Police investigation finds no evidence of illegal asbestos dumping on Marco

A long-awaited Marco Island Police Department investigation found no evidence of any illegal asbestos dumping on a future city park site, despite assertions by city staff members, contractors and residents that said otherwise.

The nine-page report released Wednesday afternoon concluded an 11-month inquiry that began with strong assumptions and ended with seemingly little to show for its effort.

“You always like to find out the cause in an investigation and here that’s how the asbestos got there,” Marco Island Police Chief Roger Reinke said. “There was no evidence to conclusively indicate where it came from.”

Asbestos was first discovered on what is known as “Site C” of the future Veterans Park site located at the corner of Elkcam and Joy circles in March 2006. Fort Myers-based asbestos consultant American Management Resources Corp. (AMRC) certified a cleaning of the site the next month, but last October more asbestos was found and the city police department initiated a criminal investigation of how it arrived.

That investigation began a flurry of activity that ensnared at least seven law enforcement or prosecuting agencies in the months since.

No individual or organization has been charged with a crime or fined relating to any aspect of the situation.

“With the significant amounts of asbestos-containing pipe fragments found since October 2006, this investigation did not reveal any evidence that these pieces were ‘hand-placed’ on ‘Site-C’ by any individual(s),” police Detective Linda Guerrero wrote in the report. “Furthermore, this investigation did not reveal any evidence that loads of soil/asphalt containing asbestos pipe fragments were deliberately dumped on ‘Site-C’ after the March 2006 abatement.”

The report stated the most likely source of the asbestos was “rainfall, erosion and settling of the soil” on the site with previously undiscovered asbestos floating to the surface between March and October. But the police department declined to blame AMRC, the asbestos consultant that had supervised the entire cleanup effort.

The report stated approximately 4,586 cubic yards of soil was removed from Site C since March 2006 and said AMRC removed “more than an adequate amount” of soil in its initial cleanup.

Since October the investigation has been a source of tension between city hall and anti-city organizations, particularly as the city backed off earlier suggestions that the asbestos was deliberately placed on the site.

In an October television interview, City Manager Bill Moss responded to a question about whether he believed the asbestos was planted by saying: “That is what we think is a possibility because it’s just too coincidental. This has been a major issue on Marco Island.”

The day the investigation began Reinke told the Daily News: “The site had been cleaned up, so we can only assume someone put asbestos there.” In April, Reinke said his initial assumption might have been incorrect. In the months after the investigation began, Reinke repeatedly referred to “illegal dumping” having occurred on the site, but said in April that he didn’t necessarily mean asbestos was dumped.

In the report, Guerrero wrote illegally dumped debris including “old carpeting, padding and plastic bags” was found on the site.

“Whenever you start with an investigation you have to start with assumptions,” Reinke said. “We were told there was asbestos there in March 2006 and it was cleaned up. I think ours was a reasonable assumption to make. Now after our investigation it appears (the site) may not have been clean.”

Dissatisfaction over the city’s handling of the situation prompted more than 50 Marco residents to shop a formal complaint to various law enforcement bodies this spring. The U.S. Department of Justice asked the FBI to review the case in April, but the FBI hasn’t yet responded to its request, U.S. Assistant District Attorney Douglas Molloy said this week. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has declined to investigate and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office has referred the case to state and federal environmental agencies, FDLE and CCSO officials said this week.

Laura Niles, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has been monitoring the situation for more than a year, did not respond to a request for comment. Previously, EPA officials said they couldn’t confirm or deny whether a criminal investigation is occurring. The agency made a site visit in the spring.

The Marco police report does include allegations of “suspicious” findings of asbestos by city staff, contractors and residents.

According to the report, in October Marco Public Works Director Rony Joel suggested pieces of asbestos pipe were “placed” on the site. When more asbestos was found in March 2007, Jack Snider, the president of asbestos contractor AMRC, “inferred” that some of it was placed on the site, according to the report. Snider said Wednesday the report quoted him accurately.

In April, three Marco residents who signed the complaint against the city suggested city road contractor Quality Enterprises dumped the asbestos, the report said. Quality has been involved in the asbestos issue since the beginning, storing asbestos pipe removed during a city road project on another section of the park site. Last year, the DEP recommended a $50,000 fine against Quality for improper asbestos handling, but Quality fought the fine and there’s been no resolution to the situation.

Quality Vice President Paul Moriarty declined comment Wednesday.

Butch Neylon, who spearheaded the Marco citizens’ complaint and has repeatedly alleged Quality was involved, said the city owed him and other anti-city hall leaders an apology, but he didn’t expect to get one.

“What is missing in this whole debate is any substantive approach to fixing the problem,” said Neylon, who is running for a seat on the Marco City Council. “It’s just a case of shoot the messenger.”

City Councilman Ted Forcht, who has long held that erosion was the cause of the asbestos resurfacing said, this situation hasn’t been the city’s finest hour.

“This has been a chapter in our history that didn’t show our best side from any perspective,” he said. “I want to put this all behind us.”

According to the EPA, asbestos is made up of microscopic bundles of fibers that may become airborne when materials are damaged or disturbed. Inhaled asbestos can cause significant health problems. City officials have been adamant that none of the asbestos found has posed a health risk.