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Organized Crime Links to the Waste Disposal Industry - Hearings Before the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, May 28, 1981

NCJ Number
85997
Date Published
1981
Length
301 pages
Annotation
This hearing explored allegations made by an FBI informant in a previous session that SCA Services, a national waste disposal company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has ties with organized crime in New Jersey which have resulted in illegal dumping of toxic waste, strong-arm takeovers of small businesses, and gangland violence.
Abstract
Representatives from the New Jersey State Police and the State's Organized Crime Prosecutions Unit described their investigations into organized crime control over the solid waste disposal industry and connections between organized crime families, Local 945 of the Teamsters Union, and SCA subsidiaries. This testimony largely corroborated that of Harold Kaufman, the FBI informant who originally cited SCA involvement with organized crime. The property rights system which operates among the solid waste disposal corporation in New Jersey was discussed. The supervisory agent with the FBI's Newark office summarized its information pertaining to the relationship between SCA Services and organized crime, particularly the acquisition of Waste Disposal whose president, Crescent Roselle, had met with organized crime figures frequently. Roselle was brutally murdered shortly after Mr. Kaufman's original testimony. The chairman of the board and president of SCA Services refuted Kaufman's allegations, stating that an independent investigation conducted by a law firm at the company's instigation found no basis for any of the charges. The final witness, Harold Kaufman, admitted he had a prison record, but stated that subsequently he had been a law-abiding citizen and successful businessman. He maintained that his previous testimony about the SCA Services was true, despite the corporation's denial. Prepared statements, committee correspondence, and exhibits are included.