Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr., Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico and more gathered on Tuesday, April 22nd to announce breakthroughs made within simultaneous commercial dumping investigations.
Operating independently of each other, Joao Abreu and Jeanne Rodriguez were arrested and charged with Felonious Criminal Mischief.
Said Sheriff Toulon: his office “has been patrolling the Pine Barrens for over 30 years and we take our role very seriously. These arrests are a direct result of enhanced surveillance, interagency teamwork, and the diligence of our environmental enforcement units.”
Abreu, of Port Jefferson, reportedly dumped 24 tons of concrete in a wooded area located on Long Island Avenue in Yaphank, Sheriff Toulon announced just a short stretch away at Tuesday’s Yaphank correctional facility-held press conference.
The District Attorney’s BEAST Unit, also on hand to advocate Pine Barrens preservation and collect their stripes, teamed up with the Sheriff’s Office on a six-week joint investigation that involved license plate checks, vehicle tracking, background checks and witness testimonials.
To add insult to injury, Abreu had 27 license suspensions and did not hold a valid CDL license. He faces up to seven years imprisonment and fines up to $150,000.
Trail camera surveillance caught Rodriguez utilizing a U-Haul truck to illegally dump mattresses, box springs, dressers and a TV into a Manorville section of the vast Pine Barrens.
“Both individuals could have disposed of their waste legally,” Toulon said, “but they chose not to. Illegal dumping is lazy and harmful to our Island’s environment and taxpayers’ wallets.”
Repeated illegal dumping on the Pine Barrens grounds had contributed to what Romaine declared an ongoing waste management issue that has long plagued the area.
“Our environment is precious, and one of the reasons why Suffolk County is such a beautiful place to be,” he said. “These types of crimes cannot and will not be tolerated, and law enforcement will find and arrest anybody who dares to illegally dispose of any waste in Suffolk County.”
On whether the state’s controversial removal of the Brookhaven Landfill has factored into a suspected uptick in illegal dumping throughout the area, Panico recalled the fortuitous battles Romaine fought as his predecessor.
“When the County Executive was the [Brookhaven Town] Supervisor,” Panico said, “he spoke ad nauseam about the state needing a solid waste plain. We tried to get a rail facility in Yaphank that was consistently blocked by New York State, which would have been an environmentally friendly and economical place for construction and demolition debris… our efforts were stymied year after year.”
Romaine himself weighed in, stating: “When you don’t have a landfill, and your other choices are to travel or ship it by truck… big mistake.”
“Garbage is a state issue,” he added. “They give it to the towns and villages, not to the county. But this is one county that’s going to step up and defend its towns and villages and say to the state, ‘What happened guys?’ Where’s your regional plan?’”
“Stop being regulators and start being innovators,” Romaine asked of Albany leadership. “Step up to the plate.”