TRENTON
– Attorney General Paula T. Dow and
Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor
announced that the Division of Criminal
Justice Major Crimes Bureau has obtained
four separate state grand jury indictments
charging a total of seven individuals with
various environmental crimes, including
four men charged for illegally dumping 18
drums containing inks and used solvents
at an industrial property on Johnston Avenue
in Jersey City on April 30.
According
to Director Taylor, Robert Clark Jr., 49,
Rodney Williams, 46, Kevin L. Allen, 41,
and Timothy Smith, 39, all of Jersey City,
were each indicted on Wednesday, May 19,
on charges of third-degree illegal disposal
of solid waste and third-degree criminal
mischief.
The
indictment alleges that on April 30, the
defendants disposed of 18 drums containing
at least 250 (but less than 1,000) gallons
of waste at a site not authorized by the
Department of Environmental Protection to
accept such waste. An investigation determined
that Clark, a scrap metal dealer, was at
a business in Jersey City looking for metal
when an employee of that 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.
On
May 3, the Jersey City Office of Emergency
Management alerted detectives from the Environmental
Crimes Section of the Division of Criminal
Justice that the Jersey City Fire Department
had been dispatched to a report of an unknown
green liquid being discharged from a lot
and into a storm drain on Fairmount Avenue.
Fire Department units discovered the drums
containing unknown substances, which had
been illegally dumped at an industrial site
at 532 Johnston Ave. Environmental Crimes
Section detectives processed the scene for
evidence and ultimately traced the drums
to the defendants, who were arrested on
May 5 and May 13. The Department of Environmental
Protection Bureau of Emergency Response
also responded.
A
separate May 19 indictment charged Joseph
Volpe, 32, of Mays Landing, with third-degree
unlawful disposal of regulated medical waste.
The indictment alleges that on March 20,
Volpe knowingly disposed of medical waste
in an unlawful manner at 130 West Weymouth
Road in Vineland. An investigation determined
that Volpe allegedly dumped a box containing
approximately 2,000 used hypodermic needles
in front of a car wash at that location.
A
third May 19 indictment charged James Buechler,
52, of Elsinboro, with fourth-degree uttering
a forged document. The indictment alleges
that on Dec. 8, 2008, Buechler falsified
a Vineland Environmental Laboratories Certificate
of Analysis. An investigation determined
that, while attempting to sell a property
located at 407 Chestnut Street in Elsinboro,
Buechler allegedly forged the data in the
certificate, making it appear that the well
water on the property had pH and nitrate
levels that were within New Jersey DEP and
Federal EPA regulations, when, in fact,
they were not. The indictment further alleges
that Buechler removed the following sentences
from the original certificate: “This
waster does not comply with NJDEP and Federal
EPA limits for potable water supply. This
water does NOT comply with NJDEP and Federal
EPA Chemical limits for potable water.”
A
fourth indictment, which was handed up yesterday
(May 20), charged Maryland B. Woods, 68,
of Newark, with third-degree unlawfully
causing a hazardous discharge and fourth-degree
unlawful discharge of a pollutant. Woods
allegedly violated the Water Pollution Control
Act by discharging oil-contaminated water
into a sewer located on Pomona Avenue in
Newark.
The
indictments are merely accusation and the
defendants are presumed innocent until proven
guilty. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum
sentence of five years in state prison and
a criminal fine of up to $15,000, while
fourth-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence
of 18 months in state prison and a criminal
fine of up to $10,000.
The
investigation into the Jersey City matter
was conducted for the Division of Criminal
Justice Environmental Crimes Section by
Lt. Jeffrey Gross, Detective Michael Klumpp,
Detective Dawn Ryan and Detective 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.
The
investigation that resulted in the Volpe
indictment was handled by Environmental
Crimes Lt. Jeffrey Gross and the Vineland
Police Department. Lt Gross also handled
the Buechler investigation, which was referred
to the Division of Criminal Justice by the
DEP. Supervising Deputy Attorney General
Edward Bonanno and Deputy Attorney General
Betty Rodriguez presented the Jersey City
dumping case and the Buechler and Volpe
cases to the state grand jury. Environmental
Crimes Detective Steven Ogulin handled the
Woods investigation, which was presented
to the state grand jury by Deputy Attorney
General Lee Schaer.
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