Man dumps $200 worth of petrol to sell $60 container

A Bridport man poured more than $200 in gasoline onto a street so that he could sell the metal container for $60 to a local scrap yard, police said. Emilio Valentine, 52, of Lewis Street, was charged with illegally dumping hazardous material. He was released on a promise to appear in court pending arraignment in Superior Court on May 2.

"It was crazy," said Stephen Scholz, of PC Metals on Central Avenue, who saw Valentine dumping the nearly 50 gallons of gas and called police. "He was driving along Central Avenue dumping the gas as he went. It was an explosive hazard. I hate to think what could have happened if someone had flicked a lighted cigarette into the street."



He said that Valentine then pulled into the scrap yard with the now-empty tank seeking to sell it. "It was still dripping gas and I told him to get out," he said. Scholz said the tank was worth about $60. Gasoline is averaging $4 a gallon in the area.

Firefighters and the state Department of Environmental Protection later arrived to clean up the residue. Officer Ken Ruge said in his report that Valentine admitted dumping the gas on Central Avenue, but claimed he only did it after failing to sell the gas at a local fire station.