. Illegal dumping
activity should also be reported to local
police departments or county prosecutor's
offices. Additional information regarding
environmental enforcement activities can
be obtained by logging on to the Division
of Criminal Justice web page at www.njdcj.org
or the Department of Environmental Protection
web page at www.state.nj.us/dep.
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