CREST HAVEN – Attorney General Anne Milgram on Sept. 5, joined Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor and Avalon Police Chief David Dean to announce that a Pennsylvania dentist has been charged with dumping the needles and other medical-type waste that washed up on the beach in Avalon during the last week of August.
According to Attorney General Milgram, Thomas McFarland, 59, of Wynnewood, Pa., was charged last night with unlawful discharge of a pollutant and unlawful disposal of regulated medical waste, both third-degree crimes. McFarland, who owns a house in the Avalon Manor section of Middle Township, allegedly took his small motor boat into Townsend Inlet at the north end of Avalon on Aug. 22 and dumped a bag of waste from his dental practice in Wynnewood, Pa.
The charges conclude an intensive investigation conducted by the Attorney General’s Environmental Crimes Bureau, the Avalon Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office.
“Thanks to the great work done by this multi-agency team of investigators, we can say with confidence that this defendant’s dental practice was the source of the medical waste on Avalon’s beaches,” said Attorney General Milgram.
“We can say with equal confidence that this was an isolated incident and that, working with the Department of Environmental Protection, we will keep New Jersey’s beaches clean and safe through continued vigilance and vigorous enforcement efforts.”
“I’m very pleased with the cooperative effort of all of the law enforcement agencies that participated in this model investigation,” said Prosecutor Taylor.
“The detectives in my office, the Avalon Police Department and especially the detectives from the Division of Criminal Justice did an excellent job.”
“I could not be happier,” said Chief Dean. “I feel like Chief Brody when he got the shark.”
Beginning on Saturday, Aug. 23, waste allegedly dumped by McFarland was found washed up along a one-mile stretch of beach at the north end of Avalon, including approximately 300 “Accuject” dental-type needles, 180 cotton swabs, a number of blue and white plastic capsules used to hold filling material for dental work, and other items. Avalon closed beaches several times as a result of the waste.
As investigators from the participating agencies, led by the Environmental Crimes Bureau, worked to trace the dental waste using lot numbers on the needles and other identifying information, the Attorney General offered a $10,000 reward on Aug. 27 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
Certain information that the investigators obtained in the first days of the investigation pointed them to a small number of dental practices as potential sources of the waste, including McFarland’s practice. That information was kept confidential.
On Sept. 2, McFarland went to the Avalon Police Department and admitted dumping the dental waste. After searching his beach house, Boston Whaler boat and SUV in New Jersey, investigators obtained a search warrant for his dental office in Pennsylvania and executed it yesterday.
They discovered evidence corroborating McFarland’s statement that the waste came from his practice.
The warrant complaint charging McFarland was served on his attorney today. The third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison arid fines of up to$300U0 on the medical waste charge and $75,000 on the other charge. The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Attorney General Milgram credited the following investigators:
From the Division of Criminal Justice Environmental Crimes Bureau, the individuals who led the investigation were Supervising Deputy Attorney General Ed Bonanno, Lt. Jeffrey Gross and Detectives Steven Ogulin, Stephen Politowski and Dawn Ryan.
From the Avalon Police Department, Chief David Dean, Detective Ben Geary and the entire department. From the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office, Chief James Rybicki, Lt. Lyrm Frame and Detective Matthew Leusner.
In Pennsylvania, from the Lower Merion Township Police Department, Detective Charles Craig and Patrolman Stieber. And from the Montgomery County, Pa., District Attorney’s Office, Detective Mike Gilbert.
In recent days, several syringes were found on the beach in Ocean City, and a single syringe was found washed up in Brigantine, but those syringes are unrelated to the waste found in Avalon. The syringes at the other beaches are of the type that can be used by patients to self-administer medicines at home and are not considered regulated medical waste. When improperly disposed of, they sometimes travel through sewer systems to the ocean and end up on beaches.
It has been 20 years since New Jersey has had a similar case in which an individual was charged with dumping medical waste directly into the ocean.
Read more in the Herald’s Sept. 10 print edition.
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