TRENTON
- New Jersey Attorney General Peter C.
Harvey announced that the Attorney General’s
Urban Environmental Initiative continues
to successfully investigate and prosecute
urban environmental crime with the indictment
of a Jersey City Incinerator Authority
(JCIA) employee on charges of illegally
dumping construction and demolition debris
on a city-owned lot near Liberty State
Park.
Attorney
General Harvey noted that the Division
of Criminal Justice - Environmental Crimes
Bureau, through the Urban Environmental
Initiative, continues to target the problem
of illegal dumping of solid waste, contaminated
soils, and the abandonment of trailers
containing construction and demolition
debris in urban areas, vacant lots, and
at abandoned industrial sites throughout
the state.
“As
our cities rebuild themselves, there are
some who will try to take shortcuts and
improperly dispose of construction and
demolition debris from construction sites
or contaminated soil from Brownfield sites.
Through close relationships we have developed
with county and local officials, as well
as with the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), we are targeting and
aggressively prosecuting those who defile
our cities and suburban and rural areas,”
said Attorney General Harvey.
Vaughn
L. McKoy, Director, Division of Criminal
Justice, said the Environmental Crimes
Bureau obtained a State Grand Jury indictment
charging Cordell Nesbitt, 37, Greenville
Avenue, Jersey City, Hudson County, with
illegal disposal of solid waste and the
unlawful collection of solid waste. Nesbitt
faces more than five years in state prison
and a fine of up to $25,000 upon conviction
of both charges.
The
indictment charged that from Nov. 1, 2004
through June 1, 2005, Nesbitt, a former
employee with the Jersey City Incinerator
Authority (JCIA), illegally collected
construction and demolition debris from
several residential construction sites
in Jersey City and illegally dumped the
debris on a city-owned lot located at
824 Garfield Avenue in Jersey City. The
investigation determined that the debris,
which included construction material and
refuse, was collected by Nesbitt from
residential construction sites located
at 170 Boyd Street and 24 Clendenny Avenue
in Jersey City. It is alleged that Nesbitt
was paid between $475.00 and $600.00 to
collect and dispose of the debris. As
part of the investigation, Nesbitt was
arrested by the Jersey City Police Department
on June 1, after officers observed Nesbitt
and another person transporting construction
debris without obtaining necessary permits
from the DEP. The State Grand Jury indictment
was handed-up to Mercer County Superior
Court Judge Maria Marinari Sypek on Aug.
23. A complaint summons will order Nesbitt
to appear in Hudson County Superior Court
for arraignment and bail. Nesbitt has
been suspended without pay from his municipal
employment.
The
investigation was coordinated by Deputy
Attorney General Betty Rodriquez and State
Investigator Jeffrey Hill assigned to
the Division of Criminal Justice - Environmental
Crimes Bureau. The Jersey City Incinerator
Authority and the Jersey City Police Department
provided valuable assistance in the investigation.
The
Urban Environmental Initiative represents
a partnership between the Department of
Environmental Protection’s (DEP)
Compliance and Enforcement Bureau, the
Division of Criminal Justice - Environmental
Crimes Bureau, and county and municipal
law enforcement agencies. The initiative
is geared to response, investigation,
and prosecution of environmental crimes
in urban, suburban, and rural communities
and industrial areas. The initiative targets
criminal activity such as the illegal
dumping of construction debris and other
solid waste, illegal discharges of pollutants
into waterways and the air, and other
activities which negatively impact the
quality of life for residents in urban
neighborhoods and communities.
Attorney
General Harvey said that the key to a
successful enforcement initiative against
illegal dumpers must include the “eyes
and ears” of neighborhood residents
and community watch groups reporting suspicious
activities. The DEP maintains a 24-Hour
Environmental Hot Line -- 609-
292-7172 -- to receive reports
of environmental crimes. Information regarding
environmental enforcement activities can
be obtained by logging on to the Division
of Criminal Justice Web site at www.njdcj.org
or the Department of Environmental Protection
Web site at www.state.nj.us/dep.
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