UPDATE:  The name of the attorney representing Mr Rudzinski has been corrected in this article. In the initial version of this story, the name of the attorney representing the defendant was incorrect due to inaccurate information provided by the Judicial Branch.

A local man has been sentenced for his involvement in a 2017 fatal nighttime boating accident on the Lake Zoar section of the Housatonic River.

In that July 11, 2017, incident, Randall Pineau, 52, of Sandy Hook was killed.

In Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury on May 28, Mark Rudzinski, who was born in 1962, pleaded nolo contendere to first-degree reckless boating, which is a misdemeanor, and also to failure to obey the collision prevention requirements for boating, which is an infraction.

Previously, Mr Rudzinski, who was represented by attorney Eugene Riccio, had pleaded not guilty to both offenses.

Judge Kevin Doyle found Mr Rudzinski guilty of both charges. In a nolo plea, a defendant does not contest a pending charge.

On the reckless boating conviction, Judge Doyle gave Mr Rudzinski a six-month suspended jail sentence, plus a two-year conditional discharge, during which he was ordered to stay out of trouble with the law. The conditional discharge program carries a $15 fee. No probation was issued.

On the infraction, the judge issued a $50 fine, which was later waived by the court, according to a court official. Mr Rudzinski was free on $5,000 non-surety bail during the court case.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) police arrested Mr Rudzinski in October 2017 following an investigation into the boating accident.

Mr Pineau was operating a pontoon boat on Lake Zoar in the area of Mohawk Trail in Sandy Hook, when his vessel was hit by a ski boat operated by Mr Rudzinski at about 9:30 pm. Mr Pineau was pronounced dead at Danbury Hospital. His wife, Katherine, received minor injuries in the accident.

There were a total of six people aboard the two vessels — four on the pontoon boat operated by Mr Pineau and two on the ski boat operated by Mr Rudzinski.