United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

TYCO EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR VIOLATING THE CLEAN WATER ACT

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROBERT J. SMITH, age 33, of Enfield, Connecticut, was sentenced today by Chief United States District Judge Robert N. Chatigny in Hartford to one year of probation for knowingly violating felony provisions of the federal Clean Water Act.

As explained in court, when SMITH pleaded guilty in May 2003, from 1999 through the Spring of 2000, SMITH was the supervisor of the wastewater treatment department of a factory in Manchester owned by Tyco Printed Circuit Group, a subsidiary of Tyco International ("Tyco"). One of SMITH's primary responsibilities was to oversee the operation of Tyco's waste treatment facility at the Manchester factory, where equipment was in place to treat wastewater and thereby remove high levels of toxic metals, including copper.

As further explained, on May 19, 2003, SMITH assisted in the falsification of reports submitted to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP"). Specifically, SMITH carried out a scheme in which he failed to report to the DEP samples of wastewater discharges that exceeded permitted levels of copper. Instead, he took another sample and, after confirming that the sample was under the permitted limit, used the later sample for reporting purposes. Prosecutors also explained that SMITH diluted samples with tap water to create the appearance that the wastewater being discharged was in compliance with Tyco's discharge permit.

Prosecutors explained that SMITH engaged in this practice on several occasions in an effort to defraud the DEP and avoid disclosing violations of the company's discharge permit. For example, in April 2000, SMITH acknowledged the release of another tank that exceeded the permitted limits, but falsely indicated on a report to DEP that the tank had not been discharged.

Daniel Callahan, Tyco's head of Environmental Health and Safety Department in Connecticut, and Anthony Dadalt, another manager that worked for Callahan, have pleaded guilty to similar violations and await sentencing. Each faces a sentence of up to three years of imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000.

On April 29, 2004, Tyco pleaded guilty to 12 felony violations of the Clean Water Act and agreed to a $10 million monetary resolution, $6 million of which reflect criminal fines and $4 million of which represent additional expenditures that Tyco agreed to make toward environmentally beneficial programs.

The U.S Attorney stated that the prosecution of this case reflects the United States Attorney's Office's commitment to vigorously enforce federal environmental laws and protect the waters used by the citizens of Connecticut. Michael Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of the Criminal Investigation Division of the EPA, stated that this case demonstrates EPA's commitment to hold individuals responsible for falsifying reports to the DEP.

This case was investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division of the Environmental Protection Agency and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian E. Spears and Special Assistant United States Attorney Peter Kenyon.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov