Timothy Hughes, of Shirley, charged with illegally dumping boat in pine barrens

A Shirley man discarded a 24-foot boat last month in a secluded area in Manorville, the latest instance of illegal dumping on Long Island, Suffolk County and Brookhaven Town officials said Wednesday.

Timothy Hughes, 35, was c harged with one count each of violating county and town codes prohibiting illegal dumping, Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr. said at a news conference at the  Yaphank Correctional Facility. Hughes faces a maximum $10,000 fine if convicted of the county charge and a minimum $2,000 fine for the town charge, officials said.

The vessel, a 1980 Century motor boat bearing the name "Three 4 Me," was discovered by sheriff’s office investigators on Jan. 23, chief deputy sheriff Chris Brockmeyer said.

 Illegal dumping in Long Island parks and the pine barrens has been a chronic prob lem, Suffolk officials have said, with the pine barrens spanning 105,000 acres in the towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton.

"This man could have found a better way of dumping this boat," such as by donating it, Toulon told reporters. "But he couldn't be bothered."

The sheriff said fuel leaks from the boat could have contaminated drinking water or worse.

"Someone else in the area could light a match and then you have a fire," Toulon said.

Hughes is due to appear on Feb. 29 in 6th District Court in Patchogue on the town charge, and on March 4 in Suffolk County Court on the county charge.

Attempts to reach Hughes Wednesday were unsuccessful.

The state Central Pine Barrens Commission, which coordinates patrols of the mostly wooded area, recorded 127 illegal dumping reports last year, up from 63 in 2022 and 71 in 2021, spokesman Tim Motz said Wednesday, attributing last year's increase to boosts in staffing and equipment. 

Deputies working with pine barrens patrol officers noticed the boat on wooded public land on North Weeks Avenue in Manorville while on routine patrol, Brockmeyer said. Officers "triangulated" images from surveillance cameras to determine the boat's identification number, which led them to Hughes, he said.

Cameras with night vision and license plate reading capabilities were installed in recent years by the pine barrens commission and Brookhaven Town.

"You are going to get caught if you dump illegally," Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said. "The fines are going to be stiff."

Brookhaven last year increased penalties for illegal dumping after a wave of incidents in which construction material and other debris was found in Mastic Beach, Yaphank and elsewhere.

Fines for first offenses were raised to $2,000 from $500, with a maximum of $10,000 per occurrence and a prison sentence of 15 days. Penalties for second offenses were increased to a $4,000 minimum fine, with a maximum fine of $20,000 and 15 days to 6 months in jail.

In the Mastic Beach incident, a Holbrook couple pleaded guilty in October to illegally dumping cinder blocks and concrete in protected wetlands. They agreed to pay $2,602 in restitution, finance a daylong cleanup, plant trees and issue a written apology to a witness who photographed the dumping.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.