JERSEY
CITY – Attorney General Paula T. Dow
and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J.
Taylor announced that four men have been
charged with illegally dumping 18 drums
containing inks and used solvents on an
industrial property on Johnston Avenue in
Jersey City on April 30.
According
to Director Taylor, the Division of Criminal
Justice charged Robert Clark Jr., 49, Rodney
Williams, 46, Kevin L. Allen, 41, and Timothy
Smith, 39, all of Jersey City, with third-degree
unlawful disposal of solid waste for disposing
waste in excess of 10 cubic yards of solids
or 250 gallons of liquids at a site not
authorized by the New Jersey Department
of Environmental Protection. Clark remains
at large, while the other defendants were
arrested on Wednesday.
On
Monday morning, May 3, the Jersey City Office
of Emergency Management alerted detectives
from the Environmental Crimes Section of
the Division of Criminal Justice that city
trash collectors had found 18 drums containing
unknown substances which had been dumped
at an industrial site at 532 Johnston Ave.
over the weekend. The Jersey City Fire Department
and the Department of Environmental Protection
also responded. There were six plastic drums,
11 fiber drums and one steel drum. At least
one drum was leaking a green liquid which
rain had washed into a storm drain. The
leak was contained, and DEP arranged for
a contractor to remove and properly dispose
of the drums.
Division
of Criminal Justice detectives, assisted
by Jersey City officials, determined that
the drums came from another business in
Jersey City. It is alleged that on April
30, Clark, a scrap metal dealer, was at
the business looking for metal when an employee
of the business offered him $250 to dispose
of the drums. Clark and the three other
men allegedly used a white box truck to
transport the drums to the site on Johnston
Avenue, where they illegally dumped them.
Tests on samples from the drums are pending,
but it is believed they contained inks and
used solvents. The investigation is ongoing.
The
three defendants were being held in the
Hudson County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail.
Anyone with information regarding Robert
Clark’s whereabouts is urged to contact
the Jersey City Police Department. Third-degree
crimes carry a maximum sentence of five
years in state prison and a $15,000 fine.
The charges are merely accusations and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty.
The
investigation was conducted for the Division
of Criminal Justice Environmental Crimes
Section by Lt. Jeffrey Gross, Detectives
Dawn Ryan, Michael Klumpp and Steven Ogulin,
under the direction of Supervising Deputy
Attorney General Ed Bonanno. Attorney General
Dow thanked the Jersey City Police Department,
Jersey City Office of Emergency Management,
Jersey City Fire Department, Hudson County
Prosecutor’s Office, Hudson County
Regional Health Commission and New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection for
their assistance.
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