MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Illegal dumping caught on camera has led to charges for a well-known Midtown property owner.
Video captured on home surveillance shows a man dumping branches and tree limbs on a construction site recently.
“It’s not your word against mine. It’s video evidence, which is pretty hard to deny,” said George Gattas, who installed the security camera.
Now authorities have identified the man in the video as Charlie Ryan, and have charged the 70-year-old developer with trespassing, vandalism and aggravated criminal littering.
It all happened at a construction site where they’re building new homes on York Avenue in Midtown.
Shelby County property records show Ryan owns the large plot of land right next door. It’s empty. but a neighbor tells us he just put up a fence.
She doesn’t want to be identified but says Ryan is territorial and can be aggressive.
“He’s a rude man. He banged on my door. I work at night so I sleep during the day. And he banged on my door like it was the cops,” the neighbor said.
We went to Ryan’s listed home address on Walnut Grove but no one answered, so we called him.
That’s when he told us he didn’t know about the charges either.
“This is all a ridiculous thing that was started on the Internet,” Ryan said. “And I am absolutely not guilty of anything I’ve been charged of. So that’s all I have to say.”
He later added he’s been a victim of dumping as well and plans to sue his neighboring property owners.
Police say Ryan and the victim know each other and have done business before.
Ryan, a former stakeholder in Ticketmaster, owns numerous key properties in the Cooper-Young neighborhood and has been credited as a force behind that neighborhood’s rebirth.