Largest Takedown Of Illegal Dumping Offenders In NY State: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — The details behind the largest takedown of alleged illegal dumping offenders in New York State history were revealed Monday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini.

Sini, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Suffolk County Police Department announced the unsealing — at the Arthur M. Cromarty Criminal Courthouse in Riverhead — of a 130-count indictment against 30 individuals and nine corporations; the defendants allegedly conspired to illegally dump solid waste at 24 locations cross Suffolk County and three in Nassau County, Sini said.

“What we’re dealing with here is an epidemic of illegal dumping in Suffolk County,” Sini said. “It’s gone on far too long, and our message is very clear: We will not tolerate this criminal conduct in our county. We will do whatever it takes to uncover illegal dumping.”

The months-long investigation, known as “Operation Pay Dirt,” involved the use of electronic surveillance, including court-authorized eavesdropping, and physical surveillance, Sini said.

The alleged conspiracy centered around Anthony Grazio a/k/a “Rock,” 53, of Smithtown, who acted as a “dirt broker” by arranging for locations where trucking companies could illegally dispose of solid waste, Sini said.

Grazio posted advertisements on Craigslist for “clean fill” for landscaping projects and solicited homeowners over the phone and in person for locations to use for dumping, Sini said.

The material that was illegally dumped came from recycling and transfer stations located in New York City and Long Island, including Queens-based Durante Bros Construction Corp.; it was then transported and dumped at the sites by trucking companies including DJCI Enterprises, Inc.; IEV Trucking Corp.; Kris Trucking Corp.; Modern Leasing, Inc. doing business as Dumpmasters; New York Trucking and Carting Corporation; NYTAC Corp.; ClairCo Industries, Inc., doing business as St. Clair Trucking; and Starfire Industries, Inc., doing business as Platinum Aggregates, Inc., Sini said.

“During their phone conversations, Rock and the owners or operators of the trucking companies would discuss residential and commercial sites and the amount of material that could be dumped at a particular site,” Sini said. “The bigger the property, the better for the defendants, as this scam was all about making money. When an ideal property was found, Grazio could often be heard directing his co-conspirators to ‘hit it hard.’ Grazio approved material being dumped at residential locations even when notified that material smelled like diesel fuel or had pieces of wood, asphalt, concrete, large boulders, or even glass contained in the material.”

Kris Trucking Corp. is alleged to have taken construction and demolition debris directly from construction sites in New York City and illegally dumped it at residential and commercial locations, Sini said.

“They did this to make money, they did this to save on operating costs, and they did it at the expense of the health of our residents,” Sini said.

DEC testing of the illegally dumped solid waste found that six of the locations contained acutely hazardous substances and 17 of the locations contained hazardous substances under New York State Environmental Conservation Law, Sini said. The acutely hazardous substances included aldrin, dieldrin and heptachlor, which are all pesticides; the hazardous substances included arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, lead, nickel, zinc and mercury, which are all metals, Sini said.

Nineteen of the 24 locations are residential, four are commercial, and one is a school — the solid waste dumped at the school was immediately removed, Sini said.

“It’s bad enough to dump solid waste and dangerous materials in someone’s front or backyards given the dangers that it poses to children and others,” Sini said. “But what’s even worse here in Suffolk County is that we live on an aquifer where we get our drinking water, so when we deal with illegal dumping, there is also the potential for it to affect our water supply.”

The top count of the indictment is second degree criminal mischief, a felony, which carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison, Sini said.

“Illegal solid waste dumping poses a serious threat to New York’s environment and burdens communities across Long Island,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos. “Through Governor Andrew Cuomo’s leadership, New York has stepped up enforcement on unscrupulous businesses that continue this criminal behavior. By collaborating with partners like the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, New York will help put an end to potentially hazardous materials entering our communities.”

The following defendants were charged by way of the indictment in connection with the illegal transport and dumping of solid waste, Sini said:

1. Alberto Santiago, 49, of Shirley
2. Alex Bermeo-Bajana, 40, of Queens
3. Alix Aparicio Gomez, 50, of Huntington
4. Angel Cornejo, 47, of Queens
5. Anthony Grazio a/k/a "Rock," 53, of Smithtown
6. Anthony Grazio Jr., 19, of Smithtown
7. Carlos Melgar, 41, of Patchogue
8. Cesar Ivan Bermeo, 33, of Queens
9. Dwayne Sanders, 56, of Central Islip
10. Edgar Mera, 48, of Queens
11. Fausto De Los Santos, 21, of Queens
12. Feliciano Cruz, 57, of Queens
13. Frank Rotondo Jr., 47, of Miller Place
14. Santos Ivan Delgado, 39, of Bay Shore
15. James Perruzza, 18, of Northport
16. James Williams, 56 of Copiague
17. John Durante, 44 of Old Bethpage
18. Jose Adamez, 51, of the Bronx
19. Joseph Lamberta, 68, of Hauppauge
20. Louis Durante, 46 of Queens
21. Michael Heinrichs, 48, of Port Jefferson Station
22. Milan Parik, 46, of Centereach
23. Robert Hirsch, 43 of Commack
24. Robert Walter, 31, of Nesconset
25. Steven Nunez Genao, 24, of Port Jefferson Station
26. Thomas St. Clair, 51, of Saint James
27. Vito Fragola, 44, of Commack
28. Wilfred Torres, 44, of Ronkonkoma
29. William Romero, 38 of Brentwood
30. Yasmael Nunez, 48, of Queens

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Nicholas Mauro, who oversees the enhanced prosecution bureau’s electronic surveillance unit, and Assistant District Attorneys Luigi Belcastro, Laura Sarowitz and Adriana Noyola, of the Enhanced Prosecution Bureau, Sini said.

Photo courtesy Suffolk County District Attorney Tim Sini's Office.