The case of Benjamin Mathai of Manassas, accused of clear cutting wetlands on Old Neck Road (background, see here and here) ended with a guilty plea. Mathai appeared in Northampton County court Monday following an appeal of his June conviction. Mr. Mathai was brought before the court on charges of unpermitted encroachment into Northampton County’s Resource Protection Area, use of wetlands without a permit and unpermitted land disturbing activity. Mathai pleaded guilty to the three misdemeanor charges. “It is my fault,” he told the court.
Judge W. Revell Lewis III found Mathai guilty on all three charges.
“He said the contractor cut more than he intended. There is evidence to contradict this. He had an opportunity to stop it. A person ought to know that questions should be asked to the county,” Lewis said.
On the first and second charges, Judge Lewis sentenced Mathai to 12 months and suspended all but 20 days on each and fined him $1,000 on each of the charges. On the third charge he ordered him to pay a fine of $1,000. Mathai will serve 40 days in jail and pay $3,000 in fines.
According to testimony, Mr. Mathai told the court that what occurred was a breakdown in communication between his contractor and himself. He testified he found a contractor on Craigslist, and hired him to clear trees around his house. Instead, the contractor clear-cut over 3 acres of old-growth loblolly pine trees, grasses and wetlands.
Mathai contends that he was not there when the work occurred, however Planner Kelly Parks testified that neighboring property owners confirmed that he was on property when the cutting took place. The neighbors had gone to Mathai and asked him to cease the clearing operation. If anything, Mathai told the court he may have come to the property only to make a payment.
The county also contends Mr. Mathai was less than forthcoming with the Wetlands Board.
“Would you deny you told the Wetlands Board under oath you were not there?” asked County Attorney Bruce Jones. The defendant responded that he could not recall what he told the board.
“When the major work was done I was not there,” Mathai said.
The county is not pursuing perjury charges at this time.
While restoration efforts are in progress, mitigation must continue for five years, even if the property is sold.
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You need to know the right people. I’v seen this in Accomack county with no retribution.
Note: True in Northampton also.
Very proud of Bruce Jones, Kelly Parks, and our county government et. al. for sending the message loud and clear that we are a nation (and county) of laws and when those laws are flagrantly violated and ignored, there is a penalty to be paid. There have been times in the past when administrative and regulatory backs may have been turned on such an act, but this recently drawn line in the sand is a loud and clear affirmation that if you want to do something good that serves the greater public interest in Northampton County, our government and staff will be the first to roll out the crimson carpet. But if you want to achieve a more nefarious and self-serving end, well there is a very good chance that you will have a much harder time in this county. Again, Kudos to all involved in bringing this horrendous issue to a justifiable and equitable end.
But we are not a nation of laws, not hardly.
Northampton County may well be a county with rule of law, which would be a good thing for the people who reside there, but that fact does not then make the nation of laws.
To the north of you, a couple of states up, is corrupt New York state, and here, there is no rule of law, nor consistency of law, especially with respect to environmental devastation and degradation.
We have a so-called Department of Environmental Conservation whose initials DEC stand in this state for Deceit and Endemic Corruption.
That lawless agency openly makes a real mockery out of the concept of rule of law, and it can do so because it has the Attorney General of the State of New York protecting it, along with corrupt judges willing to turn their backs on citizen complaints to keep them from being heard in a court of law.
Certainly, those of us up here who care about our health and well-being wish it were different, but alas.
Mr Benjamin Mathai had also purchased property in Accomack County and did the same thing. He purchased wooded, waterfront property in Painter, clear cut and disturbed wetlands. He then sold the property for a profit. He is not innocent, he knew what he was doing and knew he was breaking the law. I suspect that is why he sold the property in Painter so quickly. I do not believe there are any charges brought to him for the property in Accomack County.