FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Four more men have been arrested in the ongoing investigation into the dumping of hazardous materials on Fairfield town property.
Arrested on Thursday were:
- Brian Carey, the Interim Director of Department of Public Works
- Emmet Hibson, the former Human Resources Director
- Scott Bartlett, a former superintendent for the Department of Public Works
- Robert J. Grabarek, an LEP for Osprey Environmental Engineering
All were charged with Illegal Disposal of PCB’s, and Conspiracy to Commit Illegal Disposal of PCB’s.
Bartlett was charged with Receiving Solid Waste without a Permit, Illegal Disposal of Solid Waste, and Conspiracy to Dispose of Solid Waste without a Permit
Carey was charged with Receiving Solid Waste without a Permit, Illegal Disposal of Solid Waste, and Conspiracy to Dispose of Solid Waste without a Permit.
Police said from 2013 to 2016, town officials had allowed a company to dump PCB laden materials at the Construction Material Processing Facility. Police said town officials at the time failed to properly supervise the dumping.
The investigation started in 2017, when according to police, "The Julian Development operated Construction Material Processing Facility on Fairfield Department of Public Works property. This investigation revealed that Julian Development had dumped and allowed dumping of a tremendous volume of material on the DPW site, some of which was found to contain PCB’s, Lead, and other contaminants. This material required remediation to a licensed hazardous waste facility at a cost of approx. $280,000 to the Town."
Soil testing revealed PCB levels six times greater than the state allows and lead levels that are double those considered to be hazardous.
Grabarek was hired to construct a berm on the property to shield the dumping from the view of a neighbor who complained about the site. Police said, "The Investigation revealed that the four had the remaining material tested, and that test results showed the material contained various levels of PCB’s. [The four men arrested] authorized the use of the PCB contaminated material to be used to construct the berm, in violation of State Statute. According to the current Town Attorney, the recently estimated cost of remediation of contaminated material on the Site is $5-10 Million Dollars."
First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick released a statement:
“I am disheartened to have to report that Interim DPW Director and Conservation Director, Brian Carey, has been placed on administrative leave, pending an internal investigation by the town of the criminal charges lodged against him today. I cannot add any additional comments at this time on personnel matters or the ongoing criminal investigation.
Fairfield’s Former Human Resources Director, Emmet Hibson, was terminated from his position with the Town of Fairfield on January 15, 2020.
As I shared with residents when I was sworn in to lead the Town of Fairfield, I will continue to do everything within my power to regain the public’s faith and trust in our town government, which was damaged in the wake of the fill-pile contamination and public corruption.
I appreciate the Fairfield Police Department and the States Attorney’s Office for their continued investigative work.”
In July 2019, Fairfield Police arrested three other individuals.
The town’s Public Works Director, Joe Michelangelo was charged with forgery and illegal dumping of bulky/hazardous waste.
Jason Julian, the owner of the company involved in the dumping, Julian Enterprises, was charged with illegal dumping and offering up kickbacks.
Fairfield’s Public Works Superintendent, Scott Bartlett, who was supervised by Michelangelo, was charged with accepting bribes from construction contractor Julian Enterprises, hired to manage a massive pile of fill at the DPW site.
The former Fairfield town Chief Financial Officer was also accused of stealing documents related to the investigation.
On January 15th, 2020, police said 78-year-old Robert Mayer was terminated from his position as Chief Financial Officer. The day after, in the early morning hours, Mayer, who still has an office key, reportedly entered Sullivan Independence Hall and removed several file folders containing documents belonging to the town.
In a press release about the arrests, Police said, "After completion of the initial remediation, approximately 100,000 cubic yards of material remained on the Town of Fairfield Construction Material Processing Facility site. This remaining material would have cost millions of dollars to remove and properly remediate. Additionally, the remaining 100,000 cubic yards of suspected material left behind by Julian Development continued to create an esthetically undesirable view of the pile, and had been the topic of many Fairfield resident complaints."
