Governor Cuomo asks State DEC to Open CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION in Huntington

February 20, 2014 2:29 pm | Filed under: Around Town,Code Enforcement,Environment,Health & Wellness,Investigations,News | Posted by:

FEBRUARY 2014-FREELANCE declogoINVESTIGATIONS EXCLUSIVE

Governor Cuomo asks State DEC to Investigate Illegal Trucking and Burning of Radiated Waste in Huntington Town

                                     
                             CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OPENED…
 
A criminal investigation into the alleged transport and burning of radiated waste in Huntington has been opened by the DEC at the request of Governor Cuomo.
Recently it was reported that Mr. William Perks, former Harbormaster and Hazardous Materials Coordinator, for the Town of Huntington, had sent letters to officials requesting a formal investigation into the illegal trucking and burning of radiated waste for over ten years at the Ogden Martin Waste-to-Energy Incinerator.  In a letter dated February 4, 2014 from Peter Scully, Regional Director (Region 1) of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) he responded to Mr. Perks:coventaimageplanthuntingtonweb

Dear Mr. Perks,
     The office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has asked that I respond on his behalf to your recent letter requesting an investigation of alleged criminal actions of the Town Board, Town of Huntington, and the alleged illegal burning of radioactive waste in East Northport.
     Inasmuch as your letter involves allegations of criminal conduct, I have forwarded your letter and attendant documents to DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement Bureau of Environmental Crime Investigation (BECI) and expect that you will be contacted directly by an investigator assigned to the case.  
     Thank you for bringing this matter to the Governor’s attention.
                                                   Sincerely, 

                                                 Peter A. Scully
cc:  Captain Tim Huss, Law Enforcement       

Lt. Frank Lapinski, BECI

Mr. Perks said he is encouraged that the investigation has been formally opened.  One of the persons coventaimageassigned to the case in the cc line is a gentleman called Lt. Frank Lapinski.
Letter Above to Mr Perks from DEC.
A document about the radioactive waste dated May 18, 2000 from the facility manager at Ogden Martin; Thomas Chambers, shows that from January to April of that year there were 25 incidents of radioactivity at the plant.  Mr. Chambers wrote:

“With the exception of  (3) ferrous metal loads returned from Gershow recycling most all incidents involved metal isotopes utilized in diagnostic testing.  In the beginning of April 2000 we raised the detection level of the Bicron radiation detector to (5) times background and therefore the amount of detection’s dropped off considerably in April.”

Click here to read the full story at Freelance Investigations

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4 Responses to Governor Cuomo asks State DEC to Open CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION in Huntington

  1. I find it a bit intriguing that Cuomo chooses this moment in time to investigate something the D.E.C. has known about since 2000, 14 years ago. Gershow admitted they inadvertently sent some radioactive scrap metal there back in 2000 before they had sensors in place to check for such things. Radio isotopes from medical facilities are supposed to be disposed of at approved facilities, which Covanta (formerly Ogden Martin) clearly is NOT. So given there is a paper trail from Mr. Perks to the DEC going back as far as 1999, why now?

    matt harris
    February 21, 2014 9:59 am at 9:59 am

  2. Pingback: DEC Investigates Town Board of Huntington for Alleged Criminal Actions | www.independentsentinel.com

  3. I know Mr Perks has an axe to grind with the Town of Huntington, but if he is right I think they should rename Main St after him.

    Tommy23
    May 15, 2014 7:33 am at 7:33 am

  4. Pingback: Top Stories of 2014 | The Huntingtonian

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