Ex-Fairfield CFO Again Denied Probation In Fairfield Fill Pile Case

BRIDGEPORT, CT — Fairfield's former Chief Fiscal Officer Robert Mayer was denied accelerated rehabilitation for the second time on Tuesday, a day after he was arraigned on new charges in the town's fill pile illegal dumping and corruption case.

Under AR, which is a special probation program, Mayer's initial arrest in the case would have been wiped from his record if he did not commit any other offenses over the next two years.

Mayer and his attorney, Richard Meehan Jr., appeared in Bridgeport Superior Court Tuesday before Judge Kevin Russo, who decided that the charges Mayer faces are too serious "for him to receive the benefits of accelerated rehabilitation."

Last week, Mayer was arrested on new charges of:

• Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 1st Degree by Defrauding the Public Community
• Conspiracy to Commit Disposal of Solid Waste

He was already facing charges of third-degree burglary, third-degree larceny, evidence tampering and second-degree forgery in connection with the case. Prosecutors accuse Mayer of stealing town documents a day after he was fired in 2019.

In the new charges, prosecutors accuse Mayer of being more deeply involved in the conspiracy surrounding the illegal dumping of toxic fill material beneath Penfield Pavilion and around town, by drafting misleading documents to help cover up the alleged criminal activity.

"We have email evidence," Senior Assistant State's Attorney Tamberlyn Chapman told Russo Tuesday.

Additionally, the prosecution has testimony from former Fairfield Public Works Director Joseph Michelangelo, who pleaded guilty to several charges in the case, and has agreed to testify against the other defendants at trial.

Michelangelo claims Mayer was involved in the cover up of alleged criminal activities involving the fill piles, and misleading statements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which was reviewing the situation.

Attorneys for the prosecution and defendants, in addition to Judge Russo, are scheduled to meet in chambers in a case status conference on Wednesday. A trial date could be determined at that time, in addition to whether all the cases will be merged into one trial.

On Monday, Mayer was arraigned in court on the new charges, but he did not enter a plea. That case was continued to Feb. 2.

Asked for comment on the AR denial, Meehan said in an email to Patch that there are problems in the state's case.

"We are disappointed, we also are looking forward to a trial," Meehan said. "States witness Joseph Michelangelo was not truthful in his statement. I look forward to cross-examine him, and Bob Mayer was not involved at all with the contamination issues."

Meehan also said that the state's allegation that Mayer tried to circumvent FEMA procedures, and that Mayer was involved with the Penfield Pavilion project, is wrong.

"Further, the manner in which the FEMA application was processed was in keeping with FEMA's policy," Meehan said. "The state attorney wrongfully claimed the Bob was the project manager for the Penfield Pavilion. He was not."

Mayer was hired as former First Selectman Mike Tetreau's Chief of Staff in early 2012, and became the town's CFO in the summer of 2013. He was fired by First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick in January 2020. Tetreau has been identified as an uncharged co-conspirator.

Following Tuesday's hearing, Fairfield Town Attorney James Baldwin, who attended Tuesday's hearing but is not part of the prosecution, told Patch that he was pleased by Russo's decision.

"After the new charges, I was not surprised by his ruling," Baldwin said. "This case is a tangled web of lies and a cover-up."