Home New Haven Press Releases 2009 Last Defendant in Trash Hauling Racketeering Conspiracy is Sentenced
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Last Defendant in Trash Hauling Racketeering Conspiracy is Sentenced

U.S. Attorney’s Office December 03, 2009
  • District of Connecticut (203) 821-3700

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ALAN FERRARO, 61, of New Canaan, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to one day of imprisonment, time served, and three years of supervised release, for conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). FERRARO also was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $40,000 and to forfeit $75,000 to the government. FERRARO pleaded guilty to the charge on June 6, 2007.

According to court documents and statements made in court, this matter stems from a long-term investigation into the waste-hauling industry in Connecticut and eastern New York. FERRARO, the former owner of Tri-County Disposal of Brewster, New York, has admitted that he participated in a “property rights system,” through which carters would not service or compete for other carters’customers. The property rights system essentially destroys free enterprise, allowing the participating carters to artificially inflate their prices and leaving waste removal customers with no other options. In this scheme, which was principally directed at commercial and municipal customers, participating carters agreed to quote inflated prices to customers controlled by other carters.

During today’s sentencing, Judge Burns sentenced FERRARO below the recommended federal sentencing guidelines range of 15 to 21 months of imprisonment based, in part, on the defendant’s serious health issues.

Thirty-three individuals were charged as a result of the investigation. All have pleaded guilty, and FERRARO was the last to be sentenced.

“I want to acknowledge the outstanding investigative work performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the Connecticut State Police and several other law enforcement agencies that led to the successful prosecution of 33 individuals,” stated U.S. Attorney Dannehy. “Their extraordinary efforts broke the back of a criminal enterprise that, for years, denied customers competitive pricing and threatened those who didn’t play along. We believe that this prosecution has sent a clear message to the waste industry that this kind of criminal conduct will not be tolerated.”

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the United States Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, and the Connecticut State Police. Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Gustafson, Raymond F. Miller, and Henry K. Kopel prosecuted these cases.

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