In recent months, there has been a lot of silence surrounding the FBI’s extensive investigation in Napa County, which targeted some of the wine region’s most elite and powerful names.
But on Wednesday morning, federal investigators visited the Upper Valley Disposal Service facility at 1285 Whitehall Lane in St. Helena, one of the agencies also targeted in the investigation.
This is according to the statements of two employees there who spoke to The Press Democrat on Friday evening on condition of anonymity.
They said investigators dressed in FBI jackets arrived at the Whitehall Lane compound in six or seven cars starting Wednesday morning, arriving at around 8 a.m. and then departing at around 9:30 p.m. the same day.
Employees arriving to work were told to go to a conference room while agents were present, the worker said, and employees were not allowed to go up the stairs.
During this time, six to eight investigators seized boxes on the upper floor, they said. One employee said he continued to do his job and the FBI visit was not a big surprise. The reason for the visit, however, is unclear, the employees said.
A spokesman for Waste Connections did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
The Upper Valley Waste Management Agency – a joint powers agency that oversees waste disposal in Napa County, including the Clover Flat landfill – is one of the subjects of federal subpoenas received by Napa County in December 2023.
These investigations are related to an investigation by the FBI’s Antitrust Division and the U.S. Department of Justice, which is also examining the redevelopment of the county airport and a controversial local land deal.
Upper Valley Disposal Service operated the Clover Flat landfill and another landfill for decades until recently. The management company was founded and owned by the local Pestoni family and in 2022 sold the landfills to Waste Connections, one of the largest waste management companies in the United States.
Neighbors, environmentalists and former employees have repeatedly raised concerns and filed complaints about the Clover Flat landfill in recent years, citing fires, contamination and unsafe conditions, raising questions about the former owners’ – Upper Valley Disposal Service’s – long-term exclusive contracts with the county.
Similarly, federal investigators visited the home of Napa County Executive Alfredo Pedroza a week before Christmas, according to documents obtained by The Press Democrat earlier this year.
Call logs showed that the FBI spent more than six hours at Pedroza’s home on December 18.
Pedroza is considered a central figure in the investigation. A list of 40 companies that the Justice Department asked about included the boss’s father-in-law and the company they founded together, Viñedos AP.
The list also included many of Pedroza’s top campaign donors, including winemaker Chuck Wagner of Caymus Vineyards, investor Peter Read, and Craig and Kathryn Hall, owners of Hall Wines.
Pedroza was not on the list. However, he is a member of the board of the Upper Valley Waste Management Agency.
To reach Editor Edward Booth, call 707-521-5281 or [email protected].
