May 7, 2010
Office of The Attorney General
– Paula T. Dow, Attorney General
Division of Criminal Justice
– Stephen J. Taylor, Director
Media Inquiries-
609-292-4791
Citizen Inquiries-
609-292-4925
Four Men Charged With Illegally Dumping Leaking Drums of Ink and Used Solvents in Jersey City
Three Arrested, One at Large
JERSEY CITY – Attorney General Paula T. Dow and Criminal Justice Director Stephen J. Taylor announced that four men have been charged with illegally dumping 18 drums containing inks and used solvents on an industrial property on Johnston Avenue in Jersey City on April 30.
According to Director Taylor, the Division of Criminal Justice charged Robert Clark Jr., 49, Rodney Williams, 46, Kevin L. Allen, 41, and Timothy Smith, 39, all of Jersey City, with third-degree unlawful disposal of solid waste for disposing waste in excess of 10 cubic yards of solids or 250 gallons of liquids at a site not authorized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Clark remains at large, while the other defendants were arrested on Wednesday.
On Monday morning, May 3, the Jersey City Office of Emergency Management alerted detectives from the Environmental Crimes Section of the Division of Criminal Justice that city trash collectors had found 18 drums containing unknown substances which had been dumped at an industrial site at 532 Johnston Ave. over the weekend. The Jersey City Fire Department and the Department of Environmental Protection also responded. There were six plastic drums, 11 fiber drums and one steel drum. At least one drum was leaking a green liquid which rain had washed into a storm drain. The leak was contained, and DEP arranged for a contractor to remove and properly dispose of the drums.
Division of Criminal Justice detectives, assisted by Jersey City officials, determined that the drums came from another business in Jersey City. It is alleged that on April 30, Clark, a scrap metal dealer, was at the business looking for metal when an employee of the business offered him $250 to dispose of the drums. Clark and the three other men allegedly used a white box truck to transport the drums to the site on Johnston Avenue, where they illegally dumped them. Tests on samples from the drums are pending, but it is believed they contained inks and used solvents. The investigation is ongoing.
The three defendants were being held in the Hudson County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail. Anyone with information regarding Robert Clark’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Jersey City Police Department. Third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine. The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The investigation was conducted for the Division of Criminal Justice Environmental Crimes Section by Lt. Jeffrey Gross, Detectives Dawn Ryan, Michael Klumpp and Steven Ogulin, under the direction of Supervising Deputy Attorney General Ed Bonanno. Attorney General Dow thanked the Jersey City Police Department, Jersey City Office of Emergency Management, Jersey City Fire Department, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Hudson County Regional Health Commission and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for their assistance.
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