By Anne Levin

Robert Hough, Princeton’s director of infrastructure and operations, has been terminated following new developments in an investigation into illegal dumping at the River Road sewer department facility. Municipal administrator Marc Dashield announced Hough’s firing on Monday.

“Recent information released to the municipality from the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office as part of its ongoing investigation concerning allegations of illegal dumping at Princeton’s River Road facility shows a widespread and systemic violation of municipal policies, NJDEP rules, and other regulations,” Dashield wrote in a press release. “On June 6 the direct supervisor of sewer operations was terminated.  New details from the investigation indicate that the department director also did not provide appropriate oversight. Consequently, effective Monday June 24, 2019, the municipality has terminated the employment of the director of infrastructure and operations.”

Municipal employees have allegedly been allowing private contractors to dump dirt, asbestos, concrete, and other materials at the River Road site in exchange for cash. The sewer department’s supervisor, Tom Hughes, was fired June 6 and has since been charged with bribery in the second degree. An additional employee in the department was also terminated and charged with selling municipal property.

According to a June 21 report by Planet Princeton, which originally broke the story, a New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) representative first reported concerns to both the NJDEP and the municipality back in February, but nothing was done. Last week, the NJDEP issued a violation notice to the town for operating an illegal landfill after four inspectors visited the site. The town has hired the Whitman company, licensed state remediation professionals who did testing during the construction of AvalonBay apartments, to test for environmental contamination or runoff as a result of the illegal dumping.

In an earlier statement issued June 21, Dashield said the municipality “is launching a full review of our administrative
policies and procedures, including those related to internal controls to mitigate the potential for any future infractions.”

At a press conference Monday, Dashield said that there will likely be more municipal employees let go. “As the investigation goes on, we’re starting to look internally at fixing the organization from the inside,” he said. Mayor Liz Lempert added, “We are fully committed to this investigation, and to making sure there is a thorough cleanup of the site. We’ll be looking at the organization to make sure the proper protocols are put in place, and will take a comprehensive look to make sure the operation is working the way it should.”

Dashield said the revelations “do not demonstrate the core of this organization.” Lempert said, “We have exceptional employees and a very hard-working staff. We’re a small enough community that it’s known that this is a hard-working group. These actions don’t reflect the majority of our employees and their values. That’s why it’s so important we’re open about addressing these problems, and are committed to sharing information as we learn it. We don’t terminate people lightly.”