$11 Million In Penalties Ordered For Bronx Gas Spill

State Attorney General Spitzer and Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner John Cahill today hailed an $11-million judgement against a Bronx gas station for a series of gasoline spills that polluted groundwater and required extensive cleanup.

The judgement is believed to be the largest levied in such a case.

``This is a tremendous decision,'‘ said Spitzer. ``The owners and operator of that gas station thumbed their noses at state environmental regulations for years, resulting in the spilling of thousands of gallons of gasoline that polluted local groundwater and threatened the health of area residents.'‘

``Our staff have relentlessly pursued these environmental lawbreakers and the contaminants they recklessly discharged to New York City's environment,'‘ Cahill said. ``This resounding court victory should serve as a warning to those who willfully endanger our environment and the health of our citizens; we will not rest until they feel the full force of the law.'‘

On January 13 the owners and operators of a former Citgo station at 242 East 138th St. in the Bronx were found guilty in Albany County Supreme Court of violating state navigation laws for polluting groundwater that flows into a river.

The jury in the case ordered the defendants - Leah Markowitz, Orit Markowitz, Gurmit Singh Dhinsa and corporate entities owned by them - to repay the state $1.1 million in past and future cleanup costs and pay a total of $10 million in penalties.

Leah and Orit Markowitz, both of Manhattan, owned the filling station and leased it to Dhinsa. In a separate matter, federal authorities in New York City are prosecuting Dhinsa for multiple counts of kidnap and murder.

Roger Banan, the assistant attorney general who prosecuted the case, said the defendants ``couldn't care less whether they spilled gas or not. There was a repeated history there of filling underground storage tanks so quickly and carelessly that gas just gushed out onto the ground.'‘

The case came to the attention of DEC investigators in 1991. For years after that the defendants repeatedly ignored requests by environmental officials to reform their gas handling practices and install equipment to help halt the problem.

DEC's ongoing cleanup effort has recovered more than 2,500 gallons of gasoline at the station, which was abandoned in 1996.