DEP Invoice or Financial Record, September 30, 2001

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the road o o o' cn "0 KJ o o o co of impropriety; NJ. may conduct ethics inquiry 03

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ADVANCE STAFF REPOHT Linden, John T. Gregorio, im­ al’s office has asked the state to properly brokered the deal to conduct a formal ethics inquiry, build the station, according to a saying “the report raises serious New York City’s long-term report published in the New York plan to ship residential trash out questions regarding the involve­ Times. ment of Linden Mayor John Gre­ of state has hit another bump in Following issuance of the re­ gorio in the project.” the road. The city currently uses trucks to port, the New Jersey Department Pucillo and the other owners move almost all of its residential of Environmental Protection re­ would receive about $1.2 million fused to approve the project, and a month for the tons of trash that garbage to landfills in other has sent it back to the Union states. This operation is consid­ pass through the site, but would County Board of Freeholders. pay the city of Linden a much ered a temporary solution to the . closing of the Fresh Kills landfill, The office of the New Jersey attorney general released the re­ smaller host fee. and the city’s future aim was to sults of its investigation yester­ ship more than half its garbage “The mayor participated in day, concluding that Gregorio matters where his son-in-law had by barge to a trash transfer sta­ had helped negotiate a profitable tion, where it would be moved a financial interest,” the report contract for his son-in-law. said. on rail cars to out-of-state dis­ Domenick Pucillo, who is a part- posal sites. owner of the property on which Gregorio claims he was not in­ But an investigation by New the Linden trash transfer station volved in brokering the contract Jersey officials into the con­ would be built. and says .he will be cleared. struction of the trash transfer In addition, the attorney gener­ “I had nothing to do with the station, planned for Linden, N.J,, negotiations,” he said. “And de­ has concluded that the mayor of laying this project is completely uncalled for.”

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