Indictment links organized crime to garbage industry in Conn., N.Y.

June 9 -- A total of 29 people and several entities in Connecticut and New York´s trash hauling business face federal indictments following a three-year investigation into an alleged "property rights system" tied to organized crime, the U.S. Department of Justice said June 9.

The alleged illegal property rights system, allegedly enforced by organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra, involves trash carters keeping clear of other company’s territories.

"The investigation that led to this indictment involved several months of electronic surveillance and the use of an FBI Special Agent who was effectively employed in an undercover capacity in the waste industry for several months," said Kevin J. O´Connor, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut.

Commercial and municipal customers were the primary targets of the scheme, the Justice Department alleged.

The indictment charges owners of several carting companies, including James Galante, who owns several trash companies in Danbury, Conn., as well as the Danbury Trashers minor league hockey team.