Man Illegally Dumped Hazardous Waste On Brentwood Property: DA

BRENTWOOD, NY — A Bay Shore man was arraigned on Wednesday for illegally dumping hazardous waste and old tires at the former Brentwood Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center in April 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.

Carleton Pulley, 48, pleaded not guilty to charges of endangering public health, safety or the environment, unlawful disposal of hazardous waste, and other related charges, his Counsel at First Appearance attorney, Robert Curran told Patch.

On April 23, a New York State Office of Mental Health Police Officer was patrolling the grounds of the former Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center, located at 998 Crooked Hill Rd, when he observed Pulley rolling a tire out of the back of a tractor trailer in an area closed to the public, according to the investigation.

Once the officer approached, it became apparent Pulley had already unloaded multiple tires and other items, including hazardous waste that was stored in multiple large containers, prosecutors said.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Town of Islip’s HAZMAT Unit then responded to the scene and immediately began to clean up the site and collect evidence.

The materials collected during the clean-up were tested and were determined to contain hazardous waste including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead.

The site has since been fully remediated — costing in-excess of thirty thousand dollars, prosecutors said.

"This is an ugly act and a serious offense that we do not take lightly," said Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter. "We are grateful to the district attorney’s office, local law enforcement, state DEC, and the dedicated personnel in our Islip HAZMAT Unit, for acting quickly to prevent this crime from doing lasting harm to our environment."

Pulley was arraigned before District Court Judge, the Honorable Eric Sachs for the following charges:

• Second-degree endangering public health, safety or the environment, a Class D felony;
• Third-degree criminal mischief, a Class E felony;
• Unlawful disposal of hazardous waste, a Class A misdemeanor; and
• Unlawful disposal of solid waste, a violation.

"This defendant allegedly disposed of dangerous materials illegally in order to avoid the fees that he would have been required to pay had he disposed of them properly,” said Tierney. "Thankfully, the damage to the environment was mitigated due to the immediate discovery of the waste by law enforcement and the quick remediation by the Town of Islip and the property owner."

Judge Sachs released Pulley on his own recognizance during the pendency of the case.

He is due back in court on Sept. 14, and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top count, prosecutors said.

Robert Curran, Pulley's attorney, could not be reached by Patch.

The Brentwood area has previously been a place of illegal hazardous dumping.

Between August 2013 and April 2014, tens of thousands of tons of soil and construction and demolition debris from construction sites in the New York City area were illegally dumped in Roberto Clemente Park. When the Town of Islip closed the park in May 2014, environmental testing revealed the presence of asbestos, and, later, a wide array of toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and pesticides, in areas of the park where the dumping occurred.

On Aug. 11, the DEC said three people dumped a couch and other solid waste at a wooded area common to dumpers in Brentwood. An environmental officer wrote the trio tickets for the unlawful disposal of solid waste and continued his investigation the following day, issuing tickets to another party.