CASELLA...

Maine Mayor Demands to Know Who’s in Charge at Casella; Blasts Company for Providing Conflicting Messages on Incinerator

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:07:50 -0400

On April 17, 2009, Hon. Joanne Twomey, the Mayor of Biddeford, Maine, sent a scathing letter to John Casella, Chairman of the waste company, demanding to know which corporate officer really speaks for the company. At issue is the future of Casella’s Maine Energy Recovery Co. (MERC) trash burning plant located in Biddeford.

Biddeford residents want to see the MERC plant shut down because of alleged odor and other problems caused by the facility. Apparently two top officers of Casella gave the mayor different versions of what the company planned to do with the plant and the mayor didn’t appreciate the doubletalk. So she complained directly to Casella’s chairman.

One of the Casella officers about whose conduct the mayor complained was James Bohlig, the company’s Chief development Officer. That’s the same James Bohlig whose alleged questionable conduct pops up repeatedly in the lawsuits cited on this site.

View Mayor Twomey’s letter to Casella: Mayor Twomey Letter to John Casella.pdf

View related news items about the MERC facility: mercinfocus_article03.pdf

NH Law Firm Sued For Malpractice For Assisting Casella Waste Systems, Inc. And Its Top Officers In Diverting Business Opportunities and Intellectual Property

Mon, 5 May 2008 22:19:43 -0400

In 2008, Green Mountain Glass, LLC, a glass recycling technology company, filed a derivative suit against the NH law firm of Brown, Olson & Gould alleging that lawyers in the firm assisted the Casella company and several of its top officers in the misappropriation of valuable business opportunities and intellectual property.

The suit alleges that while lawyers at the firm were purporting to serve as legal counsel to Green Mountain Glass, LLC, they secretly and improperly assisted the Casella parties in carrying out the theft and misappropriation of valuable business opportunities and intellectual property.

The lawsuit alleges that the lawyers’ actions constituted legal malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, assisting others to breach fiduciary duty and civil conspiracy. The lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire where it is consolidated with a similar suit against the law firm by G R Technology, Inc, a member of GMG.

The firm of Brown, Olson and Gould represents Casella Waste Systems, Inc. in a number of cases in the New England area, including its efforts to expand the Bethlehem, NH landfill.

View the derivative complaint: GMG LLC v Brown Olson.pdf

View The G R Technology, Inc. complaint: GMG LLC v Brown Olson.pdf

Additional case filings:
Objection - Exhibit 1.pdf
Objection - Exhibit 2.pdf

Recycling Company Alleges That Casella Waste Systems, Inc. And Its Top Officers Diverted Business Opportunities and Intellectual Property

Mon, 5 May 2008 22:18:35 -0400

In 2008, Green Mountain Glass, LLC, (GMG) a glass recycling technology company, filed a derivative suit against the Casella company, several of its top officers and its recycling subsidiary, FCR, alleging the misappropriation of valuable business opportunities and intellectual property.

The lawsuit alleges that John Casella, James Bohlig, Sean Duffy and other Casella officers and employees conspired to divert GMG’s assets by engaging in fraud, breaches of fiduciary duties and other improper conduct.

The lawsuit is pending in the Superior Court in Rutland Vermont where it is consolidated with a similar suit against the Casella company by G R Technology, Inc, a member of GMG.

View the derivative complaint: GMG v Casella, et al (VT).pdf

View the G R Technology, Inc. complaint: GRT v Casella et al. (VT).pdf

Asbestos in Southbridge

Mon, 14 May 2007 09:27:57 -0400

The Attorney General's office asserts in this document that Casella disposed of asbestos at the Southbridge Landfill in February, 2007 (page 8). Asbestos is not now, nor was it then, allowed to be buried at the Southbridge Landfill. When contacted, the Attorney General's office and the asbestos expert at the Central Regional Office of the Department of Environmental Protection confirmed that there is an enforcement ongoing against Mayo Group Development LLC for their illegal handling of asbestos. The AG's office and the DEP both said that no further information regarding Casella hauling the asbestos to Southbridge and disposing of it at the Southbridge Landfill could be released at this time due to that enforcement action. Both the AG and the DEP advised that more documentation would be made public in the future.

View the document: Commonwealth V. Mayo.PDF

Casella Agrees to Pay A $400,000 Fine to Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection For Repeated Violations

Fri, 5 May 2006 22:17:29 -0400

In July 2006, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. agreed to pay a $400,000 fine to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for repeated violations at the waste transfer station in Tioga County. In announcing the fine and related Consent Order, the DEP stated:

“This significant penalty reflects both the large number of violations and a pattern of noncompliance by the company that DEP, and Pennsylvania residents, simply cannot tolerate…Casella must abide by all environmental laws and permit requirements or face the consequences of their violations.”

The DEP noted that, “a DEP investigation that began in 2003 revealed that Casella regularly was exceeding the maximum 75 tons of waste per day that the transfer station was allowed to accept, and had been doing so since 2000. In addition, DEP investigators discovered that Casella did not keep daily operational records properly.”

View the DEP press release: Casella PA DER Press Release.pdf

View the Consent Order agreed to by Casella: Casella PA DER $400,000 Fine.pdf

Casella Pleads “No Contest” to Criminal Charges in Pennsylvania and Pays $50,000

Fri, 5 May 2006 22:15:29 -0400

In April 2006, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. pleaded “no contest” in Pennsylvania to criminal charges stemming from its failure to accurately record the amount of waste received at a waste transfer facility the company maintained in that state. Casella was fined $35,000 and ordered to make a $15,000 “environmental contribution” to community groups.

View the press release about the case from the Pennsylvania Attorney general’s Office: Casella PA Att Gen Press Release.pdf

View court documents related to the company’s criminal conviction: Casella PA Criminal Conviction.pdf

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Pays $329,000 To Settle Claims of Fraud And Breach of Contract

Sun, 5 May 2002 22:13:40 -0400

In 2002, Cheryl Coletti filed a lawsuit against Casella Waste Systems, Inc. based on a non-compete agreement between her and the company related to Casella’s purchase of a New Hampshire waste company.

Ms. Coletti’s lawsuit alleged that the company fraudulently induced her to enter into the contract and then breached the contract by failing to pay her $329,000 she was owed for services she had performed pursuant to the contract.

Casella paid Ms. Coletti $329,000 to settle the case, according to the company’s SEC filings.

View the complaint in this case: Coletti v. Casella.pdf

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Agrees to Consent Order to Resolve Allegations It Deceived Its New York Recycling Customers

Fri, 5 May 2000 22:12:00 -0400

In December of 2000, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. entered into an agreement with the Attorney General of New York to resolve allegations that the company had dumped recyclables in a landfill that had been collected from customers who were paying for what they believed to be recycling services.

In announcing the settlement with Casella, the AG’s office stated that, “at various times between January 1998 and May 2000” Casella and two affiliated companies had “landfilled recyclables that were collected from residential customers in Delaware, Franklin and Oneota counties. The customers paid for, but did not consistently receive, recycling services.”

The AG further stated that under the settlement agreement, Casella would adopt a code of conduct guaranteeing that recyclables and garbage would not be mixed. The agreement also compelled Casella and its affiliates to “reimburse a total of $90,000 to some 2,000 customers.”

View the AG’s press release: NY AG Press Release - Casella.pdf

View the consent agreement: Casella NY AG Settlement 2000.pdf

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Pays $1,000,000 To Settle Claims of Breach of Contract and Breach of the Duty of Good Faith

Wed, 5 May 1999 22:10:43 -0400

In 1999, Earth Waste, Inc. and its owners sued Casella Waste Systems, Inc., John Casella and James Bohlig for breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and other counts.

Earth Waste’s owners alleged in their lawsuit that the Casella firm and its officers, John Casella and James Bohlig, induced them to sell their company to Casella and then breached the terms of the sale agreement.

Casella settled this case with the payment of $1,000,000 plus other consideration, according to the company’s SEC filings.

View the complaint in this case: Earth Waste Systems v Casella Complaint.pdf

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. Pays $350,000 plus Stock Options To Settle Claims of Breach of Contract, Breach of the Duty of Good Faith and Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Fri, 31 Oct 1997 20:14:02 -0500

In 1997, Matthew W. Freeman sued Casella Waste Systems, Inc., and corporate officers John Casella and James Bohlig for breach of contract, breach of the duty of good faith and breach of fiduciary duties.

Mr. Freeman alleged in his lawsuit that he had entered into an agreement with John Casella and James Bohlig to provide services to help form the Casella company in return for compensation in the form of no less than 3% of the stock of the newly-formed company. The lawsuit further alleged that Freeman provided the services called for but Bohlig and John Casella breached the agreement by failing to pay him the compensation he was owed.

In 2001, Casella Waste Systems, Inc. settled this case by paying Mr. Freeman $350,000 and issuing to him 25,000 stock options, according to the company’s SEC filings.

View the complaint in this case: 50636-97 RCC.pdf

Lawsuit Alleges Fraud In The Formation of Casella Waste Systems, Inc.

Sat, 5 Jul 1997 22:06:41 -0400

In 1997, investors in Meridian Group, Inc., a company formed to acquire landfills in New England, filed suit against Casella Waste Systems, Inc. and its top officers, including John Casella and James Bohlig.

The lawsuit, filed by prominent Vermont attorney Ritchie Berger, Esq., referred to Casella and Bohlig, among others, as “renegade corporate managers who abused their positions of trust for personal gain” in devising and carrying out schemes related to the formation of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. The lawsuit alleged that the conduct of Casella and Bohlig, labeled the “Renegade Defendants” in the lawsuit, constituted breach of fiduciary duty, theft of business opportunity and conspiracy.

The suit alleged that, “the Renegade Defendants, on Meridian’s behalf, identified certain waste treatment properties for acquisition by Meridian and solicited investor financing to acquire those properties. However, on the eve of the acquisitions, the renegade Defendants froze out Meridian, and secretly took title to the assets in the names of subsidiaries of a newly created holding company – namely, defendant Casella Waste Systems, Inc. – in which the Renegade Defendants took individual equity positions.”

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. settled the case for the payment of $400,000 and the plaintiff’s legal fees, according to the company’s SEC filings.

View the complaint: Russell v Bohlig (Meridian).pdf