Restitution Required—

Trudeau And Bliss Sentenced For Heating Fuel Scam

By Andrew Gorosko

DANBURY — A judge has spared a Westport couple from serving prison time because the pair came up with almost $122,000 in restitution to be distributed to the customers of the now-defunct Newtown Oil Company, who were bilked of that money in late 2002, when the firm failed to honor fraudulent prepaid contracts for home heating fuel delivery.

Danbury Superior Court Judge Frank A. Iannotti on November 7, however, did give William A. Trudeau, Jr, 45, and his wife, Heather Bliss, 33, lengthy suspended prison sentences, plus probation, intended to serve as a deterrent against their again committing white-collar crimes.

In August, Judge Iannotti found both Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss each guilty of nine felonies in the Newtown Oil Company scam involving the firm’s failure to deliver #2 home heating fuel in late 2002 to about 1,400 customers from nine towns who had entered prepaid fuel contracts with the firm.

Newtown Oil was formerly located at 47-49 South Main Street. The firm went out of business in December 2002. Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss operated the firm.

Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss are each guilty of three counts of first-degree larceny, four counts of second-degree larceny involving a victim over age 60, one count of second-degree larceny, and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny. Both Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss had entered Alford Doctrine pleas to each of the nine felony counts. In such pleas, the defendants do not admit guilt and assert their innocence, but acknowledge that sufficient evidence exists for a conviction by a judge or jury.

The state did not prosecute criminal charges of racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and conspiracy to commit second-degree larceny against Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss.

In court on November 7, Judge Iannotti gave Mr Trudeau an effective 25-year suspended prison sentence, plus five years of probation.

The conditions of the sentence require that Mr Trudeau provide $121,902.25 in restitution to the victims of his crimes, which occurred from September to December 2002.

Restitution would be made to oil company customers who filed formal complaints with the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) about the firm’s failure to deliver heating fuel following their advance payments for that fuel by cash, check, or money order.

People who made fuel prepayments using their credit cards have been refunded their lost money by their credit card companies. Credit card companies are insured against such losses.

Also, Mr Trudeau must pay in full and on time the $150,000 balance of a $250,000 civil lawsuit settlement reached in May 2007 against Newtown Oil, which was negotiated by the state attorney general’s office. That lawsuit, which was filed by the state in May 2003 over the firm’s bilking its customers of money, covers a longer time period than the September–December 2002 time span of the criminal case.

As a condition of the suspended 25-year sentence, Mr Trudeau is prohibited from working in the home heating fuel business during the five-year term of his probation.

Also, Mr Trudeau must disclose his criminal convictions to any customers of his businesses or any of his business partners, Judge Iannotti ordered.

Additionally, Mr Trudeau must assume personal liability when he signs his name on any business contracts, and not sign his name as an agent or as a representative of some business entity, the judge ordered.

Judge Iannotti also ordered that Mr Trudeau serve 500 hours of community service during the five-year term of his probation.

The judge gave Ms Bliss a 15-year suspended sentence, plus five years’ probation. Judge Iannotti placed the same conditions on her sentence as those placed on Mr Trudeau.

If Mr Trudeau or Ms Bliss should fail to meet the conditions of their sentences during their five-year probations, they would face the prospect of violation of probation convictions and consequent prison sentences.

Attorney General

In a statement on the criminal case, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said, “With the criminal proceeding final, nearly 1,000 consumers will likely receive the first round of settlement payments within the next few months — eventually followed by a second payment to consumers once all of the settlement money has been collected.

“These former Newtown Oil operators entered into contracts with consumers that they knew were impossible to fulfill. Taking money for themselves, Trudeau and Bliss literally left consumers out in the cold, without oil or money,” he added.

Mr Blumenthal praised the combined efforts of the attorney general’s office, the state’s attorney’s office, the state Department of Consumer Protection, and the Newtown and Danbury police departments in pursuing the criminal case and the civil settlements.

 In Courtroom 5 on November 7, Judge Iannotti said that the 30-page-long presentencing investigation document that had been prepared on Mr Trudeau’s past to aid him in pronouncing sentence was the longest such investigatory document that he had ever read as a judge.

At the court session, Father Luke Mihaly, pastor of Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Danbury, spoke on behalf of the prosecution.

Father Mihaly said the church paid $1,200 in advance for heating fuel, but did not get the fuel from Newtown Oil.

“As a priest, I do believe in forgiveness…But there are consequences [for] your actions,” he said.

Newtown Oil customer Patrick O’Neil said he had contracted with Newtown Oil for $899 in fuel, but he received only one fuel delivery. Consequently, he lost $720 on his oil contract, he said.

Mr O’Neil said he lives on a fixed income. “It’s just outright fraud…They did it with malice and forethought,” he said.

It is hard to understand how Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss can avoid going to prison, he added.

Judge Iannotti said that in formulating the sentences for Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss, he sought to fashion a decision that would ensure that the Newtown Oil customers who lost their money would be reimbursed for their losses.

If the defendants simply had been sentenced to prison terms, the victims of their crimes might never receive reimbursements, he said. 

John Hayes, the weights and measures inspector for the state Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), said the DCP has been involved in investigating Newtown Oil since 2001.

The actions of Newtown Oil resulted in a state law, which has become known as the ‘Trudeau Act,” which was passed by the state legislature to regulate prepaid heating fuel contracts, Mr Hayes said.

Prosecutor

State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III, who is the prosecutor in the case, said that many people fell victim to the actions of Newtown Oil.

In court, Mr Sedensky had proposed that Mr Trudeau receive a 60-year suspended sentence, and that Ms Bliss receive a 40-year suspended sentence, with each person receiving five years’ probation.

The controls placed over defendants during probation are necessary to deter errant behavior, he said.

If Mr Trudeau or Ms Bliss should violate the terms of their probation, the state will return to court seeking that they be imprisoned, Mr Sedensky told Judge Iannotti.

“When will it end? When will the fraud and larcenies end?” Mr Sedensky asked.

The larcenies, fraud, and deceit perpetrated by the pair just continue, he added. “They are acts consciously done with the intent to steal,” he said.

“I hope I’m not back [in court] for a violation of probation…Given Mr Trudeau’s track record, I’ll be thrilled if I don’t have to come back here,” Mr Sedensky said.

In a separate case unrelated to the Newtown Oil contract 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 then ordered to pay $458,000 in restitution to the victims of his financial frauds, plus a $25,000 criminal fine.

Mr Sedensky said that if Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss consider the conditions of their probations to be too strict, they should then get employment in jobs where they are paid wages. The terms of the probation are designed to protect society, Mr Sedensky said.

Asked by the judge if he had a statement to make, Mr Trudeau responded, “I’m very sorry to all the victims…It was never our intention for this to happen…I’m sorry.”

Of the criminal case against Ms Bliss, Mr Sedensky said that although Mr Trudeau is a bad influence on her, she must assume responsibility for her actions.

Ms Bliss could have chosen not to participate in Newtown Oil’s activities with Mr Trudeau, Mr Sedensky said. “She’s chosen to take part in the stealing,” he said.

The prosecutor said the reason he sought very long suspended sentences against the pair is because he foresees their past illegal behavior continuing in the future.

“I see the behavior continuing, so a ‘huge stick’ must be held over their heads,” he said.

 Attorney Andrew Bowman, representing Ms Bliss, told Judge Iannotti that because his client has no criminal record, her sentence should be much lighter than that sought by the prosecutor.

Asked by the judge whether she had any public comment for the court, Ms Bliss declined.

Judge

Judge Iannotti said that the “easy way out” for him in the case would have been to impose prison time for the defendants.

The judge said that considering the number of people affected and the amount of money that was stolen in the case, he has no sympathy for Mr Trudeau. Also, there are many elderly victims of the crimes, the judge said.

It is more important that the people who lost money receive refunds, than to have the defendants go to prison, Judge Iannotti said.

Unless the sentencings were structured as they were, it is likely that the stolen money would never be refunded to the victims, he said.

Judge Iannotti said he hopes the defendants never return to court for violations of their probations.

The judge said the defendants need significantly long suspended sentences, but not as long as those recommended by the prosecutor.

Judge Iannotti warned Mr Trudeau that if he returns to court on a probation violation charge, he faces a lengthy prison term.

“You’ve predominantly lived a life of fraud,” the judge said, adding that it appears difficult for Mr Trudeau to make an honest living. “You just want to take money from other people,” he added.

Having lived a dishonest life, “How do you put your head on the pillow at night and go to sleep?” the judge asked Mr Trudeau.

Judge Iannotti asked the defendants to consider the effect that it would have on their children if either of them were imprisoned.

In August 2007, police arrested Mr Trudeau and Ms Bliss in connection with a scheme that police said effectively bilked oil company customers out of more than $400,000 for home heating fuel which the customers never received after signing prepaid fuel purchase contracts for the 2002-03 heating season.

An estimated 1,390 oil company customers were affected by Newtown Oil’s failure to deliver fuel on prepaid contracts.

From September to December of 2002, those customers entered purchase contacts that had a per-gallon fuel price of 89.9 cents, which was much lower than competing fuel dealers’ prices, attracting the customers to do business with the firm.