Dump owner faces new legal trouble
Saugerties resident Joseph Karolys, already embroiled in legal problems, was pulled over on a drunken driving charge Sunday night, according to authorities.
State police at Ulster arrested the 35-year-old Karolys at 9:13 p.m. Sunday, July 19, on state Route 212 in the town of Saugerties and charged him with drunken driving and driving with a blood alcohol level at or exceeding 0.08 percent, both misdemeanors. He was released on his own recognizance.
Last month, Joseph and Rachel Karolys, who have been in hot water for several years over illegal dumping at properties they own in Saugerties, were targets of a lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General’s Office over that dumping. They are also facing likely legal action by the town of Woodstock for bringing debris to a site in the hamlet of Shady.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on
June 25 against the Karolyses over the illegal processing and/or dumping of construction-anddemolition debris at three sites in Saugerties — 1446 State Route 212, 90 Goat Hill Road and 33-43 Fel Qui Road — according to Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan.
In March, Joseph Karolys was charged by Saugerties Police with stealing a truckload of manure from Beaverkill Farm and leaving the scene of an accident. He was charged with criminal mischief, petit larceny and leaving the scene of a property-damage automobile accident, all misdemeanors. According to the police, before they arrived, Karolys drove his truck and trailer over a grassy section of the landowner’s property and then onto the road, where he struck a vehicle.
State Department of Environmental Conservation police raided the three Saugerties sites in May 2019, and a cease-and-desist order was issued two months later, after test results found contamination in soil samples.
A second enforcement operation took place in December 2019 after trucks continued coming to the Route 212 site on a daily basis.
In a press release at the time, Ryan said he first urged James’ office to take action against the Karolyses in November 2019.
Woodstock town officials sought action against Joseph Karolys after he brought debris to 10 Church Road in Shady — a property owned by family members of the late Salvatore Conigliaro — and building a berm that is being investigated by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. A May 21 Department of Environmental Conservation report revealed that there was asphalt, concrete, glass, brick, wood and coal/slag/ ash at the Shady site.