Camden Courier-Post – October 5, 1989
CAMDEN – A 25-year-old Mount Ephraim man and a Somerdale juvenile were arrested by Camden police yesterday and charged with illegally diverting water from a fire hydrant into a truck used for commercial steam cleaning.
The adult was identified as Dwayne Herbert, of the 900 block of West Bell Avenue. He was released on his own recognizance after being charged. The juvenile was to be released to his parents.
Camden Police Sgt. Edward Eldred said Herbert, an employee of Mobile Wash & Lube Services, a Lindenwold steam-cleaning firm, was first seen diverting water from a hydrant at Front and Mechanic Streets September 25 by an undercover team of investigators from the New Jersey attorney general’s office.
The investigators, who were working undercover on a separate investigation, videotaped two incidents in which water was stolen from a hydrant in the area.
The same investigators worked with Camden police in arresting and charging three city employees Friday with using a city backhoe and a city dump truck to illegally dump demolition debris at a city-run trash transfer station.
A fourth man also has been charged in the case, which was not related to the arrest yesterday.
“This proves we won’t tolerate law breaking by our employees or by outsiders,” said Camden Mayor Melvin R.” Randy” Primas Jr.” We remain very supportive of these investigations because we want to weed out those involved in crime.”
Cleveland Fort, who had been dumping the waste, informed investigators of the city employees’ involvement in the scheme.
Winter said undercover investigators paid Williams more than $200 to collect and dispose of debris and other waste in a back yard. The location of the back yard was not released.
Perretti said the employees used the backhoe and dump truck to clean up the yard, then dumped the waste at a transfer station. The location of the station, the date of the illegal dumping and the nature of illegal materials were not released.
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