New Jersey Man Brokered 1,000 Truckloads of Illegal Debris Dumped In New York: DA

WARWICK, NY — A Sussex, New Jersey man coordinated the illegal dumping of more than 1,000 truckloads of construction and demolition debris at six sites in Orange County. Joseph Wallace pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Orange County Court. To get it cleaned up — that's another issue altogether.

In addition to containing non-exempt fill that included wood, plastics, pieces of carpeting, wiring, and other debris, coal ash was also present in the construction and demolition debris. And the coal ash contained a number of other contaminants including lead, mercury, and other metals.

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Orange County District Attorney David M. Hoovler said the debris totaled more than 20,000 cubic yards. It was illegally dumped at six different sites in the Town of Warwick between January, 2015 and May, 2016.

Here's how the scheme worked. Wallace contacted the property owners at five of the sites and received permission to bring in clean fill. Wallace then contacted haulers who brought in the solid waste to the sites.

At the sixth and largest site, Wallace sought to enter into a lease agreement to use the property for a mulch
business, and then arranged for the illegal dumping.

“Those of us who reside in Orange County are privileged to live in an area of unusual natural beauty, and we have a duty to preserve that environment for our children,” Hoovler said in the announcement. “Those who cause long-lasting damage to the environment by illegally bringing in waste from other counties, and dumping it here, must be prosecuted and made to clean up the sites that they have contaminated. My office will continue to work with the Department of Environmental Conservation Police, as well as all our other law enforcement partners, to ensure that Orange County’s environment is not contaminated, and the County remains a safe place to live, work, and enjoy the outdoors.”

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Wallace will be sentenced to a three-year term of probation if he establishes a New York residence prior to sentencing. If he fails to satisfy that condition, he will receive concurrent sentences of 45 days in the Orange County Jail. The matter was adjourned until Nov. 28 for sentencing.

The plea agreement paves the way for the New York State Department of Environmental Protection to try to force Wallace to pay for the clean-up of the contaminated sites.

Hoovler thanked the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police for their investigation and the arrest of Wallace.

PHOTO: Aerial view of one of the illegal C&D debris dumps in Warwick, NY / Orange County DA's Office