‘Shed’ Inspector Trips Up Diner Owner’s Bribe

'Shed' Inspector Trips Up Diner Owner's Bribe

By RICHARD STEIER

A Westchester diner owner who was being scrutinized to determine whether sewage from his establishment was contaminating the New Croton Reservoir was arrested Dec. 6 for allegedly offering a $1,000 bribe to a Department of Environmental Protection Watershed Inspector.

According to the Department of Investigation, the diner owner paid $1,000 to two DOI undercover operatives posing as DEP supervisors prior to his arrest.

James Dimopoulos, the owner of the Bedford Diner in Bedford Hills, pleaded not guilty to the bribery charges when he was arraigned in Westchester Supreme Court and was released after posting $5,000 bail, DOI said in a statement.

Feared Sewage Probe

DEP had been trying to determine whether his diner - either because of a defective septic system or an illegal hookup to a storm drain connected to the New Croton Reservoir - was the source of sewage seeping into protected wetlands.

Several days after the agency performed a dye test at the Bedford Diner, Mr. Dimopoulos allegedly offered the $1,000 bribe to the Watershed Inspector to overlook any violations of state and city conservation and watershed regulations. The inspector refused the bribe and reported it to DOI, which later that day dispatched the two undercover investigators to the diner. They met with Mr. Dimopoulos, who allegedly gave them $1,000 in cash to ensure that DEP officials would discontinue the probe.

DOI Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn praised the unidentified Watershed Inspector, who she said "refused to compromise his honesty and integrity and helped DOI catch a corrupt business owner who put his own interests ahead of the nine million New Yorkers who depend upon the New York City water supply system each day."

The New Croton Reservoir is the largest one among the 12 that are part of the Croton system. It can hold 19 billion gallons of water and supplies 10 percent of the city's drinking water.

If convicted, Mr. Dimopoulos faces up to seven years in prison on each of the two counts of bribery brought against him by Westchester District Attorney Janet DiFiore.