Auto Recycler Dumped Waste Oil And Gas Illegally

The Attorney General's Office and the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) today announced that a Monroe County man has pleaded guilty to illegally dumping waste oil and gasoline from his auto body shop.

Arthur Wilbert, the owner of Wilbert's Auto, Inc. located at 1272 Salt Road in the Town of Webster, appeared in town court today before Judge Thomas DiSalvo and pled guilty to discharging pollutants without a permit in violation of the state Environmental Conservation Law, a class "A" misdemeanor.

Judge DiSalvo sentenced Wilbert to a one-year conditional discharge and ordered him to pay a $15,000 fine. Wilbert paid the fine today before leaving court.

Wilbert's Auto, Inc. operates as an automobile recycling center. The business buys old automobiles and salvages useful parts before crushing the cars for scrap metal. Waste oil, gasoline, brake fluid, antifreeze and other fluids from the crushed cars were not being collected in tanks and held for proper disposal. Instead, Wilbert sent the fluids down a drain he built into the floor of his shop. The waste liquids flowed out the drain into a culvert at the back of the shop's lot.

Based on a tip received by the DEC, a search warrant was executed at the body shop on April 4, 2001. During the execution of the search warrant, DEC investigators located the illegal drain and determined that the land around Wilbert's shop was saturated with waste auto fluids, including oil. As a result of the investigation, Wilbert removed the contaminated soil and had the site cleaned in compliance with DEC standards. The cleanup was completed August 20, 2002 and the site no longer poses an environmental hazard.

Under the direction of the DEC, Wilbert has also taken steps to ensure that waste auto fluids from his shop are properly collected, stored and disposed.

The case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Russell T. Ippolito Jr., and Investigator Paul R. Scherf of the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Unit. DEC staffers who worked on the case include Lt. Michael Van Durme, Investigators David Bennett, and Tom Johnson of the Division of Environmental Enforcement.