How Loffredo, Soscia and Shekarchi Turned a Manufacturing Plant Into a Hazardous Waste Facility

How Loffredo, Soscia and Shekarchi Turned a Manufacturing Plant Into a Hazardous Waste Facility

For decades, 289 Kilvert Street was the home of Miller Corrugated Boxes — a family-owned company run by Barry and Paul Miller. Barry Miller, an Army veteran, made a good living running a successful manufacturing company. His nickname was the “boss.”  In September of 2023, Barry Miller died at the age of 86. The Miller family had sold the building just a few months earlier.

But a new story begins with the sale of the building. It unveils the intertwined business relationship between accused fraudster Andrew Loffredo, real estate executive Stephen Soscia, and the legal efforts of former Speaker of the House Joseph Shekarchi.

The former manufacturing facility is now a fully permitted hazardous waste facility.

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When the Millers sold the building, commercial realtor Neil Amper of Capstone announced the winning bidder was a company managed by Andrew Loffredo via a limited liability corporation (LLC).

That LLC was named New England Pallet and Logistics LLC — with Andrew Loffredo as the registered agent. 

The LLC was created by John Mancini — the Providence-based attorney who regularly represents Soscia on business matters.

Now, remember that GoLocal unveiled four weeks ago that Soscia had represented to Providence Superior Court Judge Brian Stern and to the temporary receiver, Richard Land, that Soscia had lent the 28-year-old Loffredo some $30 million.

Loffredo says he only owes Soscia about $15 million.

This past week, Loffredo was back in Superior Court as his businesses are now under the control of a state-appointed receiver, Richard Land. Last week, Judge Stern called Loffredo's management of his companies "very disturbing."

 

Back to Kilvert Street Property

The winning bidder for 289 Kilvert was New England Pallet and Logistics. That LLC did not close on the purchase, but yet another LLC tied to Loffredo.

In July of 2023, the new buyer was 289 Kilvert, a then-newly created LLC. The manager of that LLC was also Loffredo. The entity financing the purchase of the 289 Kilvert property was a separate LLC of Soscia’s — a company called TGE Ventures — that provided a $3.5 million mortgage.

TGE Ventures was constituted for the purposes of Consumer Credit Counseling Service — a service that advised people who had trouble paying their credit card bills. It too is controlled by Soscia. 

Shortly after the closing on the purchase of 289 Kilvert, Loffredo was removed as the manager of the 289 Kilvert LLC and replaced by Soscia. One person intimately involved in the sale of the property told GoLocal they always believed that Loffredo acted as a "straw buyer" for Soscia.

 

Fast Forward to June of 2024

Soscia is the manager of 289 Kilvert and his TGE Ventures LLC, then secures another mortgage for an additional $1.75 million from BankNewport plus an additional $4 million line of credit.

According to records, there are now:

a $3.5 million mortgage from Soscia’s TGE Ventures

Plus a $1.75 million mortgage from BankNewport

And, a $4 million line of credit from BankNewport, all tied to the building.

The building is tied to nearly $9 million in financing.

 According to the City of Warwick, 289 Kilvert is assessed at $2,923,200
 
 

Enter Joe Shekarchi and a Move to Rezone for Hazardous Waste

A few months after the financing was in place, private attorney Joseph Shekarchi, who at the time also served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives in Rhode Island, appeared before the zoning board.

Shekarchi has represented other waste facilities -- he served as the attorney for MedRecycler Inc., which sought approval for a medical waste incineration plant in West Warwick to dispose of up to 70 tons of waste daily from Northeast states. In 2019, Shekarchi told the West Warwick Zoning Board that, “It’s a green project. This is a state-of-the-art facility.” 

Just two years later, the General Assembly moved to ban such facilities.

 

Warwick Zoning Board and Shekarchi

At the hearing, held on December 10, 2024, Shekarchi successfully secured approval from the Warwick zoning board to change the classification to allow for the  “short-term storage of material is classified as hazardous waste.”

With the approval, the national waste firm Republic would be the tenant.

The zoning board approved the change, and presently, Republic trucks can be seen lined up at the loading docks at the 289 Kilvert Street location.

GoLocal reached out to Soscia, Loffredo, and Shekarchi with detailed questions about their roles in the property. Only Shekarchi responded.

"I only dealt with Soscia, on the application, I believe, was in Soscia's name. I never met this gentleman [Loffredo] at all. 

Today, Shekarchi is a candidate for a vacancy for the Rhode Island Supreme Court. Shekarchi is trying to block a Rhode Island Ethics Commission investigation into a complaint alleging that his appointment violates the State's revolving door legislation.
 

 

Republic in Warwick and Across the Country

Republic Services is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and operates across the country.

The Warwick facility has all its proper state and federal permits.

The Warwick facility has no violations.

Republic and its subsidiaries have been fined by federal and state agencies more than $160 million, according to data published by Violation Tracker.

The most high-profile incident was when Republic paid $87 million for its role in the Bridgeton Landfill incident in Missouri.

In 2018, now U.S. Senator and then-Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley announced that after five years of litigation, a settlement has been reached between the State of Missouri and Bridgeton Landfill, LLC, Allied Services, LLC, and Republic Services, Inc. 

“Since the lawsuit was filed, Republic has spent over $200 million to address the effects of the subsurface fire by developing a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant, upgrading infrastructure to manage gas extraction, installing a synthetic cover to contain odors, performing extensive monitoring, and performing several other mitigation activities. Under the settlement, the maintenance and mitigation of the landfill will continue under the supervision of the State. Furthermore, Republic Services, Inc., has guaranteed performance of those activities, and has secured a $26 million bond and agreed to provide $61 million of additional funding to assure future performance of those obligations should any default occur,” said Hawley’s office.

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