East Islip man dumped trash in Suffolk wetland, officials say

An East Islip man has been charged with two misdemeanors after allegedly dumping household garbage in a wetland preserve, an official said Friday.

The dumping occurred on Feb. 22 at the Suffolk County-owned preserve along Brook Street in Islip.

The Department of Environmental Conservation said in a news release that Albert Spearman, 39, of Division Avenue, dumped solid waste and “unwholesome products” in a wooded section on or near the roadway in the area, creating environmental pollution in the process.

Major Timothy Huss of the DEC’s Division of Law Enforcement said the discarded materials were “household furnishings, mixed in with some miscellaneous garbage.”

The materials, which Huss described as enough to fill a pickup truck, were found by the side of the road in the wetlands area, he said.

The DEC said Spearman was charged after investigators for the DEC and Town of Islip dug through the discarded refuse — recovering documents Huss said contained Spearman’s address.

“Picking through the remains of someone’s household trash to find clues as to who did the dumping is certainly not glamorous work,” acting DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said in the release, “but it shows that enforcement agencies across Long Island take illegal solid waste disposal activities seriously and that they will hold dumpers accountable for their actions.”

Reached by telephone Friday, Spearman declined to comment.

Each of the offenses carries a fine of $1,500 with maximum fines of $15,000 per day.

Spearman is due to appear in First District Court in Central Islip on April 6.

With Jennifer Barrios and Laura Blasey

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”