Smithtown Town Officials Mull Over Jody Enterprises' Contact

Smithtown officials gathered Monday to mull over the town's options for collecting trash and recyclables after news of recent fraud. 

Smithtown Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said several of the town's department heads met Monday morning to debate how to move forward with solid waste collections after one of garbage carters, Jody Enterprises, had . 

As of Monday morning, Jody Enterprises' trucks were out collecting Smithtown homeowner's household trash and are still scheduled to pickup paper and cardboard recyclables on Wednesday. 

"In the short term, someone has to pick up garbage tomorrow. We will determine how we are going to do that, given the parameters of their contract and the legalities," Vecchio said. 

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and police arrested William A. Stegemann, 55, of Lindenhurst, and Michael Dalessandro, 43, of East Patchogue, both Jody Enterprises employees, were arrested and charged with grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony for allegedly delivering truckloads of cardboard and paper recyclables to a private recycler - instead of the town's facilities- for personal gain.

Public Safety Supervisor John Valentine, met Monday with Environmental Protection Director Russell Barnett and others to discuss the town's contract with Jody Enterprises.

Jody Enterprises, of Medford, has been in contract with the Town of Smithtown to collect trash and garbage from four of the town's 12 solid waste districts for the past seven years. The areas 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. 

Click on the interactive map above to view the specific areas by included in Jody Enterprises' solid waste districts 5, 6, 8, and 9 based on the town's 2012 Refuse Recycling Calendar.

"The recyclables have to be picked up. We can’t simply get another carter to pick it up. We have to do legally," Vecchio said. 

It may take anything from a few days to weeks before the town is able to sort out their legal options as to how Jody Enterprises' garbage carting contract should be handled and what decision the town officials will make, according to the supervisor.  

District Attorney Thomas Spota said Aug. 22 that the investigation into Jody Enterprises is still open and ongoing, as he suspects the garbage carter may have stolen much more than $200,000 in recyclables revenue from the Town of Smithtown.