Fairfield Official Took Pavers Planned For Julian Sale: Legal Doc

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield official took pavers bound for the town's public works yard and used them to install a sidewalk and driveway at his own home, according to a legal transcript obtained by Patch under the Freedom of Information Act.

Director of Public Works Joe Michelangelo was questioned in detail about the pavers — which were intended for sale by the contractor managing the town's public works yard — during an arbitration hearing last month.

The town of Fairfield is in the midst of a years-long legal battle with the contractor, Julian Development. Julian is also under criminal investigation in connection with its work for the town.

Michelangelo in the transcript from the hearing July 8 discussed receiving several hundred square feet of pavers for free after finding some at the yard on Richard White Way. Michelangelo said he discovered the pavers at the property, and after speaking with the Julian employee who oversaw the site, took them to his home on Figlar Avenue.

The pavers originated from a condo property in Westport, and after finding some at the yard, Michelangelo arranged with a contractor affiliated with the Westport condo property to deliver more pavers originally intended for the yard directly to his house, according to the transcript. Had the pavers gone to the yard, they would have been sold by Julian, the transcript states.

"I think that's something that the state's attorney should look into," said Tom Cotter, an attorney representing Julian in arbitration.

Julian lost money because Michelangelo took the pavers, Cotter said, although he was unable to specify how much was lost. Not only would Julian have made money from selling the pavers, but the supplier of the pavers also paid Julian to accept them at the public works yard, according to Cotter.

"It puts into question the credibility of the director," Cotter said.

Fairfield hired Julian in 2013 to run the yard and reduce the size of the pile of leftover project material on the property from 40,000 cubic yards. Over the course of the three-year contract, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the contract was set to end, contaminated material was discovered on the property. In 2017, Fairfield sued Julian for about $3 million in costs associated with the yard and Julian sued for defamation.

First Selectman Mike Tetreau said the July 8 hearing was the first time he heard details about Michelangelo and the pavers. Tetreau said Michelangelo's decision to take the pavers was "probably not the best judgment" and "might be something more than that."

"We will be taking a long and close evaluation of all of this," he said, adding that police have access to the hearing transcripts and likely have seen or will see Michelangelo's statements about the pavers in the course of their investigation.

Fairfield police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Michelangelo also did not immediately respond to a phone call, but the transcript states that in a previous deposition he said he probably should not have taken the pavers.

Also in connection with the Julian dispute, Superintendent of Public Works Scott Bartlett is on leave. A search warrant application for Julian's offices stated that officials believed they would find evidence of a conspiracy to commit environmental crimes and larceny between Bartlett and Julian personnel, the Connecticut Post has reported. The application referenced statements from town employees suggesting Bartlett received benefits from the company for himself or his son, who works for Julian.