Before ACT THREE: A Little Background History is in order:
William Townsend Perks worked in a trailer just at the entrance to the Ogden Martin waste-to-energy facility when the radiated waste was being burned. He tried to follow proper channels to alert officials, but after a letter writing campaign of several years got nowhere, he decided to go public. The New York Times and local weeklies covered the story briefly, but then it was ignored for nearly ten years.
THE SAM CULPER SPY RING AND GEORGE WASHINGTON
William Townsend Perks' great great great grandfather was a spy for General George Washington and used the name Samuel Culper Jr..
It is well documented that Sam Culper Jr. was really Robert Townsend, William Townsend Perks' ancestor. Bill Perks still owns most of the property his ancestors lived on including an historical house in Centerport. Mr. Perks is the treasurer of the Townsend Society of America and his mother was one of the founding members. Her bank account was frozen as was Mr. Perks' bank accounts, all while she was gravely ill and then during the continuing turmoil of the lawsuits she passed away.
In Sunday's Newsday, Ellis Henican calls the person of the week a man named Brian Kilmeade. Mr. Kilmeade, wrote a book called "George Washington's Secret Six" about the history of Long Island's spy ring known as the Sam Culper Spy Ring. With their "stealthy craftiness" they helped save the American Revolution, according to Mr. Henican. Their identities remained secret, even to George Washington, (Ellis Henican's Column, Person of The Week Newsday, Sunday, November 10, 2013)History and DNA testing has proven that Sam Culper Jr. was William Perks' great great great grandfather, Robert Townsend.
Grizzly on Long Island....
Bill Perks worked near the facility in Huntington when 22 Truckloads of radiated steel, called Grizzle or Grizzly were burned at the Covanta Facility. He wrote to every local, state and government agency regarding the serious issue he had documented. Apparently, the foundry in Ohio where the scrap metal was usually shipped to from Gershow Recycling in Medford, Long Island, had turned radioactive from top to bottom. They traced the problem to Gershow, sued them and forced Gershow to put in a radiation detector. The incoming scrap metal from Covanta in Huntington was setting off the radiation alarms and so they shipped the hot scrap or Grizzle back to Covanta. They were at that time the only waste-to-energy facility burning waste on Long Island that for ten years had no radiation detector. Since radiation is colorless, odorless and tasteless, there would be no way to detect if radiated waste had been coming in for the ten years before 2000, when the detector was finally installed. The permit for the facility issued by the NYSDEC strictly prohibited burning of any radiated waste, including medical waste.
As records from Bill Perks show, as soon as it was installed, the radiation detector alarm went off consistently and constantly. Instead of stopping the waste from coming in and being burned, the workers just raised the background level of the machine (with no authorization). That pretty much nullified the ability of the machine to detect instances of radiation which according to Bill Perks were occurring more often and at serious levels.
Then over twenty years ago, in the late eighties, Mr. Perks had spoken to a close friend, a garbage carter in East Northport, a town just downwind of the Covanta facility that is known to have a high cancer rate--- a pocket of cancer, if you will.
Six months later this friend of Mr. Perks was murdered along with his brother-in-law partner in the garbage business, he told Perks that he had been working with the FBI and they were supposed to be protecting him, but he was scared.
Other carters had targeted him and his partner because they would not play along with bringing in garbage from everywhere, even other states and burning it on Long Island. They knew it contained hazardous materials that should never be burned. They had been cooperating with the FBI, but other carters were throwing their dumpsters into the harbor, destroying equipment and leaving death threats on their phones.
They were both gunned down in their East Northport, Long Island office at dawn one morning, in what was later proven to be a mob hit. (The man who shot them was a mobster and admitted to committing the murders in open court) The government later paid the families over 10 million dollars in a reparation settlement of a lawsuit, as the two men were supposedly being protected by the FBI at the time they were murdered.
Mr. Perks believes the government has known all along that the mob was burning the contaminated materials, but because it is so expensive to remove properly and they have no where else to put it, (Yucca Flats was closed) and no one wants this hazardous waste; radiated spent fuel rods and oil, Mr. Perks believes they were looking the other way to allow Brookhaven National Laboratory to get rid of the waste and then they buried the radiated ash in the landfills. The Department of Energy was and is heavily vested in BNL, Grumman and at one time Calverton.
THE BIG LIE
Mr. Perks believes the two men were murdered because they were about to reveal what he calls “The Big Lie”. The fact that the reason so many people have cancer on Long Island is not only because of pesticides, but because of what they are burning in the waste-to-energy facilities, the power plants and the gas plants operated on Long Island. It ends up in the air, on the ground and into the ground water which is the sole source aquifer for all of Long Island.
One of the men who ran the Covanta facility when Perks was there, Phil Nolan, became Supervisor of another Town on Long Island. (Islip). The required capping was postponed for over ten years and then Mr. Nolan said the landfill didn't need to be capped.
In Newsday, in 2010, Mr. Nolan said he wanted to install solar panels at the site and give tours to the school children to show them how to make energy in a clean manner.
Documents show the ash in the landfill contains radioactive isotopes. Mr. Perks was told when he went out on disability, that if he did not agree to sign a document saying he would never discuss anything of these matters, he would not have health insurance when he retired. He refused to sign the document and has since paid his own insurance. Right now, he is fighting the same battle for fourteen years in the courts and his money is still being frozen. His blood, urine and hair have been tested and contain high levels of lead, arsenic and gadollinium among other toxic metals and it has been determined he needed chelation therapy and he has been undergoing that for several years now. Chelating is done to the blood to clear it of heavy metal poisoning. It is a dangerous and often deadly procedure, with numerous side effects.
In 2010, after more than two decades of delay the Town of Islip was faced with a $16 million dollar deadline from the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to cap the Lincoln Avenue landfill, which closed in the 1980's. The Town was required to hire a contractor by March of 2012 and finish the work by February 2013, this represented a three year extension by the State DEC granted after Mr. Nolan requested a ten year extension in 2008.
Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan had other ideas for the Sayville landfill, “This is a landfill that has pretty much run its course. It should have been capped at least two decades ago. You don’t cap it when all this stuff is already out there. I don’t like being handed a bill… for something that isn’t necessary, in a climate where we’re trying to maintain services at the town level.” (Newsday 8/6/2010 State Sets Deadline to Cap Landfill by Jennifer Maloney)
Arguing the site posed no “ imminent threat to public health” and that the damage was already done Mr. Nolan asked for a cost-benefit analysis to capping the landfill.
“This would be an environmental travesty for Long Island and its’ drinking water supply and the environment”, Mr. Perks said of Mr. Nolan's plan.
William Townsend Perks, worked with former Islip Town Supervisor Phil Nolan, when he was the Director of Environmental Control, in the Town of Huntington. Mr. Nolan handled the Ogden Martin Incinerator and the East Northport landfill. Mr. Perks spoke with Freelance Investigations back in 2010 and had plenty to say about Mr. Nolan’s remarks in the Newsday story.
At the time Freelance covered the documented evidence of radiated waste being burned in the Ogden Martin Facility, but declined to cover anything to do with the Susan Scarpati-Reilly fiasco simply choosing to note the Town's opinion of Mr. Perks' filing of numerous grievances that Mr. Petrone called "criminal" and the allegations of the sexual affair with Ms. Scarpati-Reilly which was characterized by the Town as Perks being overly litigious.
Mr. Perks claims Mr. Nolan violated State Conservation Laws and Town laws when as the Director, he allowed hazardous radiated waste to be burned in the Covanta Waste to Energy Plant operated for Smithtown/Huntington on Townline Road in East Northport ; which at the time was known as Ogden Martin.
Between December 1998 and March 2000, at least 9 loads of ferrous radiated scrap were returned to the incinerator site from Gershow Recycling Inc. in Medford, according to Mr. Perks and documents obtained by Freelance Investigations. At the time Ogden Martin publicly denied there was a health risk. But after Gershow installed their own radiation detector too many loads of scrap known as “Grizzle” or “Grizzly” were coming back to Huntington.
Phil Nolan was the Huntington Waste Management Director when the radiated materials were being sent back by Gershow. Mr. Nolan was questioned then about the issue of radioactive contamination and is quoted in a story by David Ambro printed in The Observer, The Smithtown News and The Huntington News.
“The plant poses no health hazard whatsoever. We are monitored by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and the United States Environmental Protection Agency stringently and continuously and the plant passes all tests with flying colors…I’m confident in saying this is one of the cleanest plants in the country. The people of Huntington can be very confident they have a safe and efficient plant here.” (Hot Scrap: Incinerator Residue Contaminated With Low-Levels of Radioactivity; March 8, 2001 By David Ambro, The Observer)
The MCLG or Maximum Contaminant Level Goal for radioactive compounds is zero.
Records show that once the "Bicron 3000 Radiation Detector" was installed, that the Town paid RADIAC, a radiation removal firm at 261 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn over $140,000 dollars in 2000 as a result of over a dozen radioactive incidents. Depending on the level of contamination Radiac charges ranged from $4,000-$7,000 per/85 gallon barrel to remove the hazardous material back in 2001, which was strictly prohibited by the DEC permit at the time. Then the Town was also charged a fee by Gershow when Gershow returned the waste to them which averaged $250.00 per returned load of radiated scrap.
An interesting note from history:
The route that was taken by William Townsend Perks' ancestor, "Sam Culper Jr.", (Really Robert Townsend), was by horseback from Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington to Brooklyn and to Westchester, where he gave information on the English Troops' whereabouts and movements on Long Island to George Washington. That is the same route travelled by the radiated waste by truckloads from Huntington to Radiac, in Brooklyn and to another radiation storage facility located in Yonkers. For their bravery and patriotism, they were rewarded and there are several books about the now famous Long Island Spy Ring available. For Mr. Perks' patriotism and bravery to tell this truth, his life has been systematically destroyed for over fourteen years.
Mr. Perks claims he and at least one other witness, saw the reintroduction of the returned radiated scrap metal being fed into the incinerator to burn. He says both he and another witness brought documents into Manhattan to speak with the Attorney General's Office and spoke with C. Michael Higgins.
According to documents obtained by Freelance Investigations, Gershow returned radioactive loads of “grizzly” (scrap metal) in 1998, 1999 and in 2000.
March of 1999 is when the Resolution , by Frank Petrone and Steve Israel, regarding investigation of Mr. Perks was passed.
At the time Mr. Nolan said in the press he suspected the source of the radiation was from increased outpatient medical procedures causing radioactive diapers to end up in the municipal waste stream.
Mr. Perks, then Harbormaster and Hazardous Materials Coordinator for the Town of Huntington, claims the radioactive contamination was far more extensive than Mr. Nolan admitted publicly at the time. He tried desperately to have someone look at the documents. No one wanted the truth to be known as the consequences would be devastating to those responsible, to the health of the Town residents, for the liabilities and ultimately devastating to their property values. No one wanted or wants Huntington and East Northport to be labelled the next Love Canal, according to Mr. Perks, but people have a right to know what was and is going on and make up their own minds, what, if anything, they choose to do about it to protect their families.
After the radiation detector was installed, Mr. Perks wrote several interoffice memos to his superiors telling them about the increased frequency of the incineration of radioactive materials and the danger to the employees who had no haz-mat gear or protective equipment. Mr. Perks complained they were not being informed about the serious nature of the events and insisted according to the union contract and New York State labor law; the Town and Ogden Martin were violating “The Right To Know” laws.
Town officials responded to his concern at a meeting on May 10, 2000 according to Mr. Perks, where he was told about his concerns, according to him, “Management will take it under advisement.”
On May 30, 2000 Josephine Jahier, Deputy Director of the Town of Huntington Environmental Waste Management, working directly under Mr. Nolan responded to a memo from Mr. Perks, then the Harbormaster/Oil Spill Response Manager, regarding his concerns over the number of incidents tripping the newly installed radiation detectors and the fact that he and the staff working at the newly capped landfill at the entrance to the incinerator, did not have proper haz-mat and other protective gear, despite the obvious need.
( Memo from Josephine Jahier to Bill Perks dated May 30, 2000)
“Your concern and memo of 5-17-(2000) regarding radioactive material detected at Ogden Martin has been received and duly noted. The director (Nolan) and I have discussed this and we will be setting up a meeting with you shortly to hear your concerns. In the meantime, it will not be your responsibility to respond to these detections.”
A document about the radioactive waste dated May 18, 2000 from the facility manager at Ogden Martin; Thomas Chambers, shows that from January to April of that year there were 25 incidents of radioactivity at the plant. Mr. Chambers wrote:
“With the exception of (3) ferrous metal loads returned from Gershow recycling most all incidents involved metal isotopes utilized in diagnostic testing. In the beginning of April 2000 we raised the detection level of the Bicron radiation detector to (5) times background and therefore the amount of detections dropped off considerably in April."
What or who gave them the right to raise the background level of the radiation detector? Mr. Perks asked.
Mr. Perks said he was even more concerned for his personal health and the health of the general public according to him after the May 30th Jahier memo telling him not to get involved.
On June 6, 2000 Mr. Perks sent a three page interoffice memorandumRE: Responsibility of Radioactive Material Detection at Ogden Martin Facility
To: Ms. Jahier (and Mr. Nolan) in order to prepare himself for their upcoming meeting mentioned by Jahier in her earlier memo. He prepared a list of questions and concerns of his: From the memo unedited as follows:
The memo was cc’d to:
*What other properly trained and certified Town law enforcement employees (Who enforce Town Code Chapter 120-21) are responsible to investigate and respond to these radioactivity detections, contamination and uncontrolled releases?
*Has Ogden Martin notified the Town of Huntington with regard to each radioactive material detection problem in the past as requested by Smithtown Department of Public Safety?
*What agencies are Ogden Martin required reporting radioactive material detections problems to?
*What coordinated efforts have been made between the Town of Huntington and with the Town of Smithtown or other regulatory agencies as it relates to radioactivity problems at the Ogden Martin facility in the past?
*Have there been any summonses issued for previous contamination problems at Ogden Martin facility as regulated in the Town Code (Chapter 120-21)?
*Are there any reports filed regarding previous radioactive material detection problems or prevention efforts at Ogden Martin facility?
*Why did Ogden Martin just install a radioactive materials detection system this past year at their East Northport facility?
*Were there any regulations requiring Ogden Martin to install the new radiation detector?
*How did Ogden Martin handle radioactive contamination at their East Northport facility prior to the installation of their new alarm system?
*What are the minimum acceptable levels of radioactivity now being brought into the Ogden Martin facility?
*Who authorized the raising of the minimum threshold of the radioactive material detector?
*What has Ogden Martin done with possible numerous containers of contaminated materials that were rejected from Gershow Recycling Center and returned to Huntington in past years?
*Has the ash from the Ogden Martin facility in East Northport been checked for contamination before it was shipped to cap the Babylon landfill?
With regard to your exclusion of my further investigation and enforcement at the Ogden Martin facility (enforcement of Town Code Chapter 120-21), are you advocating selective enforcement?
*When did Ogden Martin institute a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for radioactive material detection at their East Northport facility?
*Why have other employees, not located at the plant, been given an SOP for the radioactive material detection at Ogden Martin facility and why have I been excluded?
*Were any Town of Huntington employees notified of the related exposure problems and health risks at the Ogden Martin facility concerning radioactive materials?
*Why hasn’t the problems of radioactive contamination at the Ogden Martin facility been brought to the attention of the Oil and Toxic and Flammable Material Spillage Committee?
*If the radioactive materials detector goes off again, should I just start running for Kings Park. (I’m serious)
"The recent training program given by the Town of Huntington, conducted at the Huntington Fire Department in which I specifically instructed “ZERO TOLERANCE” for any radioactive contamination problems. My geographic location to the shipments received of any questionable contamination to the Ogden Martin facility is cause for my personal health concerns as well of the general public."
Town Board, Town of Huntington
The Oil and Toxic and Flammable Material Spillage Committee Members
Dr. L. Miller and Members of the EEO Complaint Review Committee
Lisa Baisley, Personnel Officer
Harry Hennessey Jr., Local 342
Angela Vacerca, Suffolk County Department of Civil Service
Edward Yule Jr., Esq.
Mr. Perks claims the meeting with Mr. Nolan and Ms. Jahier never happened and to this day most of those questions have never been answered because the Town of Huntington still pays attorneys to keep the information relating to an investigation of the landfill not only from the public, but from the State Attorney General's office as well.
On March 3, 2003, State Attorney General, C. Michael Higgins wrote a 3 page letter to Ms. Jahier and Ms. Baisley the Personnel Director for the Town of Huntington, regarding alleged violations of "Right to Know" laws.
Mr. Higgins asked questions regarding the landfill in East Northport:
He asked about materials and the nature of the waste that was in the landfill, a description of any covers or liners and the date(s) installed, the type and depth of cover material (i.e. topsoil, crushed rock etc.), if any synthetic covers or liners were installed, the depth of material between the synthetic cover and the surface, the composition of that material and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of any contractors that placed any material, whether natural, synthetic, or processed on top of the landfill after it ceased operating.
Mr. Higgins asked many more questions in the letter including asking for a list of all persons who had worked at the plant for the last three years (1999-2003) and a description of the "Right to Know" education and training programs that have been given during the last three years to people who work at the plant. Mr. Higgins also wanted to know the Town's procedures for determining the specific employees who must receive the "Right to Know" training, assurance and proof that they had received the training, but most important Mr. Higgins asked for the names, address and social security numbers of all employees who had worked at the plant who handled or used toxic substances and the toxic substances to which these employees were exposed for the last three years.
Mr. Perks said he never saw a response to Mr. Higgins questions and so he called him and asked what was going on with those responses and all Mr. Higgins would say was "Well they are doing the right thing now."
According to documents dated October 23, 2009 the Town of Huntington paid Madison Avenue Attorneys Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, $3,147 dollars for work from August 10, 2009 through Sept 20, 2009 related to the" legislative history of the Right-to Know Law" and "the calculation of penalties thereunder".
Mr. Perks claims the Town is still trying to block information relating to issues raised by Mr. Perks and of interest to the State Attorney General’s Office. The documents show the Town’s outside attorneys also finalized a letter to Assistant Attorney General, C. Michael Higgins, nearly ten years after Mr. Perks notified the Attorney Generals Office of his concerns of radiation at the plant and over ten years after Mr. Higgins' letter to Ms. Jahier and Ms Baisley.
For nine years prior to the radiation detector being installed, the facility now known as Covanta Energy, then Ogden Martin, began burning garbage from Smithtown and Huntington. Although they were strictly forbidden from burning any radioactive waste at the time, both medical or industrial, there was no requirement that a radiation detector be installed at the plant. At that time Ogden Martin became the last of the waste-to energy plants on Long Island to have one, something Mr. Perks claims did not go unnoticed by the carters back then, who probably sent all their radiated waste to Huntington, knowing there was no way to know if it was "hot" without a radiation detector -because radiation is invisible, colorless and odorless.
In 2003 Kevin Gershowitz, a vice president at Gershow spoke to The New York Times and said the Huntington plant was the only place Gershow had ever received radiated material from. “Even a small amount of radiated metal would make an entire beam worthless.” (Huntington, Garbage-Burning Plant Stirs Radiation Fears by David Winzelberg; The New York Times, January 19, 2003)
According to Mr. Perks it wasn’t until Gershow was notified that one of the foundries they shipped the metal to became hot (radiated from hot scrap or grizzly) and they traced it back to Gershow in Medford, that Gershow was forced to install a radiation detector. It was only then that they caught the "hot loads" coming from Ogden Martin on a regular basis Mr. Perks said.
The ash from the Huntington plant was dumped at the Brookhaven and Babylon Landfills, according to The New York Times article.
Frank Petrone Calls Perks' Filing of Grievances "Criminal"
Back in 2003, Frank Petrone, Huntington Supervisor, was also quoted in The New York Times article and called Mr. Perks activity filing grievances “a criminal activity” because he filed over 80 grievances with his union about the situation. The Town attorney, Thelma Neira also spoke on the record and called this “just another complaint” from Mr. Perks.
But the memos from Mr. Perks eventually sparked the Department of Labor to investigate and demand that the Town come up with a viable plan for a radiation emergency or face daily fines of several hundred dollars if not in compliance.
Mr. Perks did in fact contact: The New York State DEC, The Department of Labor, The Department of Health, The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, The State of New York Bureau of Radiation and Hazardous Site Management (DEC), the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office and a cast of political characters just as long between 2000 and the present.
Mr. Perks was portrayed in the newspaper as an overly litigious person with a "sexual harassment lawsuit hanging over his head". Mr. Perks says he is a target because he is telling an unwelcome truth.
PERKS" BACKGROUND AND TRAINING
Mr. Perks background includes: State of New York Fire Training Certificate in Hazardous Materials First Responder Operations, Instructor Evaluator Training Certificate from the Nassau County Police Department, Incident Safety Officer Training Certificate, Incident Commander/Hazwoper Supervisor/Marine Spill Response OSHA Certification (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.20) 40 hours of OSHA Hazwoper training, numerous refresher courses certified by OSHA and has held a license as a private investigator in New York State and a firearm permit. Mr. Perks said he was the only man in his office with a college degree.
RADIOACTIVE ASH AND SLUDGE IN THE UNLINED LANDFILL
On February 18, and May 12, 1999 NDL Organization Inc. located at 1000 Lower South Street in Peekskill, New York conducted an analysis under Gamma Spectroscopy of the Ash Content, Debris and Sludge (Slag & Debris) from the Ogden Martin Facility at 99 Town Road in East Northport and found that it contained Thorium 232, Uranium 238, K-40 (Potassium) and Cesium 137.
Specifically:
Uranium-238+D at 8.6 pCi/g Half Life: 4.46 Billion Years
Thorium-232 +D at 91.2 pCi/g Half Life: 14 Billion
K-40 (Potassium) at 0.94 pCi/g Half Life: 1.25 Billion Years Cesium-137 at 0.82 pCi/g Half Life: 30 Years
Thorium- 232 is classified as a carcinogenic and emits alpha particles. It is extremely insoluble, but can become more soluble in the presence of high concentrations of organic materials.
Uranium-238 emits alpha particles. They are less penetrating than other forms of radiation, and weak gamma rays. As long as it remains outside the body, uranium poses little health hazard, if inhaled or ingested, however, its radioactivity poses increased risks of lung cancer and bone cancer. Uranium is also chemically toxic at high concentrations and can cause damage to internal organs, notably the kidneys.
K-40 (Potassium) at 0.94 pCi/g Half Life: 1.25 Billion Years
Cesium-137 at 0.82 pCi/g Half Life: 30 Years
Half-life is the period of time it takes for a substance undergoing decay to decrease by half. (Information from: The Environmental Health Division of the Wisconsin State Laboratory relating to Radiochemistry)
Radium 226 was listed on other reports as one of the many isotopes found at Ogden Martin and removed by either NDL or Radiac.
Radium-226 has a half-life of 1622 years and emits alpha particles; health implications are bone sarcomas and head carcinomas.
REPORTS MISSING KEY DATA
Other reports from Radiac and NDL show isotopes present of I-131 (Iodine), Mo-99 (Molybdenun), Te-99m (Technetium) and I-123 and the aforementioned Thorium 232, and Radium 226. What is disturbing about the reports are they are sparsely filled out and in many cases, they are missing what would appear to be critical information including the nature of the isotope present. In at least 6 reports the space to identify the isotope is left blank, yet the material was carted away by Radiac.
A report dated May 4, 2000 contains the statement, "Coordinate with the Town Of Islip Hazmat"and the rest of the paperwork including the nature of the radioactive material they were dealing with is completely blank.
Other paperwork is similarly missing key pieces of data.
An application in the name of Ogden Martin Systems of Huntington marked for renewal of previous permit no: 4342-31-99-Y names Mr. Thomas Chambers as responsible for radioactive waste shipments. It also lists the total amount of allowable waste permitted under the Class Y Permit with a $200 dollar fee:
An annual total of no more than 75 cubic feet of radioactive waste for disposal, storage or waste processing within the State. The document lists Th-232 +D and U-238 +D as the radiological materials to be disposed of at an estimated annual radioactivity in Curies at .001 Curies. NDL Organization, Inc in Peekskill is listed as the Authorized Waste Collector. The space for the date the permit covers- is blank.
In 1999 most of the radioactive waste was removed by NDL, (records show that between Jan 1999 and December 1999, the Town paid over $49,000 to deal with the radiated waste from Gershow and to NDL) but in 2000 and 2001, a company called RADIAC Environmental Services at 261 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn removed the radioactive waste to their facility near the Williamsburg Bridge.
In a March 29, 2001 letter from Arthur Green Director of Operations for RADIAC to Mr. Chambers at COVANTA, (formerly Ogden Martin) Mr. Green wrote:
Enclosed find RADIAC "Emergency Response Reports" detailing our response activities at your facility from January 2000 to date. The dose rate upon discovery has been left blank for you to fill in since we have no record of the initial dose rate which caused the alarm on your Bicron scale detector to be activated.
For years radioactive materials travelled on route 112 from Huntington to Gershow and back, yet until the radiation detector was installed there was no way to know that, according to Mr. Perks.
Records show that Phil Nolan was apprised of the radioactivity when he was cc’d as Director of Environmental Waste Management on the May 17, memo from Mr. Perks to Josephine Jahier, RE: Radioactivity at Ogden Martin.
“Back during the radiation events, Mr. Nolan never contacted anyone regarding the problem and now he’s gone one step further in Islip and is trying to say that what is buried is done.” Mr. Perks noted back then.
Radioactive waste removed from Ogden Martin plant was taken to Radiac, located in Brooklyn and to NDL Organization in Peekskill, New York.
Where In The World is... the Driver of Truck # 19?
The Town paid Gershow many thousands of dollars when they would return the radioactive loads to Ogden Martin and an interesting detail provided from the documents show that it was always one truck that did all the returns of the radioactive material…truck # 19. The drivers name on the manifests was always Mr. Green, also ironic, that he was the owner of Radiac, it was later learned.
"Mr. Nolan will probably say I am a disgruntled former employee, which in this case is true.” Mr. Perks said, adding, “For Mr. Nolan to say the contamination is done is false. These toxins threaten our water supply every time it rains. The entire aquifer is at risk as the water travels 1 foot per day underground. Once again Mr. Nolan’s decisions are detrimental to the health and safety of our residents and I hope the DEC does not listen to him and enforces the law.”
Mr. Perks insisted, “The longer Mr. Nolan stalls, the more poison goes into our drinking water. The State knows it, the DEC knows it, the EPA knows it and it must be capped. Some of the radiological materials found in the Brookhaven landfill ash have half-lives of several billion years and Mr. Nolan believes after twenty years, toxins in the Islip landfill are already a done deal? My question to him is “What are his environmental credentials and training?”
Mr. Perks added, “It’s a lot cheaper and more prudent to cap the landfill than to have to close all the drinking water wells for contamination or to blend it with clean water.”
At the time of the original publication of this information Freelance Investigations contacted the Town of Islip to get any comment or reaction from Mr. Nolan to the remarks made by Mr. Perks (which were supplied to them in advance of the story being published at their request) or to comment on the information from documents obtained by Freelance Investigations.
Amy Basta, spokesperson for Mr. Nolan and the Town of Islip said for the record, “Mr. Nolan is not going to dignify William Perks' allegations with a response.”
Mr. Perks responded to that by saying “This is typical shoot the messenger. I was not looking for any dignity. I was a whistleblower... period.”
NOW BACK TO OUR STORY...........PETRONE'S POLITICAL THEATER
A quick review:
ACT ONE: THE WHISTLEBLOWER AND THE TOWN COUNCILWOMAN
Saw a Town employee blowing the whistle about the Town of Huntington burning radiated garbage at the Ogden Martin (now Covanta) Waste-to-Energy Incinerator at 99 Town Line Road and burying the ash in the Town's several landfills. Other State Labor Laws regarding employee safety and Right-to-Know Laws were being violated with former FEMA Director, Frank Petrone at the helm as Huntington Town Supervisor.
The employee (William Perks) admitted having an affair with then Town Councilwoman (Susan Scapati-Reilly) though she still denies the affair.
Feb 28, 1999 The "Incident at The Mobil Oil Station" took place...a true He said-She said with no other witnesses to the "event". The Town Councilwoman tried unsuccessfully that evening to have Mr. Perks arrested for assault, but that never happened. In fact though the police took a harassment complaint, they never even spoke to Mr. Perks as it was determined there was no assault and the case was not pursued. Then Ms. Scarpati-Reilly went to the Town Attorney and the District Attorney hoping to have Mr. Perks charged, but to no avail. Nevertheless, in March of 1999, Mr. Petrone, seconded by Steve Israel, presented Resolution No. 1999-184 and hired a Park Avenue $250 dollar an hour attorney as a "Fact-Finder" to determine the facts and events of the night of February 28, because as "based on media reports there was an assault" of Ms. Scarpati-Reilly by Mr. Perks, the resolution stated. There were no media reports of an assault at the time, however.
ACT TWO: THE REPORTS
THE FACT-FINDER'S AND BOARD OF ETHICS AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS
So ninety days later the Fact-Finder (Gerald Labush) finished his job (despite the Resolution saying it should be completed in thirty days) and presented his report to the Town Board and it concluded just what the police and district attorney found, that there was not enough evidence to charge Mr. Perks with any wrongdoing, however there was evidence both direct and indirect to determine Ms. Scapati-Reilly was less than credible and was admittedly lying on more than one occasion when it suited her. This may have been what happened that night of February 28th, 1999 and when she was allegedly looking for a Town truck that she said she was concerned had been stolen. The Fact-Finder saw through that excuse and said it was obvious Ms. Scarpati-Reilly was looking for Mr. Perks' whereabouts...not those of the truck as she declined to report it missing to the police when advised to do so by Josephine Jahier, the Deputy Commissioner of Waste Management.
The Huntington Town Board then voted for Resolution No. 1999-380 submitting the Fact-Finder's Report to the Huntington Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure. (Ms. Scarpati-Reilly abstained from both Resolution votes)
The Board of Ethics found Ms. Scarpati-Reilly's behavior was so problematic, they recommended their report and that of the Fact-Finder be sent to the District Attorney and the State's Attorneys General.
Mr. Perks was never even contacted by the Ethics Board, but he cooperated entirely with the Fact-Finder with the assistance of his attorney Edward Yule of Northport. Those attorney's fees should have been covered by the Town, according to the union contract and had the Town paid them at that time they would have only been about $70,000 dollars (about what they paid the Fact-Finder). The Town refused to pay and Mr. Perks was forced to file a grievance in 2000. The fees are now over 4 million and accruing interest as the Town fights their payment in Appellate Court.
For her part Ms. Scarpati-Reilly called the Fact Finder's report "A cheap, five-and-dime trashy novel.", according to an article in The New York Times (Civic Affairs, Indeed: Huntington Tunes in to Report on Scandal by Stuart Ain, published October 3, 1999.) She said Mr. Labush declined to pursue evidence that would have exonerated her and that he got facts wrong. Mr. Perks told the reporter that Ms. Scarpati-Reilly came on to him and they first had sex in the office, then after a while on a daily basis for over a year and according to the Times article, "I'd be in her office for five hours. There were secretaries outside knocking on the door and she would go crazy that they dared to knock on the door. And I was sitting there and it was a command performance. "I want more", was her phrase...She wanted me for one thing and one thing only, her sexual gratification." Mr. Yule offered testimony of a neighbor who twice allegedly found the two involved in a physical tryst on one of Mr. Perks' boats, something Ms. Scarpati-Reilly also "vehemently denied".
According to the Ains' article, Ms. Scarpati-Reilly believed the rest of the Board "was gloating over the scandal" including Frank Petrone, then a Republican and Steve Israel, a Democrat. Ms. Scarpati-Reilly would not toe the party line according to her and stayed independent, that is why they wanted her out, but she refused to resign as they wanted even though according to her, she was being sold out by the Board.
ACT THREE THE LAWFIRMS...THE LAWYERS...
The Players: (Time period; 1999 to the Present)
Frank Petrone: Huntington Town Board Supervisor, Democrat. In 2001 he was a Republican...(Joined the GOP in 1976)
William Townsend Perks: Then Harbormaster for the Town of Huntington, now retired. Worked under Susan Scarpati-Reilly on the Mobil Oil Spill Response Unit.
Susan Scarpati-Reilly: Then a Town Councilwoman for Huntington Town. An attorney, Ms. Scarpati-Reilly was Town Board liaison for the Town’s Mobil Oil Spill Response Unit in 1999.
Steve Israel: Currently a Congressman, Mr. Israel was a Town Councilman for Huntington Town at the time. Dated, married and divorced Marlene Budd.
Marlene Budd: Now a Suffolk County Family Court Judge (term 2006-2016) former Huntington Town Councilwoman, former wife of Steve Israel.
Joseph Anastasia: Director of Maritime Services; Mr. Perks' Supervisor, signed the payroll along with co-signer Phil Nolan, who was Director of Environmental Control and the Landfill and the Ogden Martin (Covanta) Town Incinerator.
Phil Nolan: Director of the Town of Huntington Environmental Waste Management, in charge of the incinerator and the landfill.
Josephine Jahier: Deputy Director of the Town of Huntington Environmental Waste Management, working directly under Mr. Nolan
Lawyers and Law Firms:
Attorneys were paid for by The Town of Huntington for various lawsuits, defenses and appeals for the Town of Huntington, Susan Scarpati-Reilly and those she accused of various things and had filed a myriad of lawsuits against. These included but were not limited to: Thelma Neira, and Marlene Budd and The Town of Huntington Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure, the Chairman Howard Glickstein and all the board members collectively and individually and several Town Attorneys.
Thelma Neira: Assistant Town Attorney for Huntington
James (Jim) Matthews: Town Attorney for Huntington
Robert DiGregorio: Assistant Town Attorney for Huntington
Clifford Bart: Attorney for the Town in the Arbitration case
Maureen Hoerger: from Perini & Hoerger, For Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Ernest Stolzer: with Rains and Pogrebin, then with Bond, Schoeneck and King, LLP for the Town
James P. Clark: with Rains and Pogrebin, then with Bond, Schoeneck and King, LLP, Cullen and Dykman and James P. Clark Law Offices, for the Town
Jason Abelove: attorney for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Gerald LaBush and Robert Vespoli: For the Independent Fact-Finder
Edward Yule: Northport resident, the only attorney the Town refused to pay for. Attorney for Mr. Perks for the entire fourteen years, has yet to be paid by the Town despite two court rulings that support Mr. Perks', union contractual right to counsel, when accused of an assault.
THE LAWYERS SETTLE IN FOR THE LONG RIDE
January 14, 2000 The report of the Town Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure based on Res. No. 1999-380 was released and by May of 2000, Ms. Scarpati-Reilly had filed an Article 78 against the Board of Ethics and the members both as members and individually.
The list of lawsuits and attorneys is difficult to follow as they overlap in time and some of the attorneys move from law firm to law firm, yet remain on the case throughout the fourteen years and into the present. This is a quick overview of the lawsuits by year and the attorneys who worked on the cases.
2000
SUPREME COURT of the State of New York/Suffolk County
Susan Scarpati-Reilly vs Town of Huntington Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure, Howard A. Glickstein as Chairman, Beth Graham, Stanley M. Heller, Karen Joy Miller and Laurie C. Nolan as Members, Town of Huntington's Town Attorney's Office, Lawrence W. Cregan as Ex-Oficio Member
of the Board and Special Assistant Town Attorney and James Matthews as Town Attorney.
Susan Scarpati-Reilly as a pro-se petitioner, was her own attorney in the matter. The Town Board members however, had to be represented. (See Act One for detail on this lawsuit)
In The Matter of Step II Grievance
William T. Perks vs Town of Huntington
On December 7, 1999 Mr. Perks filed three grievances, violation of Article 19, Section C and Article 19, Section D. For the record Article 19 Section C states: "The employer shall provide legal counsel to defend any employee as a result of an assault while acting on behalf of the employer within the scope of their employment." Mr. Perks alleged sometime in February of 1999, Mr. Perks was at the Mobil Oil Dock and was assaulted by Councilwoman Scarpati-Reilly. Certain legal action took place after that, various lawsuits and as a result of that Mr. Perks claims the Town must pay the legal fees for Edward Yule, his attorney. Mr. Perks also went to doctors for certain stress ailments and he saw various psychologists, as a result of going through this turmoil he had to take extensive sick leave and eventually used his vacation time. Mr. Perks was asking the Town to pay his attorney, Mr. Yule and also to not deduct any sick or vacation time Mr. Perks had to use as a result of Ms. Scarpati-Reilly's assault. The Town was paying Jason Abelove for Ms. Scarpati-Reilly, but wouldn't pay for Mr. Perks' counsel. Mr. Perks did not see a therapist until May or June, but was taking sick time and time to cooperate with the Fact-Finder in the meantime, he said.
Non-discrimination, Article 22:
The grievance with the Town of Huntington is that they discriminated against Mr. Perks when they provided legal counsel to Ms. Scarpati-Reilly and to other Town employees falsely accused by her, but then refused to pay for Mr. Perks' attorney, Edward Yule. Mr. Nolan tried to insist no assault against Mr. Perks was documented, Mr. Perks pointed directly to the resolution that said Ms. Scarpati-Reilly accused him of assault, when the complaint was for harassment, not assault. Cooperating with the Fact-Finder, Mr. Perks showed he was the victim of assault by Ms. Scarpati-Reilly and although she admitted to lying on several occasions including to the press, Mr. Perks' information has remained consistent with the facts and he has never changed his story.
The legal appearances for this hearing:
Gerald M. Labush, Esq., Fact Finder, 475 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016
Robert Vespoli, Esq., Assistant to the Fact Finder, 475 Park Avenue South, New York 10016
Perini & Hoerger., Maureen Hoerger; 1770 Motor Parkway, Hauppauge, appearing on behalf of Susan Scarpati-Reilly. Also present: Kenneth M. Kelly
2001
United States District Court (USDC)
Judge Joanna Seybert
William Perks vs The Town of Huntington and Susan Scarpati-Reilly as Councilwoman and
Individually
March 12, 2001
Susan Scarpati-Reilly Deposition
March 19, 2001
Joe Anastasia Deposition
April 5, 2001
Susan Scarpati-Reilly...continued deposition
April 12, 2001
Marlene Budd Deposition
Kathleen Rumplelein Deposition
April 16, 2001
Gerald Labush (Fact Finder) and Maureen Hoerger for Susan Scarpati-Reilly Re: Res. No. 1999-184
Kenneth Kelly present
April 19, 2001
Susan Scarpati-Reilly...continued deposition
April 19, 2001
Town Councilman Mark Cuthbertson's Deposition
April 23, 2001
Susan Scarpati-Reilly continued deposition
April 25, 2001
Frank Petrone Deposition
May 7, 2001 Susan Scarpati-Reilly continued deposition.
May 11, 2001
Town Clerk, Joan Raia Deposition
Legal:
Ernest Stolz and James Clark with Rains and Pogrebin: for Town of Huntington (TOH)
Jason Abelove: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Edward Yule: for William Perks
Supreme Court Suffolk County
Judge James Catterson
Susan Scarpati Reilly vs William Perks (Lawsuit for Defamation)
July 18, 2001 through September 6, 2001 Dropped when Susan Scarpati-Reilly failed to appear for a scheduled court case without any explanation and failed to submit to court ordered scheduled DNA testing. Here Ms. Scarpati-Reilly was using a Town appointed attorney for her own personal case aginst Mr. Perks. No Resolution allowing Mr. Abelove to represent her in this private action has been found, raising the question as to who paid for this., the taxpayers or Ms. Scarpati-Reilly. This question needs to be answered.
Legal:
Jason Abelove: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Ahmuty, Demers & Mcmanus: Christopher Kendric as Mr. Perks' attorney
ARBITRATION LAWSUIT
State of New York Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
Local 342 and William Perks vs The Town of Huntington
Arbitrator: David Gregory
Legal:
Bart & Schwartz LLP, by Clifford S. Bart for Town of Huntington
Edward Yule: for Mr. Perks
Jason Abelove: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
2003
USDC Perks vs Town of Huntington and Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Judge Joanna Seybert
Legal:
Edward Yule: for William Perks
Ernest R. Stolzer (Rains and Pogrebin): for the Town of Huntington
Jason Abelove: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
2005
USDC Perks vs Town of Huntington and Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Judge Joanna Seybert
Transcripts of Trial produced on Daily Basis
October 24, 2005
October 26, 2005
November 2, 2005
November 3, 2005
November 7, 2005
November 8, 2005
November 9, 2005
November 10, 2005
Legal:
Edward Yule: for William Perks
Eric Stolzer and James P. Clark: (now from Bond, Schoeneck & King LLP in New York City for the Town of Huntington
Jason Abelove and Raymond Baierlein: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
2006
USDC Perks vs Town of Huntington and Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Judge Joanna Seybert
Transcripts
February 23, 2006
May 18, 2006 Memorandum and Order
Legal:
Edward Yule: for William Perks
Eric Stolzer and James P. Clark: (now from Bond, Schoeneck & King) for the Town of Huntington
Jason Abelove and Raymond Baierlein: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
2007
United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit
Affirms Judge Seybert's Opinion
May 10, 2007
Legal:
Edward Yule: for William Perks
Eric Stolzer and James P. Clark: (from Bond, Schoeneck & King) for the Town of Huntington
Jason Abelove and Raymond Baierlein: for Susan Scarpati-Reilly
2008
USDC Perks vs Town of Huntington and Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Judge Joanna Seybert
March 31, 2008
Memorandum and Order
Re: Daily Transcript Costs
Legal:
Bond, Schoeneck & King: Eric Stolzer for Town of Huntington
Cullen and Dykman: James P. Clark for Town of Huntington
Edward Yule: for William Perks
PERB Arbitration Case
September 11, 2008
Legal:
Bond, Schoeneck & King: Eric Stolzer and Amy Culver for Town of Huntington
Cullen and Dykman: James P. Clark for Town of Huntington
Edward Yule: for William Perks
November 5, 2008
Letter from Stolzer to Yule, cc Thelma Neira
Bond, Schoeneck & King: Eric Stolzer
2009
Arbitration Case No A200-280
February 16, 2009
Decision by David Gregory
That Perks' grievance was timely and arbitrable and the Town breached Article 19, Section C of the collective bargaining agreement. Ordered that the arbitration be commenced forthwith to determine the monetary liability of the Town with regard to Article 19 Section C legal counsel fees and any other unresolved matters of the PERB case. The Town had asked to bifurcate (or separate) the issue of legal fees back then and so this decision would restart the arbitration temporarily paused while the legal fee issue was handled.
For the Town:
Clifford Bart from Dec 14, 2000 to May 8, 2001
then Mr. Ernest Stolzer (Bond, Schoeneck & King) May 19 to the present with
Amy Culver
Mr. James Clark with Bond, Scheoenck & King, for the May 19th hearing, then he went to work with Cullen and Dykman
For Mr. Perks:
Mr. Edward Yule
Court of Appeals
May 27, 2009
USDC Perks vs Town of Huntington and Susan Scarpati-Reilly
Appeal of the decision of March 31, 2008
Memorandum and Order
Re: Daily Transcript Costs
Judge Joanna Seybert
Mr. Perks lost his appeal.
2010
Supreme Court Suffolk County
March 30, 2010
Petition to Confirm Arbitrator's Award and
Notice of Cross Motion to vacate the award of the arbitrator David Gregory in the matter of:
Local 342, Long Island Public Service Employees, United Marine Division, International Longshoreman's Association AFL-CIO (Grievant William T. Perks) vs The Town of Huntington
2012
Acting Justice Supreme Court
Honorable Judge Joseph Farneti
May 9, 2012
Decision upholding the award of fees to Edward Yule, attorney for Mr. Perks, based on
the decision by Arbitrator, David Gregory.
Legal:
For the Town:
Mr. Ernest Stolzer (Bond, Schoeneck & King) May 19 to the present with
Amy Culver
Mr. James Clark with Bond, Scheoenck & King, for the May 19th hearing,
then he went to work with Cullen and Dykman
For Mr. Perks:
Mr. Edward Yule
2013
Supreme Court of The State of New York
Appellate Division 2nd Department
March 14, 2013
Appeal of Judge Farneti's Order by The Town of Huntington
Statement pursuant to CPLR 5531
Eric Stolzer (Bond, Schoeneck & King)
of counsel James P. Clark and Hilary L. Moreira
for Town of Huntington
Edward Yule: for William Perks
INTERMISSION:
NOTE:
This Tuesday at the Huntington Book Review, Mr Kilmeade will read and sign books at
7 PM...Ellis Henican's Column, Person of The Week Newsday, Sunday, November 10, 2013
Upcoming.....
THE DEPOSITIONS
THE COST
THE CONTRIBUTIONS
The Devastation to Mr. Perks and his Family
Editorial Comments...
