Diane Walden is reporting in The Columbia Paper the state of New York has agreed to take over the town of Copake's efforts to have Salvatore Cascino's illegally constructed steel bridge demolished. The serial offender from Larchmont, Westchester County, was ordered by Acting Supreme Court Judge Jonathan D. Nichols in 2006, to remove the 30-foot-wide span he built over the Noster Kill, a protected trout stream, without permission. He was ordered to remove the structure for the second time in 2013. The removal of the bridge was just one item on a long list of tasks Cascino was ordered to do or stop doing after he was found guilty of illegal dumping, building and excavating on his 300-acre property on the east side of Route 22. Copake Town Board member Stanley Gansowski, Cascino's neighbor, has been working with state officials and the DEC to get the state to pursue the court-ordered bridge removal. On September 27, the board approved a resolution, requesting the DEC "demand, direct, and oversee" removal of the bridge. Gansowski announced October 10, state and federal officials have agreed to “take over the lawsuit” and see that Cascino complies. Supervisor Jeff Nayer said it was possible the town of Copake could once again have sued to uphold the judge’s order, but the town by itself is not in a position to enforce or monitor the removal of the bridge. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.