Smithtown Officials Seek Garbage Carter to Replace Jody Enterprises

Smithtown Town officials have started the process of finding a new garbage collector to replace Jody Enterprises, after its two employees were arrested and charged for operating a recycling scheme. 

The Town of Smithtown is seeking sealed bids from those interested in providing residential solid waste collection and disposal services to waste districts 5, 6, 8, and 9 - the four of its 10 districts currently serviced by Jody Enterprises. 

The deadline for the submission of sealed bids is 11 a.m. on Oct. 18. All bids are to be delivered to Office of the Town Clerk at Town Hall, 99 W. Main St., Post Office Box 646, Smithtown, NY 11787.

On Sept. 4, Smithtown officials announced they are pursuing legal action against garbage collector Jody Enterprises after two its employees were arrested and charged with operating a recycling scheme that allegedly stole more than $200,000 from the Town of Smithtown. 

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, Jody Enterprises managerial employees William Stegemann, 55, of Lindenhurst, and Michael Dalessandro, 43, of East Patchogue, were supposed to deliver collected materials to the Smithtown recycling plant, but delivered the cardboard and paper for under-the-counter cash payments to Joseph DeMatteo, 72, the owner and operator of DeMatteo Salvage in West Babylon. 

Jody Enterprises has been under contract with the Town of Smithtown for the past seven years. The areas it served include: portions of Smithtown and Commack sandwiched between Jericho Turnpike/Route 25 north to Route 25A, as far west as Townline Road in Commack; Hauppauge and Nesconset, east of Wheeler Road/Route 111 between Middle Country Road/Route 25 and Townline Road in Hauppauge. 

The contract between Jody Enterprises and the Town of Smithtown was scheduled to expire within the next year, according to Supervisor Patrick Vecchio.