Racketeering Prosecution—

Newtown Oil Defendants Plead Not Guilty To All Felonies

By Andrew Gorosko

DANBURY — At their arraignments on September 11 in Danbury Superior Court, each of the two former owners of the now-defunct Newtown Oil Company pleaded “not guilty” to each of the 12 criminal felony charges pending against each of them, including racketeering, in connection with the oil company’s failure to provide fuel to customers who had signed prepaid fuel purchase contracts for the 2002-03 heating season.

Defendants William A. Trudeau, Jr, 44, and his wife Heather Bliss, 32, of Westport attended the court session at which Judge John Redmond Downey presided.

Both defendants elected to have their cases submitted for decisions by a trial jury.

Mr Trudeau is represented by Hartford attorney Ross Garber. Ms Bliss is represented by lawyer Andrew Bowman of Westport.

Both attorneys entered the multiple pleas on behalf of their respective clients.

For their appearance this week, Mr Trudeau wore a dark business suit and Ms Bliss wore a pale pastel pantsuit. Neither defendant spoke in court.

Their next court appearances are scheduled for October 11. Each defendant is free on $100,000 bail.

The police’s arrest warrant affidavits in the case remain sealed from public disclosure, as the investigation is continuing. In those affidavits, police provide the reasons why each of the two defendants were charged with each of the 12 felonies.

On August 28, police arrested Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss in connection with an alleged scheme that police charge bilked oil company customers out of more than $400,000 for home heating fuel that the customers never received after signing prepaid fuel purchase contracts for the 2002-03 heating season.

The charges against each defendant are: racketeering, three counts of first-degree larceny, one count of second-degree larceny, four counts of second-degree larceny of a victim over 60 years old, plus three counts of criminal conspiracy involving: racketeering, first-degree larceny, and second-degree larceny. The racketeering charges fall under the state’s Corrupt Organization Racketeering Activity (CORA) law.

Convictions on the charges could mean lengthy prison sentences for the pair.

Police allege that the crimes occurred between April 1, 2002, and December 2, 2002.

State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky, III, is prosecuting the case against Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss. Mr Sedensky has specialized in prosecuting financial crimes.

Mr Sedensky has declined to discuss the specifics of the allegations against the pair.

Newtown Police Detective Michael McGowan and Danbury Police Detective Roger Brooks are the police investigators.

The Newtown Oil investigation also has been conducted by the state Department of Consumer Protection, the office of the chief state’s attorney, the office of the state attorney general, and the Danbury state’s attorney’s office.

A statement issued by Attorney General Richard Blumenthal explains that the two arrests stem from the fraudulent activities of Newtown Oil.

The “arrests send a strong warning that heating oil dealers abusing consumers will feel the heat of prosecution, both civil and criminal. Our law enforcement partnership has produced aggressive civil and criminal action, ensuring these alleged violators are held accountable,” the attorney general has said.

The attorney general sued Newtown Oil, Mr Trudeau, and Ms Bliss in 2003, after the company allegedly entered into prepaid fuel contracts with hundreds of consumers knowing that it would be unable to honor the contacts due to severe financial problems. Newtown Oil advertised a price for heating fuel that was significantly lower than its competitors’ prices. 

Newtown Oil went out of business in December 2002.

Of a $260,000 settlement that the attorney general reached with Newtown Oil earlier this year, approximately $250,000 would eventually become available to about 1,400 area oil company customers. The state would use the remaining $10,000 for its legal fees. The $250,000 of restitution represents about 60 percent of what the Newtown Oil customers are owed for undelivered fuel during the 2002-03 heating season.

The state was unable to obtain 100 percent refunds because the company went out of business and into bankruptcy. The amount to be received by qualifying consumers will depend on how much undelivered oil is owed them.

Newtown Oil was formerly located at 47-49 South Main Street in Newtown, a site on the corner of South Main Street and Mile Hill Road, which has remained vacant since the firm went bankrupt.

In a separate case unrelated to the Newtown Oil scandal, in July 2003, Mr Trudeau was sentenced in US District Court in Hartford to a 22-month federal prison term, plus restitution and fines, following his guilty pleas to federal tax and financial fraud offenses.

Mr Trudeau was ordered to pay $458,000 in restitution to the victims of his financial frauds, plus a $25,000 criminal fine.