Construction Company Owner Guilty of Illegal Dumping
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John Duquette, 35, pleaded guilty to four charges of illegally dumping sewage.
Superior Court Judge Peter Valis sentenced Duquette to pay a $2,000 fine to the commonwealth, $1,000 in restitution to the city of North Adams, and ordered that he serve two years' probation.
Duquette was indicted by a grand jury on Feb. 29 and arraigned on March 24 in Berkshire Superior Court, where he had entered a plea of not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. He changed his plea to guilty on Friday.
Duquette owns Berkshire County Construction in North Adams that, in addition to general construction, blacktopping and landscaping, also does septic cleanings. He ordered his employees to empty sewage from the the company truck through a sewer hose attached to a coupling on a manhole cover on the construction company's property on Ashland Street.
Two former employees contacted the North Adams Police Department last year and told them about the sewage dumpings. North Adams authorities referred the matter to state Attorney General Martha Coakley's office, which began a joint state Environmental Crimes Strike Force investigation in October 2007.
Authorities determined that Duquette was responsible for illegally dumping thousands of gallons of septic waste into the North Adams sewer system. Waste pumped from local septic sytems is supposed to be transported to the Hoosac Water Quality District for disposal.
Duquette was also charged with witness intimidation and assault and battery related to allegations that he threatened an employee to never to say anything about the operation and physically assaulted the employee. A trial has not yet been scheduled.
Three years ago, Duquette had tried to relocate his business from Florida to the area near Massachusetts and Demond avenue but ran into vocal opposition from neighbors. The Planning Board eventually denied his permit.
