Bio Recovery Corporation

Bio Recovery Corporation is an American company that handles crime scene and bio-hazard cleanups.[1] The company assisted in the clean-up of the apartment of Dr. Craig Spencer, who worked with Doctors Without Borders, when he contracted Ebola, as well as a bowling alley he visited in New York.[1][2]

History

Ron Gospodarski founded Bio Recovery Corporation in 1998[3] out of his apartment.[4][5] Previously, he was a volunteer paramedic,[6] and worked as operations manager in a Queens district attorney’s office for six years.[7] Gospodarski realized when the paramedics left the scene of a crime, there was no one designated to clean up the mess that was left behind.[3] Emergency crews would take away the body, but leave gloves, gauze, and fingerprint dust behind.[4] Gospodarski became president of the company[8] based in New York City.[3][4] After Gospodarski died, the company was sold to Sal Pane. Pane had a history of fraud accusations, including in 2010 when a Manhattan State Supreme Court judge issued an injunction against him and his mortgage companies.[9]

Work

Bio Recovery cleans accidents, suicide and homicide scenes, hording situations, anthrax outbreaks, sewage overflow, and other bio-hazard situations.[3] It handles picking up sheets stained with biological materials from hotels and cleaning city buses when they are used as a restroom as well.[7] A cleanup requires personal protective gear including a Hazmat suit or single-use non-porous suits, double-filter respirators and chemical spill boots.[10][11] Many of the company’s employees either former fireman or ex-military. They have received hazmat training and certification, as well as blood-borne pathogen certifications,[2] which keep them within the regulations of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.[12] Bio Recovery has 60 employees across 50 states.[2]

Bio Recovery has done cleanups for high profile crimes.[3] It worked on the 2000 Wendy's massacre in Flushing, Queens where five employees were killed during a robbery orchestrated by a manager and former employee.[3][12] The cleanup took 65 certified technicians and two weeks to finish.[3] The triple murder above the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan was cleaned by Bio Recovery.[4][6] In 2001, Mayor Rudy Giuliani hired Bio Recovery to remove anthrax from New York buildings.[1][2][13] The company also cleaned anthrax from the ABC-TV headquarters.[14] In 2003, the Regal Princess, a cruse ship struck by the Norwalk virus, was handled by Gospodarski and his team.[4][5][15]

By 2005, the company revenue had gone up 450 percent.[5] The company worked on the beating of Glenn Moore by Nicholas “Fat Nick” Minucci in June 2005 and the murder of ex-cop Raymond Sheehan in February 2008. In January 2009, it worked on a home in Springfield Gardens, Queens when Vivian Squires, 86, was attacked by an intruder who she tried to fight off.[3] The company has also worked for large corporations including Marriott Hotels, Burger King, and CVS Pharmacies.[11]

Ebola cleanup

October 2014, Bio Recovery worked to decontaminate the apartment in Harlem that belonged to Dr. Craig Spencer, a doctor at Columbia University-New York Presbyterian Hospital who worked with Doctors Without Borders to treat Ebola. The doctor contracted Ebola, and the company was responsible for cleaning his apartment.[2] The company also cleaned Gutter, a bowling alley Dr. Spencer visited.[1][16] Controversy later erupted after it was reported that the company's new head, Sal Pane, had a history of fraud accusations and had mislead the city about his experience with bio-hazardous cleanups.[17]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Benjamin Mueller (October 27, 2014). "For Crew in New York, Ebola Virus Is Fought With Scrub Brushes and Cleanser". New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Laura Davison, Sonali Basak, Madeline McMahon (October 24, 2014). "Bio-Recovery Leads Cleanup of Ebola Spaces in New York". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Lee Landor (March 26, 2009). "Queens’ own crime-scene cleanup crew". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Andrew Jacobs (November 22, 2005). "Cleaning Needed, in the Worst Way". New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Jodie Davis (September 27, 2005). "Clean Sweep". NFIB. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Robert Dominguez (March 10, 2009). "Behind the scenes as a crew takes on the city's dirtiest job". Daily News. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jake Mooney (January 27, 2008). "After the Tragedy, the Tidying Up". New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Allen G. Breed (October 21, 2001). "Experts say anthrax buildings can be cleaned, but will people go back?". The St. Augustine Record. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  9. ↑ Mueller, Benjamin (1 November 2014). "For Man in Ebola Virus Cleanup, a History of Fraud". New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  10. ↑ Jeanne Sahadi (April 15, 2005). "Six-figure jobs: Crime-scene cleaner". CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Sebastian Montalvo Gray (May 16, 2014). "How to Clean Up a Crime Scene". Vocativ. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Gabriel Falcon (January 12, 2012). "Crime scene cleanup business 'is not a job for everyone'". CNN. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  13. ↑ "The Staying Power of Anthrax". ABC. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ Linda Trischitta (January 28, 2008). "Business is cleaning up". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  15. ↑ Evan Perez (November 19, 2002). "A Nasty Stomach Virus Repeatedly Sails on Liner". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  16. ↑ Seana Smith (October 28, 2014). "Ebola Fears Cost NYC Businesses $70K, and Counting". FOX. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ Mosendz, Polly (17 November 2014). "Report Uncovers More Questions About NYC Ebola Cleaning Company". Newsweek. Retrieved 1 May 2015.