Two Men Charged With Illegal Dumping at Playland

Westchester County Police arrested two men Thursday morning at Playland as they tried to dump a 275-gallon tank of home heating oil in the parking lot.

Frank Anfuso Jr., 52, of Palisade Road in Rye and Christopher Cannizzaro, 51, of Irving Avenue in Port Chester were dumping the oil from a tank that was inside a box truck around 9 a.m. Thursday when employees from the County's Parks Department spotted them and notified police. 

The men had poured about 25 gallons of No. 2 home heating oil onto a paved area near the edge of the parking lot, which was near a grassy picnic area and Playland Lake. Anfuso and Cannizzaro had picked up the oil tank from a local business on Thursday and had intended to sell it as scrap metal.

County police arrested the men and set up booms and other materials to contain the spill and to prevent any oil from getting into the lake. The Westchester County Health Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Rye Fire Department also provided assistance at the scene. 

Anfuso and Cannizzaro were charged with trespassing and knowingly and recklessly releasing hazardous material, a misdemeanor under the state's Environmental Conservation Law.

Both men will be arraigned later today in Rye City Court.