State Officials At Fill Pile Same Day Julian, Bartlett In Court

FAIRFIELD, CT — State officials were on site at the Fairfield fill pile Wednesday, the same day two of the three men charged with financial and environmental crimes connected to the pile appeared in court.

During the brief hearings, former public works superintendent Scott Bartlett and Julian Companies Owner Jason Julian each requested through their attorneys that their court date be continued until Jan. 29. Judge Joan Alexander granted their requests. Bartlett and Julian each face a long list of charges, including forgery, larceny, giving or receiving kickbacks, and dumping.

"We're continuing to go through the significant amounts of discovery," Senior Assistant State's Attorney Tamberlyn Conopask told the judge.

Attorney Fred Paoletti, who is representing Bartlett, said when a case involves such a large amount of information, the legal process can take a while, and that the state's disclosure of documents to the defendants delayed the proceedings Wednesday.

Among the items disclosed by the state are police reports, search warrants, evidence and information regarding Logical Environmental Solutions, the company that discovered PCBs and lead at the pile almost three years ago.

Police stationed Wednesday outside the pile confirmed the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection was at the site, but declined to provide additional details. State environmental officials, along with state law enforcement, were also seen Oct. 30 at the pile, at which time First Selectman Mike Tetreau said he had received word that law enforcement wanted the department to test the site. Tetreau said Wednesday he had not been notified about the department's presence at the pile.

Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Communications Director Kristina Rozek on Wednesday confirmed department staff were at the site, but directed further questions to the Office of the Chief State's Attorney. Division of Criminal Justice spokesman Mark Dupuis declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.

In addition to Bartlett and Julian, former public works director Joe Michelangelo is charged in the case. The trio was arrested in August, and Michelangelo and Bartlett have since been fired from their town jobs. All three men have pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial.

Fairfield hired Julian Development in 2013 to operate the fill pile and reduce the amount of unused project material by 40,000 cubic yards. But over the next three years, the pile more than doubled in size, and days before the agreement was set to end, contaminants were discovered on the property.

After conservation officials said the transportation and dumping of contaminated material could have violated state or federal law, police opened an investigation in 2017, which resulted in the arrests.

Around the same time that Bartlett, Julian and Michelangelo were charged, asbestos at a local park was reported to police, and not long after that, the town released a list of 20 priority contamination testing sites that received fill from the pile when it was operated by Julian.

Since August, at least 66 areas in Fairfield have been tested for contamination. The vast majority have been deemed safe, but some sites were found to contain asbestos, arsenic and other contaminants.

Fairfield has sued Julian for millions in damages and Julian has sued the town for defamation.