The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York State attorney general are suing 29 waste haulers and brokers for illegal dumping at a site owned by Joseph Karolys off Route 212 in Saugerties. Karolys, currently being held at the Ulster County Jail on an unrelated felony manslaughter charge, was sued by the same governmental agencies.
According to the lawsuit announced last week, the 29 companies repeatedly violated state law by transporting more than 3000 truckloads of construction and demolition waste from the New York City metropolitan area to the Saugerties site, which was only authorized to accept such materials from Ulster and Dutchess counties.
According to a March 30 press release, attorney general Letitia James seeks “full disgorgement” of all revenues generated by the illegal dumping, with the possibility of millions of dollars in penalties.
“We have environmental and solid-waste laws in New York for a reason: to protect our land, our water and our people,” said James in the press release. “By ignoring these laws and repeatedly dumping construction waste where they were not permitted, these 29 companies threatened our natural resources and risked health and safety of New Yorkers in Ulster County. My office remains committed to aggressively enforcing our environmental protection laws and holding those who violate them fully accountable.”
DEC commissioner Basil Seggos cited repeated violations by the companies named in the lawsuit.
“Rather than bring their solid waste to local facilities that were authorized to accept it, Joseph Karolys and dozens of hauling accomplices chose instead to treat the waste illegally, dump it in violation of our stringent environmental laws, and then not address the consequences,” Seggos said. “DEC is working closely with the attorney general to hold these polluters responsible and uphold our solid-waste requirements that protect public health and the environment.”
The suit filed against the companies follows a lawsuit filed directly against Karolys in June 2020, claiming the repeated acceptance of construction and demolition waste was in flagrant violation of the state’s solid-waste and water-pollution laws.
A joint investigation found that over a period of three years, the haulers and brokers had unlawfully caused the deposit of around 100,000 cubic yards of construction and demolition waste from multiple construction sites in New York City and Long Island at the site in Saugerties.
According to the DEC, construction and demolition waste from urban areas like New York City is more likely to be contaminated with hazardous materials or petroleum than similar debris from other areas. Despite the New York City area having sites and facilities equipped to handle the waste lawfully, the haulers instead headed north to Saugerties where they knew Karolys was willing to accept their waste at a significantly lower fee. The lawsuit claims that the haulers and brokers being sued knew they were engaging in illegal activities.
The suits allege that the haulers would drop their debris at a Karolys-owned property at1446 Route212, and that Karolys would then distribute some of the debris to other properties at 90 Goat Hill Road and at 33 and 43 Fel Qui Road, both also in Saugerties.
A May 2019 DEC raid of Karolys’ properties found 39 violations of clean-water and solid-waste-disposal laws, with testing finding the presence of coal ash, heavy metals like mercury, lead and zinc; and nine chemicals deemed “probable carcinogens,” including DDT, a pesticide banned for use in agriculture in the United States since 1972.
The 29 companies named in the suit are: AGP Industries LLC, American Recycling Management LLC, Atlas Roll-Off Corp., B&A Trucking Corp., DNA Transport, LLC, Dynamic Environmental Contractors, Inc., E&E Commercial Corp., ECC Trucking Corp., Finest Materials LLC, H&P Industries Inc., IEV Industries Corp., J & D Carrying & Construction Corp., J.B. Trucking of NY Inc., James DePietro Enterprises LLC, JK Concrete Ready Mix Inc., JR’s Premium Trucking, Inc., K.D.E. Trucking Corp., La Americana Car Service, LLC d/b/a La Americana Trucking, Logan Trucking, Inc., Modern Leasing, Inc., Northside Industries LLC, P.J. Logistics, Inc., Richmond Construction Inc., River Transportation Services Inc., T. & R. Construction Corp., Tully Environmental Inc., Vigorous Industries Inc., Way Trucking Corp. and Zevel Transfer LLC.
According to the attorney general’s office, the lawsuit against the haulers and brokers is not breaking new legal ground. It cited an active illegal-dumping suit filed in 2017 which alleged that 33 construction contractors, waste haulers and brokers illegal dumped materials between August 2013 and April 2014 in Roberto Clemente Park in Brentwood, Long Island, causing the park to be closed for three years during its cleanup. Some $627,000 from eight of those companies had been delivered to Brentwood by May 2021.
Karolys was arrested by the Saugerties Police Department in February of this year and charged with first-degree manslaughter in the October 2022 death of David “Mickey” Myer. Karolys and a 17-year-old male officially unidentified because of his age were also charged with first-degree assault, and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies. Karolys was also charged with attempted bribing of a witness, also a felony.
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