Bartlett Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison In Fairfield Fill Pile Case

FAIRFIELD, CT — Scott Bartlett, 61, Fairfield's former public works superintendent, was sentenced to five years in prison, "committing environmental crimes and conspiring with others to defraud the Town of Fairfield," announced Chief State’s Attorney Patrick J. Griffin on Friday.

Bartlett was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton, who had already issued an 18-month prison sentence to Bartlett in another aspect of the case. Dayton's total sentence to Bartlett on Friday was 15 years in prison, suspended after five years served. Additionally, he must serve five years of probation, and is also required to make restitution payments of $1 million to the town for the harm caused.

Bartlett pleaded guilty on August 24 in Bridgeport Superior Court to nine felony environmental and fraud offenses, including the following:

• Larceny in the First Degree
• Illegal Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Disruption of a Solid Waste Disposal Area

Additionally, Conspiracy to Commit the following crimes:

• Receiving Solid Waste at an Unpermitted Facility
• Illegal Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
• Discharging Materials Into the Waters of Connecticut Without a Permit
• Larceny in the First Degree
• Operating a Solid Waste Facility Without a Permit
• Disruption of a Solid Waste Disposal Area

Bartlett is one of several defendants in the case, which involved the illegal dumping of toxic soil and fill material in sites throughout town. The cost to remediate the sites will cost Fairfield millions of dollars.

From Griffin's announcement:

In 2019, following a lengthy and in-depth investigation by the Fairfield Police Department and the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney into the suspected corrupt activities and illegal dumping operations on town property located at the Fairfield Department of Public Works (DPW), Bartlett and six others were arrested.

Under Bartlett’s plea agreement, Bartlett admitted that he and other Town officials participated in a pattern of activities that included a conspiracy between themselves and a contractor they hired to operate part of the DPW property.

The cases are being prosecuted by the Statewide Prosecution Bureau of the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney with the assistance of the Fairfield State’s Attorney’s Office, the Fairfield Police Department, Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.