Local builders facing indictments over demolition of former Fall River school
FALL RIVER — Three local men and two companies are facing indictments from the state’s attorney general over allegations they illegally demolished an old school in Fall River.
The defendants are accused of “causing repeated additional air pollution and posing a potential threat to the surrounding community’s health, safety and well-being,” according to a press release from the office of Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
Eric Resendes of Fall River, his corporation, Spindle City Homes, Inc., Richard Miranda Sr. of Assonet, his son, Richard Miranda Jr. of Acushnet, and his company, Diversified Roofing Systems, Inc., were indicted by a grand jury last week on 104 counts of violating the Massachusetts Clean Air Act.
History of Healy Elementary
The indictments stem from the 2018 demolition of the former Harriet T. Healy Elementary School, located at 726 Hicks St. in the city’s Globe neighborhood.
The school, a two-story brick building that dated back to 1897, closed in 2008. The city put it on the market in 2014.
The Sherwood Building Company bought the property from the city for $25,000 in 2015, then sold the property to Spindle City Homes Inc. for $105,000 two years later.
Allegations of illegal demolition work
The attorney general alleges that Resendes hired Miranda Sr., and Miranda Jr. as demolition contractors despite neither being a licensed asbestos contractor as required by law. They removed some, but not all, of the asbestos from the school, then Miranda Jr. applied for a city building permit to demolish the school where he included a false report claiming they had removed all of it.
The defendants “failed to hire a licensed asbestos contractor, failed to notify the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) of the asbestos removal activity as required by law and failed to follow the safe work practices required under the Clean Air Act,” Campbell’s office said.
They later allegedly ignored an order from MassDEP to stop demolition work. Then, they left material that contained asbestos on the side and the nearby sidewalks.
“Over the next six months, the defendants allegedly repeatedly ignored or failed to carry out MassDEP’s orders to properly cover and discontinue the removal of asbestos containing matter on the site,” the press release reads.
Pollution from the demolition, state takes over
Campbell’s office says the demolition polluted the neighborhood’s air with asbestos and exposed workers and residents to asbestos, lead and dust over a period of seven months. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency paid nearly $2 million to safely remove the asbestos.
More than 18,000 people live within one mile of the site, according to the AG’s office. The area also includes five schools, one nursing home and six daycares.
Separate from the indictments, the demolition of the school led to a rat problem in the surrounding neighborhood that required help from the city, with the rodents drawn to the rubble that sat under a tarp as demolition was delayed for months. MassDEP eventually took over the demolition after Spindle City decided it could not handle the debris pile and asbestos at the site.
The property, now valued at $425,800, is now the site of a single-family home that was built last year.
The defendants will be arraigned in Fall River Superior Court on Sept. 11.
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Local builders facing indictments over demolition of Fall River school
