PROVIDENCE – The Massachusetts-based lead contractor and a former employee on the $410 million reconstruction of the Route 6-10 connector were both charged by the state Wednesday for illegally dumping contaminated fill used during the project, R.I. Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced.
Barletta Heavy Division Inc., based in Canton, Mass., faces two counts of illegal disposal of solid waste, one count of operating a solid waste management facility without a license, and one count of providing a false document to a public official.
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In addition, Dennis Ferreira, 62, of Holliston, Mass., a former senior employee of Barletta, has been charged with two counts of illegal disposal of solid waste, one count of operating a solid waste management facility without a license, and one count of providing a false document to a public official.
Prosecutors say the company improperly imported loose stone from a Barletta project site in Massachusetts and soil from the Pawtucket/Central Falls Rail Station and Bus Hub Project.
“As alleged in the Information, Mr. Ferreira and Barletta used the 6/10 site as an environmental dumping ground, and not only for Rhode Island waste. Worse yet, they made Rhode Island a dumping ground for Massachusetts waste,” Neronha said in a statement. “Their actions come at the expense of Rhode Islander’s public health and their environment.”
An arraignment hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 1 in Providence Superior Court.
On Oct. 19, Barletta agreed in federal court to pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it improperly imported fill for the project and then tried to conceal the origin of the material.
When that agreement was announced, Neronha said his office opened its own investigation of potential violations, calling it “separate and independent” of the actions at the federal level.
Barletta in 2020 was told to remove 1,600 cubic yards of material it had transported to the 6-10 connector site after the state determined the fill soil had contaminants.
On Dec. 14, 2022, Ferreira pleaded guilty in federal court to three counts of making a false statement in connection with a federally funded highway project. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16.
Barletta Heavy Division did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
