Remaining defendants plead not guilty in alleged illegal dumping scheme

The remaining men and corporations charged by Suffolk County prosecutors in what they say is a widespread waste-dumping scheme pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Riverhead courtroom.

Defense attorneys said their clients had no knowledge that contaminated fill was being taken to dozens of Long Island homes and businesses, as charged in a 130-count indictment against 39 defendants. Four individuals and three corporate defendants were arraigned Wednesday. Some attorneys suggested the charges were little more than a pretext for prosecutors to seize corporate assets.

Most of those charged, including the accused ringleader of the dumping scheme, Anthony “Rock” Grazio, 53, of Smithtown, pleaded not guilty on Monday. That is when Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini accused defendants of seeking to make money at the expense of Long Islanders’ health by providing soil contaminated with debris and “acutely hazardous” materials to customers who thought they were getting clean fill for construction projects.

Sini said Grazio, a self-described “dirt broker,” coordinated the disposal of construction debris to customers he found by advertising on Craigslist, utility poles or going door to door.

Pleading not guilty Wednesday were: Milan Parik and his company, Starfire Industries of Medford; Michael Heinrichs and his company, Modern Leasing of Bay Shore; and brothers Louis and John Durante, who work for the family-owned Durante Bros. Construction Corp. in Flushing.

Suffolk County Court Judge Timothy Mazzei allowed all defendants to remain free without bail Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Grazio had truckers get much of their material from Durante Bros., a transfer station that recycles construction debris into gravel, sand and clean fill.

The corporation is charged with felonies including second-degree criminal mischief and endangering public health and safety, but Louis and John Durante are charged only with a misdemeanor conspiracy. Their attorney, John LoTurco of Huntington, said that was a sign of a “significantly weak” case.

“In my 25 years of [criminal law] practice, I have never represented a client who has only been charged with a misdemeanor on a wiretap investigation,” LoTurco said. “The sole purpose of the criminal charges is to bring a civil forfeiture against the corporation to obtain a large money judgment.”

LoTurco said there is no evidence that his clients had any knowledge that they were sending debris or contaminated material to Long Island. The company’s transfer station business is so successful it has no need to cut corners illegally, he said.

Assistant District Attorney Luigi Belcastro declined to comment outside court.

James O’Rourke of Smithtown, the attorney for Heinrichs and Modern Leasing, said the charges against his clients amount to a “technical crime” at most, but they will “fail because of a lack of criminal intent.” His clients had no knowledge they brought anything illegal to Long Island, he said.

Michael Brown of Central Islip, attorney for Parik and Starfire, said the same was true of his clients. He noted that investigators were monitoring the defendants for months through wiretaps and surveillance and could have stopped any dangerous dumping at any time.

“If the DA’s position is that my client did this on numerous occasions while under surveillance, it makes no sense that law enforcement would let this occur,” Brown said.

CORRECTION: The  number of defendants was incorrect in an earlier version of this story because of incorrect information from the district attorney's office.