Questions about an item of news
Sourse News:

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/environment/sini-suffolk-dumping-1.38106000

Questions：

1) “Operation Pay Dirt” (para.3): what does it mean, and what's its construction?

2) "wiretaps, eavesdropping"(pata.7): what's rhe difference between wiretap and eavesdrop?

3) "dumped cancer on the guy "(para.8): how can one be dumping cancer on others? Is this a metaphoric expression?

4) "he played audio of the some of wiretaps"(para8.): should the phrasing have been, for example, "the audio of some of the wiretps"?

5) "One dumper was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in jail"(para.10): why not "to 1 years" or "4 years"?

Question

Questions about an item of news
Sourse News:

https://www.newsday.com/long-island/environment/sini-suffolk-dumping-1.38106000

Questions：

1)  “Operation Pay Dirt” (para.3): what does it mean, and what's its construction?

2) "wiretaps, eavesdropping"(pata.7): what's rhe difference between wiretap and eavesdrop?

3) "dumped cancer on the guy "(para.8): how can one be dumping cancer on others? Is this a metaphoric expression?

4) "he played audio of the some of wiretaps"(para8.): should the phrasing have been, for example, "the audio of some of the wiretps"?

5) "One dumper was sentenced to 2 to 4 years in jail"(para.10): why not "to 1 years" or "4 years"?

Answer

1) Companies, police, and armies often use code names.  Ex:  Project Tiger.  Operation Lightning.

"Pay Dirt" is a play on words because the dumpers are dumping "toxic dirt."

"Pay dirt" normally means dirt with gold ore.
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/pay-dirt?q=pay+dirt

2) Wiretapping is an older word for cutting a physical phone line and connecting (tapping) a extra line to a listening post.    Wiretapping is a specific form of eavesdropping.

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/wiretap_1#wiretap_inflg_1

3) "Dumped cancer" means dumped toxic materials with cancer-causing substances.

4) Yes, but words often omitted in speech.  Sometimes, editing an article creates errors or odd word combinations when the original version was correct.

5) "2 to 4 years" means a minimum jail sentence of two years and a maximum of four years.  A longer version of the sentence is "One dumper was sentenced to A MINIMUM OF 2 YEARS IN JAIL to A MAXIMUM OF 4 years in jail."