Former town employee accused of tampering with water supply - WCVB Boston

Former Stoughton employee accused of tampering with water supply

Former Stoughton, Massachusetts employee accused of tampering with town's water supply

The former town employee accused of tampering with a Massachusetts community's water supply and lying to federal investigators appeared in federal court in Boston on Thursday.

Robert Bullock, 58, of Brockton, is accused of visiting a pumping station in Stoughton on the night of Nov. 29, 2022, where he is accused of turning off the chlorination system used to disinfect the water from the well. The charging document indicates the former Stoughton Water Department employee is accused of knowingly disabling the system and setting alarms for the chlorine level to zero.

In a July 2023 letter to residents, town officials explained that the disabling of the chlorination system was discovered the next morning and subsequently reported to investigators.

The letter said the flow from that affected station had run into a tank for less than five hours, until the tank reached capacity. Throughout the affected period, the town's water quality remained in compliance with standards, officials said.

"None of the water had been distributed to the town. It sits in a day tank once it's been treated," said Stoughton Town Manager Thomas Calter. "There was a threat (but) there was no impact to our water supply."

The town's letter states that officials knew the tampering was done by someone "on the inside" because there were no signs of forced entry through a locked gate, a locked fence and a reinforced metal door that surrounded the equipment.

"Beyond this, only someone with access to and knowledge of the alarm and chlorine systems could have adjusted them in this manner," the letter said.

Bullock is also accused of lying to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during interviews in June and July of 2023. The indictment indicates that Bullock initially denied being at the pumping station on the night in question.

Calter confirmed that Bullock was a town employee who was terminated in August 2023. Calter also said that Bullock had been disciplined at work prior to the alleged tampering incident.

Bullock pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

After the hearing, Bullock was released pending the next steps in the case. He declined to comment when asked by NewsCenter 5.

Conditions of Bullock's release include removing all firearms from his home within 24 hours.