First Trial In Fairfield Fill Pile Case In Jury's Hands

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A six-person jury will decide the fates of former Fairfield town officials Brian Carey and Scott Bartlett, the first two defendants to stand trial in the sprawling fill pile illegal dumping case.

Superior Court Judge Tracy Lee Dayton on Tuesday concluded the trial and handed it over to the jury of five women and one man.

The jury will begin deliberations on Wednesday.

Carey is Fairfield's former interim public works director, and Bartlett is the town's former public works superintendent. The two are accused of essentially orchestrating a scheme to dump contaminated material dredged from Fairfield's Owen Fish Pond in other areas of town.

In addition to charges of illegal disposal of solid waste, and receiving solid waste without a permit, the two were also charged with conspiracy to commit those acts.

Early last month, both Carey and Bartlett rejected plea deals that would have sentenced them to prison terms after portions of the sentences were suspended.

Instead, the two decided to take their chances at trial, where former Fairfield public works director Joe Michelangelo, who pleaded guilty to similar charges, testified against them.

The Connecticut Post reported that under questioning, Michelangelo said that he, Carey and Bartlett knew that the dredged material was contaminated, but they still schemed to dump it in other parts of town.

"This was a conspiracy of three individuals, who were high up in the town's government," state Special Prosecutor Bob Satti Jr. told the jury Tuesday in his closing argument.

In addition to Carey and Bartlett, four others are also scheduled to stand trial this summer in the other portion of the fill pile case. Those other defendants are:

• Former Fairfield human resources director Emmet Hibson
• Robert J. Grabarek, an environmental contractor hired by the town
• Former Fairfield chief financial officer Robert Mayer
• Jason Julian, co-owner of Julian Enterprises

Mayer was recently arrested a second time in the case. All but Michelangelo have pleaded not guilty.