WHITE PLAINS – Former planning and zoning coordinator and property development manager for the Town of New Windsor, James Petro, and former town contract engineer Richard McGoey, each pled guilty in federal court to one count of negligently causing the release of asbestos into the ambient air, thereby negligently placing other people in imminent danger of death or serios bodily injury.
The men entered guilty pleas on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith McCarthy in White Plains federal court.
The case involved the demolition of 10 1940s-era military buildings on the 250-acres of town property adjacent to New York Stewart International Airport that the town purchased from the U.S. Army.
report had indicated 10 of the buildings to be razed had asbestos-containing material and its abatement had to be performed by a licensed contractor in accordance with federal and state regulations.
It was alleged Petro and McGoey prepared a request for proposals for demolition of the buildings and omitted the fact that they contained asbestos which had to be disposed of properly.
A contractor who was not licensed for asbestos abatement was hired with a low bid of $262,000.
From August 11 through August 16, 2015, the buildings were demolished with a backhoe, releasing the asbestos into the open air.
On August 19, 2015, an official with the Asbestos Control Bureau of the State Department of Labor suspended work on removing the debris piles resulting from the demolition of the buildings.
Petro, 68, of New Windsor, and McGoey, 71, of Monticello, each pled guilty to one count of negligently causing the release of asbestos into the ambient air, thereby negligently placing other persons in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury.
The offense carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison.