Deer Park wetlands owner: No one was allowed to dump at site

The owner of the Deer Park wetlands site where contaminated debris was found dumped in 2014 testified Friday during the trial of an Islip father and son that she did not give permission for anyone to put the material on her property.

April Masie of Wantagh said she has taken every precaution to prevent any damage to the protected site after the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a violation ordering the property owners to replant trees, build a berm and put up a fence after she said her family “over cleared” the property on Brook Avenue and cut down vegetation in the wetlands area.

The Masies complied, spending $15,000, she testified under direct questioning by Assistant District Attorney Robert Kerr.

“You can’t even look at it, touch it,” she said of the wetlands. And when Kerr asked her if dumping is allowed there, she said, “Not even a gum wrapper.”

In spring 2014, dumping on the soccer fields and in a recharge basin at Roberto Clemente Park in Brentwood was already being looked at for possible contamination. Soon after, authorities linked it to the wetlands, along with a six-home subdivision in Islandia, dubbed Veterans Way, and a private one-acre lot on Islip Avenue in Central Islip.

Thomas Datre Jr. and his father, Thomas Datre Sr., are on trial for the alleged dumping and are charged with criminal mischief; endangering public health, safety or the environment; and operating a solid-waste management facility without a permit. They are among six, including Ronald Cianciulli of Atlas Asphalt, who were indicted in December 2014 for their alleged roles in the dumping.

Thomas Datre Sr.’s charges relate to what happened at Veterans Way, while Thomas Datre Jr.’s charges are concerned with all four sites.

SEE PHOTOSIslip dumping scandal: A timeline

Masie testified that Cianciulli, whose property is a few doors down from the Masies’, had a business relationship with her father, Joseph Masie, that evolved into more of a father-son relationship over decades. A barter agreement was made where Cianciulli could park his trucks on their 6.2-acre property in exchange for his services in clearing snow and fixing potholes, she said.

In spring 2014, Cianciulli asked to rent six additional parking spaces — at $1,500 for one month — the first time he had offered to pay, Masie said, and was given the OK by her mother. Cianciulli later presented a check to Sharon Argenzio, who is an office manager for the Masies, that had written on the memo line: “Datre rent.” Both Masie and Argenzio testified that they did not know who Datre was.

Shortly after, in April 2014, Argenzio said she saw green trucks bearing the name Datre dumping materials into the wetlands. She snapped photos of what she described as the aftermath, with fencing broken from the trucks and fill — replete with concrete, brick and glass — sloping down into lush green vegetation.

The berm was built about 1 to 2 feet high in 2002, Masie said. After the dumping was discovered, it was about 4 1⁄2 feet.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Kevin Kearon had Masie read a letter that the DEC sent to her father four years after the family was cited for the over clearing. The letter expressed concern over a 3-foot berm section that was not yet complete, and ordered it be extended by a minimum of five feet because water from the storage yard had been reaching the wetland.

“The storm water can carry sediments and pollutants from stored vehicles and machinery,” Masie read from the letter. Masie said her father “took care of” the issue.

Kerr later asked Masie if she had ever known Thomas Datre Jr., if she rented to him, if she gave him or anyone permission to dump on her property. She responded no to each question.

“I did not allow anything to be there,” Masie said. “We were totally blindsided. We were not in a financial position to take care of this. Someone entered my property without my permission and destroyed my property.”

Two of the four sites, Clemente Park and Veterans Way, have been remediated of the contaminated materials dumped there. The piles of dirt laced with toxins continue to sit in the wetlands and at the Central Islip property, nearly two years after officials first discovered them.