TRENTON
— Attorney General Zulima V. Farber
announced that a Passaic County businessman
has been ordered to pay a $9,000 fine
in addition to the cost of cleaning-up
hazardous asbestos construction debris
illegally abandoned on a Paterson street
in 2005. The successful prosecution was
the first-ever under the 2005 Asbestos
Control and Licensing Act.
According to the Division of Criminal
Justice, Branko Rovcanin, 41, Hollowbrook
Court, Wayne, Passaic County, the owner
of Betal Environmental, Inc. (d/b/a Betal
Environmental and/or Betal Enterprises),
located at 250 Vreeland Ave., Paterson,
Passaic County, was sentenced by Passaic
County Superior Court Judge Randolph M.
Subryan to three years probation, ordered
to pay a $9,000 fine, and complete and
pay all costs related to the clean-up
of construction debris and asbestos material
abandoned in a trailer on a public street
in Paterson. Rovcanin pleaded guilty to
charges of illegally collecting solid
waste and the unlicenced removal of asbestos
on Oct. 24, 2005.
A State Grand Jury indictment returned
on March 4, 2005 charged that Rovcanin,
as the owner and Vice-President of Betal
Environmental, obtained at least four
separate contracts in 2004 and 2005 to
remove asbestos and other construction
debris from various construction sites
in four separate counties even though
the company was not licensed to perform
such work. The indictment charged that
Rovcanin collected the debris, placed
33 bags of asbestos material in a trailer,
and then abandoned the trailer on East
38th Street in Paterson. The abandoned
trailer, recovered by Paterson Police
on July 23, 2004, also contained construction
debris, soil, wood, metal, carpet, and
pieces of fiberglass boat hulls. Rovcanin
was arrested at his Paterson business
office on March 7, 2005 by State Investigators
from the Division of Criminal Justice
- Environmental Crimes Bureau and officers
from the Passaic County Sheriff’s
Office.
The Rovcanin/Betal investigation was conducted
as part of the Urban Environmental Initiative
established between the Department of
Environmental Protection’s (DEP)
Compliance and Enforcement Bureau and
the Division of Criminal Justice - Environmental
Crimes Bureau. The initiative is geared
to the response, investigation, and prosecution
of environmental crimes in urban, suburban
and rural communities and industrial areas.
The Initiative targets criminal activity
such as the illegal dumping of construction
debris and other solid waste, illegal
discharges of pollutants into waterways
and the environment, and other activities
which negatively impact the quality of
life for residents in urban neighborhoods
and communities.
The investigation was coordinated by State
Investigator Steven Ogulin and Supervising
Deputy Attorney General Edward Bonanno
of the Division of Criminal Justice -
Environmental Crimes Bureau. The New Jersey
Department of Labor & Workforce Development
initiated and assisted in the investigation.
Representatives of the Paterson Police
Department and the Passaic County Sheriff’s
Office assisted in the investigation and
arrest of Rovcanin.
Information regarding environmental enforcement
activities is available via 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.
Additionally, the DEP maintains a 24-Hour
Environmental Hot Line -- 609-292-7172
-- to receive reports of environmental
crimes.
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