Restaurant Owner Accused of Pumping Sewage Into Storm Drain

A Wilton restaurateur was arrested by warrant last Friday for allegedly pumping the contents of a septic tank into a storm drain on Sugar Hollow Rd.

Some of the sewage also flowed into the Norwalk River, police said.

Mathew J. Criscuolo Jr. is charged with initiating, creating, originating or maintaining a discharge into the waters of the state without a permit.

He turned himself in at Wilton Police Headquarters after learning officers had obtained a warrant for his arrest.

The investigation of the alleged incident began at about 12:30 a.m. on June 4 when police were notified of a foul odor in the area of Toozy Patza Pizza at 991 Danbury Rd., which Criscuolo owns. An officer found a sump pump was being used to pump sewage out of the tank and into a storm drain.

The waste also pooled in a parking lot and drained into the river, police said.

Police said in the course of their investigation they learned the restaurant’s septic tank had been failing for some time.

Lt. Donald Wakeman said a private contractor was hired to pump sewage out of four culverts, and members of the Georgetown Fire Department washed down the parking lot and road, and placed absorbent booms across the river.

Police were assisted in their investigation by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and by Wilton’s Department of Envrironmental Affairs.

Criscuolo, 43, of 58 West Meadow Rd., was released on a promise to appear in court July 2.

The state statute concerning illegally discharging into state waters without a permit says the commissioner of DEEP may request the Attorney General bring an action in state Superior Court to enjoin such a discharge until a permit has been received, and to obtain injunctive relief to remediate the effects of a discharge.