TOBY TWP., Pa. (EYT) — A New Bethlehem waste company owner is facing a misdemeanor charge after state police say he repossessed a dumpster because of unpaid bills and left up to a dozen garbage bags on a customer’s property.
According to the criminal complaint filed by Pennsylvania State Police in Clarion, 61-year-old Teddy Lee Kunselman, of New Bethlehem, faces charges of depositing trash on a street, which is a second-degree misdemeanor, and scattering rubbish, which is a summary offense.
The affidavit of probable cause states that state police were dispatched to a property on Route 68 in Toby Township, Clarion County, on June 3. The complaint says that Kunselman, the owner and operator of Kunselman Sanitation, removed a dumpster from the location because of missed payments. During the repossession, Kunselman allegedly took 10 to 12 white trash bags off the top of the dumpster and left them behind on the property, police say.
According to the affidavit, Trooper White interviewed Kunselman at his residence in Porter Township on June 4. The complaint states that Kunselman confirmed he owned Kunselman Sanitation and was working in the area when he removed the dumpster.
The trooper wrote that when asked why the garbage was left behind on the property, Kunselman said, “I took the dumpster. There’s garbage there, too much garbage on top of it. I can’t haul it that way.”
Kunselman admitted to taking about 10 to 12 bags of garbage off the top of the dumpster, according to police.
“It might be that many. I don’t know. It was a mess, because it was all ripped up and tore up and whatever. So, the bags that are on top of it, I mean, we took those off. I can’t haul it like that. So the stuff inside of it, yeah, it’s dumped. I mean, we took a full dumpster, which we shouldn’t have,” Kunselman told police, according to the affidavit.
The complaint states that the customer owed Kunselman Sanitation approximately $200 to $250.
When the trooper told Kunselman that he scattered rubbish, Kunselman argued that his name was not on any of the trash and that the waste belonged to the customer, the complaint states. Kunselman claimed the garbage did not belong to him until it entered his truck, the complaint continues.
According to the affidavit, the trooper informed Kunselman that as the owner of a sanitation company, he had a legal obligation to take the garbage and charge an extra fee rather than leave the waste on the ground. The complaint states that Kunselman confirmed he physically took the bags off the top of the dumpster and set them down.
The affidavit notes that Kunselman told police the customer was supposed to be paying for a two-yard dumpster, “so that’s what we hauled away, and she didn’t even pay for that.”
Court records show that a summons was issued to Kunselman on July 15.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 18 at 10:00 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Jeffrey C. Miller.