BROOME COUNTY – Criminal convictions and a civil resolution were filed against trash collection firms Bert Adams Disposal, Inc. and Taylor Garbage Service, Inc. after its owners and employees conspired to rig bids, allocate customers, and fix prices, Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced Monday.

Schneiderman's investigation revealed that dating as far back as July 2014 and until May 2016, Bert Adams Disposal, Inc. and Taylor Garbage Service, Inc. were in a collusive agreement to rig bids for trash and recycling services, forcing customers to pay excessive prices for basic services.

“Bert Adams Disposal and Taylor Garbage Service illegally and secretly divided up their territory so they could rig the market and rip-off their customers by charging inflated prices,” said Schneiderman. “I am pleased we were able to bring these perpetrators to justice. My office is committed to protecting New York consumers from anticompetitive and illegal business tactics wherever they occur.”

Schneiderman's investigation revealed hundreds of text messages and phone calls between the companies. One such text message reads, "I'd like to try to work out a plan to work with each other rather than working against each other. Because the customer is the only one that wins when we're at each other's throat."