TRENTON, NJ – State Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced on Friday that a state grand jury indicted Mark Cadieux, a 55-year-old businessman from Lynbrook, NY, over a fatal fire that broke out at a Waste Management facility in Elizabeth in May 2022. This fire led to the death of a facility employee.
Cadieux, the proprietor of a trucking and warehouse business, was arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree manslaughter, and a range of other charges related to environmental hazardous waste disposal. After a detention hearing, Cadieux was released on conditions and entered a not guilty plea at his July 3 arraignment.
Investigations reveal that Cadieux unlawfully dumped over 9,000 pounds of highly flammable dry shampoo aerosol cans into a rented dumpster in Linden, NJ on May 10, 2022. The dumpster was later transported to the Waste Management facility in Elizabeth. Shortly after the aerosol cans were dumped at the facility, a multi-alarm fire erupted, resulting in the death of Czeslaw Solarz, a 69-year-old facility worker from Union Township.
This case represents the extreme danger and lethal potential of improperly disposing of hazardous waste. Cadieux is alleged to have dumped the cans without necessary authorization from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The evidence presented to the grand jury included interviews with witnesses, collected forensic evidence, review of surveillance footage, and autopsy results.