A former Fairfield official has been found guilty in connection with the illegal dumping of hazardous materials next to the town's public works garage, according to the State's Attorney.
Scott Bartlett, 60, is one of five former or current Fairfield officials that allegedly hid the extent of contamination to town property.
State authorities said Bartlett faces eight felony charges in connection to the incident including three counts of transporting solid waste to an unpermitted facility, three counts of receiving solid waste, disposing of solid waste without a permit, and operating a solid waste facility without a permit.
The charges are related to a nearly three-acre site containing PCBs, lead and other hazardous materials, Fairfield police said. Town officials estimate cleanup of the site to cost $5 million to $10 million.
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In addition to Bartlett, the following people were arrested: former Public Works Director Joseph Michelangelo, interim Public Works Director Brian Carey and former Human Resources Director Emmet Hibson. Police also arrested Robert Grabarek, of Clinton, owner of Osprey Environmental Engineering.
Robert Mayer, former chief of staff to former First Selectman Michael Tetreau, was charged earlier this year with hiding evidence in the case.
Investigators said the town hired Grabarek’s company in 2016 to clean up the site and construct a berm around it to prevent adjacent properties from becoming contaminated. Instead, police said, Grabarek’s company and town officials conspired to bury contaminated materials into the berm.
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Fairfield police began an investigation of the dumping in 2017 and arrested several town officials in July 2019.
Sentencing is set to take place on May 16.
