7 Million Pounds of Sewage Later, Stamford Waste Hauler Stands Accused of Bypassing Proper Disposal Procedures

The man accused of illegally dumping septic tank sewage into the City of Stamford’s sewer system rather of paying to dump the stuff at the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) is not only facing criminal charges but the city plans to recoup what it says is at least $100,000 in dumping fees he avoided by pumping more than 7 million pounds of raw sewage into storm drains, city officials said Thursday.

At Stamford Police headquarters, Mayor David Martin said, “by my calculations it upwards of $100,000 and I intend to collect.”

The revelation that the city intends to recoup the fees came during a press briefing during which Sgt. Peter diSpagna explained how he and Det. Heather Bozentko followed a rather stinky trail for 18 months with state and local officials to develop enough evidence to obtain an arrest warrant charging Robert Aillery, 58, with three counts of first-degree larceny. The larceny charge, which applies for thefts valued at a minimum of $10,000, stems from not paying dumpage fees to the city.

diSpagna said that when investigators went to Stright Septic’s corporate headquarters at 84 Knickerbocker Ave., in the Springdale neighborhood of the city, to execute a search warrant on March 25, officers allegedly found Aillery hooking up pipes from his septic pump trucks inside his garage and pumping sewage into to nearby sewer drains. Officers also seized computers and documents which formed the basis of a forensic investigation that culminated with officers obtaining the arrest warrant this week, diSpagna said.

According to Stright Septic’s website, it’s been in business since 1921 and services Fairfield County clients.

Police and city officials explained the investigation was painstaklngly slow in that they had to arrange for flow meters to be installed to help calculate how much sewage was being dumped into the city sewer system rather than dumped at the city’s Water Pollution Control Authority facility, and coordinate their efforts with various state agencies including the governor’s office, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the state Attorney General and the Department of Public Health. The case against Aillery will be prosecuted by the Environmental Crime Unit of the Chief State’s Attorney Office.

By the time investigators obtained the arrest warrant this week, it was calculated that Aillery dumped 7,058,288 pounds of waste that otherwise would have meant $101,660 in revenue to the city’s WPCA, according to Bozentko.

While authorities believe Aillery avoided payment of proper sewage dumping since 2012, they said they weren’t aware of the situation until neighbors complained of foul odors and sewage backups into their homes to the WPCA in May 2013.

“This isn’t the highest profile case but all of the residents ... are finally getting their neighborhood back. It easily is a case that could’ve been forgotten” but wasn’t because of the efforts of Bozentko and diSpagna, Martin said.

diSpagna said Aillery isn’t charged with environmental violations because evidence of dumping into water sources such as ponds or Long Island Sound hasn’t been found.

Aillery, who was arraigned on the charges Thursday in state Superior Court in Stamford after he surrendered to police earlier in the day, is free after posting $150,000 bond. diSpagna said Aillery, who’s been prohibited from dumping sewage at the WPCA for more than a year because of a sudden drop in his using the facility, is now required to park his vehicles outside his Knickerbocker Avenue facility until Nov. 26. As of Nov. 26, he will no longer be able to park his company’s vehicles at the site.

According to diSpagna, Aillery’s use of the property as a commercial enterprise was grandfathered or approved by city regulations since Aillery bought the property several years ago.

Photo credit: Stamford Police.

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