Big Dig player in land spat

Builder, town take on McCourt

Roger Aiello says flooding caused by his neighbor reduced the value of his Braintree property for development in the future. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

A company accused of overcharging the government for Big Dig work is embroiled in a smaller, but perhaps equally contentious, battle in Braintree over alleged wetlands violations.

The legal fight, pending before the state Department of Environmental Protection, pits two notable adversaries against each other.

On one side is the powerful McCourt family, which was paid hundreds of millions of dollars in Big Dig work through the construction company it owns. The company has said it will plead guilty to overbilling the government for work between 2002 and 2005.

On the other side is resident Roger Aiello, a 68-year-old plumber-turned-developer who served on town sewer and water boards for nearly 20 years.

According to Aiello, the Boston-based McCourt Construction Inc. - which has a facility in Braintree next to Aiello's property - improperly filled in wetlands, which led to flooding on Aiello's land that damaged its value for future development.

It's a David vs. Goliath fight, says Aiello. "McCourt has 20 times as much money as me and is cranking my chain," hoping to break him financially, alleged Aiello.

The McCourts could not be reached through their attorney to respond.

The McCourt company is also battling on a second front - against the town. Braintree officials have tried in vain to collect fines the town levied on the company for allegedly keeping construction vehicles outside the building. The town is ready to go to court to collect the $22,100 it says is due.

The battle is expensive on both fronts. Not only does Aiello claim he has spent more than $100,000 on the fight, but it has also taxed the resources of the town and state. The battle has produced a pile of documents close to a foot high in two town offices, and has town officials claiming that they have been confronted and sworn at by a McCourt employee.

The Braintree conflicts come just as the McCourt company - which was paid $245 million for work on the Interstate 93 tunnel - has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government and to a maximum fine of $628,989. The company overcharged more than $300,000 for its work, officials have said.

McCourt's local problems began in 2005, and involve two narrow strips of property on Pond Street.

Held under the name RMT Braintree LLC., with Richard McCourt listed as resident agent, the property includes slightly more than nine acres. McCourt Construction Co. Inc. occupies the building on the property.

Next to the McCourt building is Aiello's 15 acres. It is made up of uplands and swampy land, and is overrun with saplings, vines, and wildlife - including a small herd of goats that Aiello tends. Flooding there is due, alleges Aiello, to the McCourts' improper filling of adjacent wetlands.

Aiello two years ago told town officials that the McCourts were illegally keeping construction vehicles outside the building, breaking a 1994 agreement. In 2007, the Building Department began imposing daily fines for the violations, which totalled $22,100 through March 14 of this year.

Town officials in August 2007 visited the site, and told McCourt superintendent Robert Trubiano that a new section of the building was restricted to storage, not equipment repair. In response, according to those present, Trubiano used profane language to suggest that the town could take its concerns elsewhere.

Robert M. Galewski, inspector of buildings, who was at the site that day, said he never received an apology. The town is preparing to go to court over the fines.

Meanwhile, the McCourt-Aiello battle over flooding proceeds before state environmental officials. According to a filing with the state, RMT Braintree claims that Aiello caused his own flooding problems by clearing 31,500 square feet of property in 2004, without permission from the local Conservation Commission. Aiello said the goats killed the trees by eating the bark, so he cut down the trees.

The state ruled there was no current evidence of filling of wetlands or cutting of trees, but said work done on a culvert needed to have an order of conditions from the Conservation Commission. The state also noted that it was unclear how the filling might have caused the flooding.

Aiello appealed that decison within the department because RMT Braintree was not required to take remedial action on the fill. Both sides are attempting to work out a compromise and a hearing has been re-scheduled for June 10.

"I wasn't out to punish them," said Aiello, standing on a pile of loam overlooking the goats. "I just wanted the water to get going."

At least one neighbor has sided with Aiello, agreeing that work done by the McCourts several years ago ended up flooding his home, although the problems have eased since remediation work was done. But that neighbor is also wary of Aiello, due to a separate dispute over property lines.

"It's a multi-millionaire fighting a billionaire," said Joseph M. Vannelli, who lives on nearby Regis Road. "My heart doesn't bleed for either one."

Matt Carroll can be reached at mcarroll@globe.com.