D.E.C. Found No Violations at Gendebien Farm

TOWN OF LISBON, - Congressional candidate Anthony Constantino has accused his opponent, Blake Gendebien, of illegal dumping on his Lisbon farm, a claim the state disputes and Gendebien’s campaign dismissed it  as “weirdo drone stalking.” Constantino said he hired a private investigation firm to look into his Democratic rival in the race for the 21st Congressional District. The private investigator flew a drone over Gendebien’s farm. Constantino’s campaign sent photos and video of the flight to news media. The images appear to show concrete slabs, other debris and a pile of old tires near a stream or marshy area on the farm. Constantino claimed a former employee of Gendebien’s was ordered to dump dead cattle in a wooded creek area. The drone photos and video show no evidence of that. Constantino claims the dumping was done so Gendebien could avoid paying waste disposal fees and he is calling for an investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The DEC told WWNY TV 7 News it received a complaint on Sept. 3 of violations at Gendebien’s property. Environmental police investigated, found no violations and closed the complaint. Gendebien’s campaign rejected Constantino’s accusations. In a statement, Gendebien said, “Six-dollar diesel is making farming hard enough without this weirdo drone stalking my home and business because he doesn’t know how farming works. Unlike the many felons Anthony pays to hang around his campaign, I’ve already been cleared here.” He went on to call the situation an attempt to save a “floundering campaign.”