|
|
Mold Treatment Leads To Court Man Accused Of
Fraud, Faces Prison And Fines
July 16, 2004
By LYNNE TUOHY, Courant Staff Writer
NEW HAVEN -- To school officials in Bristol, Manchester and Easton
- all concerned about air quality and mold in their public schools -
Ronald Schongar must have seemed a godsend.
He said he had a doctorate, and that his mold remediation company had a
grant from the National Center for Environmental Research and Quality
Assurance, and that he was involved in research for the federal
Environmental Protection Agency.
They paid him to heal their schools.
But after he treated their schools, students and staff still were getting
sick. In fact, the symptoms seemed to grow to include rashes and vomiting,
officials said. Scrutiny of his services intensified, bringing Schongar to
a federal courtroom Thursday on charges of fraud and violation of federal
environmental standards.
The laboratory reports he generated before he "treated" the schools and
the ones he produced after, federal prosecutors and investigators allege,
were all made up.
What remains uncomfortably uncertain is what chemicals he actually did
spray in the schools in question, officials say. The investigation is
ongoing, and is expected to spread to other states where Schongar did
business under a variety of company names, favoring Microb Phase, Microb
Phase Environmental, Microb Phase Laboratory and Mold Away.
"It boils down to a well-orchestrated effort to play on people's fears,
and to exploit people's fears for personal gain," U.S. Attorney Kevin
O'Connor said.
Schongar, 57, who lives in Clifton Park, N.Y., surrendered to federal
authorities Thursday on charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and violating
the Federal Insecticides, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. The investigation
into his conduct began in Easton, which might explain the uniformed
contingent of Easton officers - Chief Jack Solomon among them - who filled
a bench at Schongar's court proceeding Thursday.
There's no question the Samuel Staples Elementary School had a problem
before Schongar came on the scene, but it persisted long after he left.
"Schongar claims the mold went away" after his treatments, Solomon said.
"We have two other consultants who debate that." The school system paid
Schongar about $3,000 to $4,000 for his work, the police chief said.
Solomon said Schongar's arrest sends an important message. "People who
commit environmental crimes are going to get caught, particularly when
it's in our schools and affects our children and the staff."
Schongar was released on a $50,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to
return to court Aug. 4. One condition of his bond is that he not engage in
any mold remediation services.
Federal EPA Agent Leonard Borges, who investigated the case and filed the
affidavit leading to Schongar's arrest, stated in court documents that
Schongar's transgressions included misrepresentations to the schools that
hired him that the products he used were registered with and approved by
the FDA.
His misrepresentations were made in Manchester to officials overseeing
projects at three elementary schools - Bowers, Highland Park and Keeney.
Bristol also hired Schongar to do remediation work on three elementary
schools - Green Hills, Northeast and O'Connell. He would, prosecutors
allege, submit fraudulent lab reports that contained high counts of
microbials before any work was done, and then submit equally fraudulent
lab reports after completion of the work indicating the problem had been
solved.
Schongar also has a bit of a spelling problem, according to Borges'
affidavit.
Searches of his house and storage area produced fraudulent diplomas
indicating Schongar had an engineering degree from American University in
Heidelberg, Germany. But the name of the city was misspelled "Heidleburg."
Also found were reference letters and certifications Borges said he
believed were fabricated.
When Easton school officials wanted documentation of the products he used
at Staples Elementary School, Schongar allegedly falsified a technical
bulletin for another EPA-approved product, substituting the name of his
product - Microb Shield.
Schongar faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of
the fraud counts, and up to a year in prison on the environmental count.
|