New Jersey man to face jail time over illegal 7-story pile of waste

Joseph Wallace, a Vernon, New Jersey, resident who has compiled a 7-story waste pile on his residential property, has been found in contempt of a previous court order and will face jail time until he complies, NJ.com reports.

Superior Court Judge Maritza Berdote Byrne issued the contempt order June 4 after writing in a decision that Wallace failed to comply with court orders in the case and lied to both investigators and James Rothschild, the court-appointed receiver in charge of his assets. Rothschild filed the motion to hold Wallace in contempt, and oral arguments for the motion were held on April 7.

Wallace has until July 15 to comply with the court order. It has yet to be determined when Wallace would be jailed for contempt due to ongoing restrictions meant to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The contempt order is the latest development in a case that dates back to February 2019 when the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) sued Wallace for various transgressions stemming from illegal waste dumping on his property. According to NJ.com, trucks carrying dirt, construction and demolition waste, rebar and other materials would illegally dump at Wallace’s residence seven days a week. Over time, this manifested in a waste pile 7 stories high and 2 acres in dimension. According to the report, local residents held protests and rallies regarding the legality of the site, claiming that, among other issues, runoff from the mound would leach onto their property when it would rain.

State testing has since found that samples from the pile contain elevated levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); and chlordane, a pesticide chemical—all of which have been linked to various health ailments.

In another municipal court case, Wallace is facing additional jail time and $50,000 in fines after being found guilty of numerous violations of Vernon’s ordinances. That decision is presently being appealed by Wallace. Wallace previously pled guilty to six counts of illegal dumping in New York in 2017 for an unrelated case.

Despite his mounting legal issues, NJ.com reports that Wallace has continued to allowing dumping on the property. When the DEP returned to the residence on April 30 with solid waste inspectors to investigate the site’s activities, it was determined that several truckloads of wood had been recently dumped. With the state already deeming the site an illegal solid waste facility, the findings of the wood dumping resulted in the issuance of a new violation from the DEP on May 8.

NJ.com reports that Jersey City, New Jersey-based Motto Trucking and Dover, New Jersey-based JVS Trucking have recently been issued cease-and-desist orders for deliveries at the site.

Wallace has claimed that the DEP told him in 2011 that he was permitted to bring in dirt following Hurricane Irene for site stabilization purposes.

“As far as I’m concerned, [the DEP] up here said I can do it,” Wallace told NJ.com.

NJ.com previously reported that Jamie Keenan, a woman who says she lived at the property with Wallace for five years, has acknowledged that Wallace was accepting money for trucks to dump dirt at the site and charging even more for loads that contained “ugly dirt” featuring C&D and other materials.

Wallace has disputed these claims, saying instead that he has been paying for dirt to be dumped on-site as part of his landscaping business.