Two men were sentenced on Thursday in Federal Court for illegally dumping asbestos waste along the Mohawk River in Upstate New York. Dominick Mazza, owner of Mazza & Sons Inc., was sentenced to four or more years behind bars and is required to pay nearly a half of a million dollars in restitution and a one hundred thousand dollars in fines. Cross NiCastro, the owner of the site of the dumping in Herkimer County, was also charged in the illegal asbestos dumping scheme and was sentenced to three years.
Mazza’s company was one of two businesses involved in the widespread illegal asbestos dumping conspiracy that began in New Jersey. Both Mazza and NiCastro were found guilty of conspiring to dump asbestos in Herkimer County along the Mohawk River, resulting in violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
The illegal dumping of the asbestos took place in a three month span in 2006 which resulted in millions of tons of asbestos. Evidence presented by the prosecution found that the conspiracy to dump the asbestos was supposed to continue for another five years.
The asbestos originated from demolished homes and other buildings in New Jersey. However, the asbestos was not removed from the debris before it was passed through a shredder. This shredded material from New Jersey ended up in Upstate New York.
Prosecutors also determined that with the amount of asbestos already present at the Herkimer County location along with the plans for future truckloads of New Jersey asbestos debris, Mazza, NiCastro and others were setting up the location to become a Superfund site. NiCastro had plans to redevelop the contaminated riverfront into commercial spaces.
Asbestos is a highly toxic natural material that is commonly used in building materials including floor and ceiling tile, roofing, insulation and drywall. Handling and removing asbestos is closely regulated by state and federal agencies because of the carcinogenic nature of asbestos.
Exposure to friable or loosened asbestos fibers – especially when its improperly handled – can lead to several forms of devastating cancers including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Commonly associated with asbestos exposure, mesothelioma cancer can lay dormant for decades after the initial exposure episode. Unfortunately, when indications of the disease become known it is typically too late for any substantial treatment methods.