NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A Long Island couple pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of unlawfully discarding broken cinder blocks and concrete near the tidal wetlands in Brookhaven, prosecutors said.
Fabio Monasterolo, 51, and Judith Monasterolo, 55, of Holbrook are being charged with Criminal Mischief, Suffolk County District Attorney, Raymond A. Tierney, announced.
The couple was caught on camera on April 23 around 2 p.m. dumping waste from their black Dodge Ram pick-up truck at the intersection of Jefferson Drive and Grove Road in Mastic Beach.
A local noticed it and reported it to Brookhaven town officials.
"This couple is now an example of what will happen to those who think they can turn Suffolk County's vibrant ecosystem into their personal junkyard," Tierney said.
On the act, a witness began taking pictures of the couple and Judith responded by sticking two middle fingers as Fabio Monasterolo drove them away from the scene.
Following the report from Brookhaven Town Officials and backed by the photographic evidence, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Biological, Environmental, and Animal Safety Team (BEAST) launched an investigation.
The Monasterolos were arrested on May 1.
On Oct. 16, the couple pleaded guilty to their charges. T
Their plea agreements stipulated restitution payments to the Town of Brookhaven totaling $2,602 for clean-up costs.
Additionally, the couple will fund a full day of wetland clean-up by town workers, personally plant over 50 trees in the Pine Barrens reforesting initiative, and offer a written apology to the witness.
