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New York Man Pleads Guilty to Drinking Water Monitoring Violation

Release Date: 08/17/2005
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Contact: Stacie Keller, 202-564-4355 / keller.stacie@epa.gov

(8/17/05) Dieter Greenfeld, a former employee of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), pleaded guilty on Aug. 4 in U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, in White Plains, N.Y., to charges that on March 7, 2005, he falsified a log book required by the Safe Drinking Water Act while he was a DEP employee. Greenfeld's job included performing turbidity monitoring in the Catskill Lower Effluent Chamber and recording the results of his activities in a log book. The defendant admitted that on the date in question, he did not conduct water quality testing for turbidity and that he made a false entry in the log book that indicated he had done testing. While water turbidity has no directly harmful effects, it may be indirectly harmful by interfering with disinfection and by providing a medium for microbial growth. When sentenced, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by the New York Office of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and the New York City Department of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York.