Driver charged in waste dumping

The man is accused of pumping human waste from his truck into a storm drain in Tarpon Springs.

By RICHARD DANIELSON, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 23, 2002

TARPON SPRINGS -- The driver of a septic tank-pumping truck has been charged with illegally dumping about 300 gallons of waste into a storm drain that empties into the Anclote River.

Joseph Cantu, 29, of Pinellas Park, was charged with dumping the waste June 28 into a storm drain at 1302 Belcher Drive.

Randall Bowe, 41, told Tarpon Springs police that he had hired Robinson Concrete to pump out his septic tank, remove it and fill the space with clean sand so he could have a swimming pool put in.

On the day of the incident, Bowe saw a septic tank truck with a large hose leading from the back of the truck into the storm drain.

When Bowe asked the driver what he was doing, the driver told him, "Not to worry, it's just clear water," according to a sworn statement from Tarpon Springs police Detective Khris Walguarnery.

Bowe told police he wasn't sure about the driver's response, so he walked to the back of his property, which slopes down to the Anclote River. There, he saw a lot of foul-smelling "grey matter" coming from the drain and realized that it was raw waste, Walguarnery said. Bowe called the city, which took samples of the waste and found that it contained fecal coliform.

Robinson Concrete owner Bill Jones told police Cantu was driving the truck that day and was fired the following day because of the incident.

Later, Cantu told police that he knew there was human waste in what he pumped into the storm drain but thought the drain led directly to Tarpon Springs' waste water treatment plant. He also acknowledged telling Bowe that what he was pumping was nothing more than clean water, Walguarnery said in his statement.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Cantu on July 31. He was charged with third-degree illegal dumping, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. He was released Thursday morning from the Pinellas County Jail on $7,500 bail.

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