MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced the plea and sentencing today of a Muttontown man who illegally released toxic chemicals into the ground at his business located just yards away from a Glen Cove waterway that leads into Long Island Sound.
John Doxey, 45, of Muttontown, pleaded guilty today to one count of Endangering Public Health, Safety or the Environment in the 5th Degree (a B misdemeanor) before Acting County Court Judge Francis Ricigliano. Doxey was also sentenced today by Judge Ricigliano to a conditional discharge with an agreement that he will finish the clean-up of his Glen Cove property under the supervision of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Doxey has already spent $25,000 towards the clean-up.
“My office pursued this case to make sure that this defendant would be held accountable for his crimes, and to ensure that he would bear the full cost of the clean-up, at no cost to taxpayers,” DA Rice said. “My office will continue our efforts to preserve Nassau County’s natural beauty and to protect people from the environmentally reckless actions to which this defendant pleaded guilty today.”
Doxey was arrested by DA investigators in May 2012 and charged with illegally releasing toxic automotive fluids into the ground of his salvage yard located at 4 Park Place in Glen Cove, just south of the Glen Cove waterway. State law requires that fluids like gasoline, motor oil, and transmission fluid be drained and property stored for disposal before disassembling vehicles.
Doxey’s arrest was the result of an investigation by DA Rice’s office, the Glen Cove Police Department, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Nassau County Police Department CAP Squad.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Heid of DA Rice’s Environmental Crimes Unit and ADA Andrew Weiss, deputy chief of DA Rice’s Economic Crimes Bureau, are prosecuting the case. Doxey is represented by Nancy Bartling, Esq.