MIDDLEBORO - By Alice C. Elwell

A local contractor and his brother have been indicted for illegally removing asbestos and transferring it to a storage facility in town.

An environmental strike force uncovered 76 drums of asbestos in a storage facility in Middleboro, and alleged it came from demolition projects in North Attleboro and Attleboro, according to the state attorney general.

A Bristol County grand jury on Thursday indicted Arthur Amaral, 49, of 23 Londonderry Lane, owner of Northeast Demolition and Removal, and his brother Shaun Amaral, 37, a company site foreman who lives in Norton, each on five counts of violating the Clean Air Act.

Authorities alleged that the Amarals knowingly demolished buildings that contained asbestos, failed to file notice, improperly removed the hazardous material and failed to comply with asbestos disposal regulations.

The indictment is a result of an investigation by the Environmental Crimes Strike Force, which includes prosecutors from the attorney general’s office, environmental police and investigators and engineers from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The defendants will be summoned for arraignment in Bristol Superior Court at a later date.

Jill Butterworth, spokesperson for the attorney general, said each of the five counts of violating the state Clean Air Act carry up to one year in prison and/or up to a $25,000 fine.

According to the Middleboro planning department, Arthur Amaral is a local contractor who built the six-lot Londonderry Lane subdivision off Plympton Street in east Middleboro.

DEP spokesperson Joe Ferson on Friday declined to identify where the hazardous material had been stored, but ruled out the Londonderry Lane location. He said the asbestos has been removed.

According to the town treasurer’s office, Amaral’s home at 23 Londonderry Lane was foreclosed on in 2006 for $22,101 in back taxes and approximately $10,000 in interest and penalties.

In 2001, town meeting tabled taking Londonderry Lane as a public way and it remains a private way owned by Amaral’s wife, Laura Jo, trustee of his company. The treasurer’s office said there is a $26,808 tax lien on the roadway.