Former Fairfield Town CFO Robert Mayer Pleads Guilty In Fill Pile Case

FAIRFIELD, CT — Robert Mayer, Fairfield's former Chief Financial Officer, pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to two misdemeanor charges in connection with the town's fill pile illegal dumping and corruption case.

Mayer, 81, was facing more than a dozen charges through separate arrests in the case, that stemmed from allegations that he stole town files from his Fairfield Town Hall complex office a day after he was fired.

In Bridgeport Superior Court Tuesday, Senior Assistant State's Attorney Tamberlyn Chapman said many of those files directly pertained to the fill pile case, leading to accusations that Mayer was trying to cover up his alleged crimes.

Mayer pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine to fourth-degree larceny and third-degree forgery, meaning that while he entered the guilty plea, he does not agree with the prosecution's allegations against him.

Judge Tracey Lee Dayton handed down an 18-month suspended prison sentence to Mayer, with three years of probation.

"The files were all copies, and the folders contained my personal notes," Mayer told Dayton.

"There is a significant difference between what my client is charged with, and what we are saying happened," said defense attorney Lewis Chimes, who represents Mayer.

In a letter that she read to the court Tuesday, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said Mayer not only failed Fairfield, but also failed himself.

"As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. Mayer was entrusted with oversight of all the financial matters in the town," Kupchick said. "Although he was not directly responsible for the spreading of contaminated fill throughout the town, when he was made aware of its broad scope in 2019 he had a duty to share his knowledge with the Board of Finance and the citizens of Fairfield.

"Instead, Mr. Mayer put his own self-interests, and those of others, including other criminal defendants, above the citizens who he took an oath to serve. His criminal efforts to cover-up the true financial costs and health risks to the citizens of Fairfield is, in a word, unforgivable. Mr. Mayer instructed employees to falsify and forge financial documents. He did not disclose adverse rulings and Notices of Violations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Board of Finance in a timely manner then later feigned ignorance of FEMA rules.

"We now know Mr. Mayer knew much more than he disclosed and was willing to do everything possible to conceal the truth. In doing so, he not only failed the citizens of Fairfield – he failed himself, violating the principles of integrity and honesty that are expected when serving as a public official."

Chimes called Kupchick's accusations "a little outrageous" and a ploy to avoid defamation.

"Literally everything the First Selectwoman said is false," Chimes claimed.

Mayer is one of six people arrested in connection with the fill pile case, in which tons of contaminated soil and fill materials were illegally dumped at multiple sites throughout Fairfield, including at the Penfield Beach Pavilion. The town is on the hook for millions of dollars worth of remediation costs to clean it up.

The other defendants in the case are:

• Former Fairfield conservation director and interim head of public works Brian Carey
• Former Fairfield human resources director Emmet Hibson
• Robert J. Grabarek, an environmental contractor hired by the town
• Jason Julian, co-owner of Julian Enterprises

In addition to disagreeing with the prosecutions case, Mayer also sued the town for wrongful termination, which Town Attorney James Baldwin said was ridiculous before Tuesday, but is even more so in light of Mayer's guilty plea.

"Mr. Mayer had the audacity to bring a civil suit against the town to get his job back, which was wrong then, and is wrong now," Baldwin told Patch. "If he pursues this, all those sealed matters related to this case will become public, and we will question him on all of it."

Chapman and prosecutors have scored the conviction of one of the defendants in the fill pile case, former public works superintendent Scott Bartlett, and also obtained a guilty plea by former DPW director Joe Michelangelo, who has agreed to testify against the other defendants.

Whether Mayer will testify against the others is not known; jury selection in the upcoming fill pile trial is scheduled to begin next month.

Full text of Kupchick's letter to the court:

Dear Judge Dayton:

Thank you for the opportunity to address the court on behalf of the more than 62,000 citizens of
Fairfield. As the town’s First Selectwoman it is my responsibility to review the work and performance of others and evaluate their character and standards of integrity. The circumstances leading to Mr. Mayer’s termination from his high-level position of trust are well known to you and need not be repeated. With the court’s acceptance of his pleas, there is now no doubt about his previous misconduct.

As Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. Mayer was entrusted with oversight of all the financial matters in the town. Although he was not directly responsible for the spreading of contaminated fill throughout the town, when he was made aware of its broad scope in 2019 he had a duty to share his knowledge with the Board of Finance and the citizens of Fairfield.

Instead, Mr. Mayer put his own self-interests, and those of others, including other criminal defendants, above the citizens who he took an oath to serve. His criminal efforts to cover-up the true financial costs and health risks to the citizens of Fairfield is, in a word, unforgivable. Mr. Mayer instructed employees to falsify and forge financial documents. He did not disclose adverse rulings and Notices of Violations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Board of Finance in a timely manner then later feigned ignorance of FEMA rules.

We now know Mr. Mayer knew much more than he disclosed and was willing to do everything possible to conceal the truth. In doing so, he not only failed the citizens of Fairfield – he failed himself, violating the principles of integrity and honesty that are expected when serving as a public official.

Mr. Mayer also directly admits to tampering with evidence and removing town documents from his office without permission and, we believe, with the intent to remove evidence of Notices of Violations in the rebuilding of Penfield as well as the contaminated fill that he then knew existed under the facility.

Although we will never know what was contained in those files, we are grateful for the efforts of Fairfield law enforcement and the State’s Attorney for investigating these crimes and not allowing Mr. Mayer and others to get away with their criminal acts and their violation of the public trust.

I recognize that, with Mr. Mayer’s advanced age, actual prison time for these crimes may not be
imposed. There will be residents who believe that no amount of time in prison or amount of restitution will be sufficient to justly compensate residents for his actions. Others will recognize that his pleas of guilty to these crimes will be punishment enough.

Personally, although I feel relief that this plea ends another sad chapter in the public corruption and contamination book the town has been subjected to, I also feel disappointment that yet another former department head from the prior administration abdicated his position of trust and failed in his duty to the residents of the Town of Fairfield who have had to pay the price financially, emotionally and that also put their health and safety at risk.

Sincerely Yours,
Brenda L. Kupchick