Bio Recovery Corporation is an American company that handles

crime scene A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcemen ...

and bio-hazard cleanups. The company assisted in the clean-up of the apartment of Craig Spencer, who worked with

Doctors Without Borders Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

, when he contracted Ebola, as well as a bowling alley he visited in New York.

History

Ron Gospodarski founded Bio Recovery Corporation in 1998 out of his apartment. Previously, he was a volunteer paramedic, and worked as operations manager in a

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

district attorney's office for six years. After Ron Gospodarski died, the company was inherited by his sister, Fran Gospodarski, who later sold off the company to a local competitor, All Island Bio Recovery and Restoration, located in

Ronkonkoma, New York Ronkonkoma ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on Long Island in the Town of Islip, New York, United States. Its population was 19,082 at the 2010 census. The Ronkonkoma post office has the ZIP Code 11779, and serves parts of seve ...

Work

Bio Recovery has cleaned accidents, suicide and homicide scenes, hoarding situations, anthrax outbreaks, sewage overflow, and other bio-hazard situations. A cleanup requires personal protective gear including a

Hazmat suit A hazmat suit (hazardous materials suit) is a piece of personal protective equipment that consists of an impermeable whole-body garment worn as protection against hazardous materials. Such suits are often combined with self-contained breathing ...

or single-use non-porous suits, double-filter respirators and chemical spill boots. Bio Recovery 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. The cleanup took 65 certified technicians and two weeks to finish. The company also handled the crime scene clean for the triple murder above the

Carnegie Deli The Carnegie Deli is a small Jewish delicatessen, formerly a chain, based in New York City. Its main branch, opened in 1937 near Carnegie Hall, was located at 854 7th Avenue (between 54th and 55th Streets) in Midtown Manhattan. It closed on De ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 2001, Mayor Rudy Giuliani hired Bio Recovery to remove anthrax from several New York buildings. The company also cleaned anthrax from the ABC-TV headquarters. In 2003, the '' Regal Princess'', a cruise ship struck by the

Norwalk virus Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually devel ...

, was handled by Gospodarski and his team. 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 Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the w ...

when Vivian Squires, 86, was attacked by an intruder who she tried to fight off. The company has also worked for large corporations including

Marriott Hotels Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...

, Burger King, and CVS Pharmacies.

Ebola cleanup

In October 2014, Bio Recovery worked to decontaminate the apartment in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

that belonged to Dr. Craig Spencer, a doctor at

NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital The NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is a nonprofit academic medical center in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools, Cornell University and Columbia University. The hospital comprises seven distinct campuses located in the New Y ...

who worked with

to treat Ebola. The doctor contracted Ebola, and the company was responsible for cleaning his apartment. The company also cleaned Gutter, a

bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a clubhouse or dwelling ...

Spencer had visited.

Controversy

Controversy later erupted after it was reported that the company's new head, Sal Pane, had a history of fraud accusations and had misled the city about his experience with bio-hazardous cleanups. Following the Ebola cleanup in New York City, revelations slowly trickled out revealing a pattern of fraud from the company. Documents released months after the cleanup, including emails with city officials, revealed that the company claimed to have had training it didn't have at the time of the cleanup. Following media investigations into the company, claims of certifications were taken down from the company's website. The company also claimed to be working for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, which was denied by the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

and army medical officials.

References

{{reflist Privately held companies based in New York (state)