Joseph James Farricielli
Born September 26, 1945, East Haven, CT. Attended Nathan Hale Grammar School in New Haven – attended Notre Dame High School in West Haven, CT – Attended Quinnipiac University class of 1967, in Hamden, CT where he was president of the freshman class, Vice President of the Junior Class and a member of TKE Fraternity.
He has been married to his wife Jean for over 50 years, has 2 sons and 7 grandchildren. He was a member of the East Haven Jaycees, Branford Lions, Branford Economic Development Commission, the Poinciana Club of Palm Beach, Quinnipiac Club, Yale Graduate Club and Chaine des Rotisseurs.
He is a member of the Palm Beach Yacht Club, Pine Orchard Yacht & Country Club, Branford Italian American Club, Elks Club, Sons of Italy, National Rifle Association of America, Knights of Columbus, Mory’s at Yale, Branford Historical Society and Musical Art Society of Branford. He resides on Singer Island, Florida.
He was elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1974 and served as Representative from the 102nd district until 1983. In the CT General Assembly he served as Chairman of the Planning and Development Committee, member of the Regulation Review Committee, member of the Transportation Committee. Unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1980. While a member of the Connecticut General Assembly he was active in the National “State and Legislative Assembly” in Washington, D.C. He was invited to the Agrarian National Party’s National Nominations in Sofia, Bulgaria, the World Peace Conference in former Prague, Czechoslovakia and participated in talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots held in Helsinki Finland.
Business History:
While attending Quinnipiac University Joe worked in J. Johnson Men’s Clothing store and in his last two years worked selling Real Estate. Joe then started Look Realty and grew that to 3 offices in 3 different towns in the Greater New Haven area. From Insurance Joe started Look Insurance Agency which he ran while he was in the Connecticut State Legislature.
Joe invested in a men’s clothing store called “Beau Monde” he purchased a bus line from North Branford to New Haven. There was not enough riders to support the bus company but the bus company license included a limousine permit. The limousine company had 11 passenger stretch vehicles that picked up patients in New Haven, North Haven and Meriden and transported them to Springfield – for Acupuncture visits (Connecticut was not allowing acupuncture at that time) The limousine company had a 1939 Packard Limousine as well as Cadillac limousines. Eventually Joe sold that business to Hy’s Livery in West Have and to this day Joe is still in contact with Bob Levine. Joe also had investments in a restaurant in Darien and a men’s clothing store.
After selling the limousine company and the insurance agency Joe purchased Hamden Salvage which also operated a recycling facility for concrete, asphalt, and brick. Hamden Demolition, Hamden Sand & Stone, and the Tire Pond. (There is a YouTube Video about the Tire Pond – check out “Tire Pond North Haven/Hamden”
Tire Pond Background
In 1972 the State of Connecticut created the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
In 1976 Joe purchased a 42-acre parcel in North Haven & Hamden with a 35-acre pond (Former clay pit where Stiles Brick drew clay for brick manufacturing). The pond was 180 feet deep.
In 1979 an application was submitted to the DEP for permission to store old tires in the pond. The DEP said Joe would need a discharge permit for discharge into the waters of the state. An appeal was submitted, stating that a “solid Waste Permit” would be more appropriate. The DEP disagreed and Dr. Hamdy Bechir, a well-known expert on water issues, was retained to prepare the permit application.
In 1980 Joe submitted the Water Discharge application and was granted a 5-year permit from the Water Recourses Unit of the DEP. The corporation was required to test the water, two up gradient wells and two down gradient wells, quarterly every year. Satisfied with the water analysis, the DEP renewed the permit in 1981.
Joe has maintained two storage boxes with the results of the annual tests of the wells and the pond water – indicating that tires stored in water cause no harm to the environment. Based on those tests, the State of Connecticut – Water Resource Department – renewed the 5-year permit five times. Issued in 1981 and renewed in 1986, 1991, 1996 and 2001. Joe continues to retain every water test and copy of the state permit issued.
The recycling process removed the rims and recycled the metal; separated the tires that were capable of retreading for resale; The tires were cut in half along the tread and the half tires were sold to fruit farmers who would plant the new trees in the center of each tire to conceal poison deterring the vermin from eating the roots of the new trees; a use for the inner-tubs was established and they were shipped to a recycler in Georgia; We started making door mats by cutting the bias belted tires into strips, punching holes in the strips and creating a resurgence of the old fashioned door mats; We started looking into shredding equipment as shredded tires were a fuel for manufacturing.
The Tire Pond was now accepting old tires from 67 municipalities in Connecticut including the U.S. Postal Service. In 1986 DEEP renewed the permit for five more years. In 1993 John McPhee – the noted environmentalist, visited our site and wrote a 6-page article in the June 28, 1993 New Yorker Magazine.
In 1995 the DEEP again renewed the water discharge permit but the Solid Waste Division required the company to apply for a Solid Waste Permit – which was done. The Solid Waste Division never allowed a hearing on this application and never issued a permit. In 1999 The State of Connecticut sued the company for operating without a Solid Waste Permit and the Tire Pond CLOSED.
Once closed the state of Connecticut used the property to take in and dispose of millions of yards of contaminated and polluted soil leaving a 40-foot-high mountain of contaminated waste.
In 1999, a dispute with the DEEP over permit leads to Joe retiring at age 55. See Video on Tire Pond
https://youtu.be/e0auRQgzYJI