Former Water-Operator Instructor Pleads Guilty to Violating Ohio EPA Rules

YOUNGSTOWN OH (12/5/2017)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced that a Niles man has pleaded guilty to issuing invalid training certificates to Youngstown Water Department employees and will permanently lose his certifications as a water operator and training instructor in Ohio.

Anthony Vigorito, 42, pleaded guilty today to one count of tampering with records, a first-degree misdemeanor; one count of attempted forgery, a first-degree misdemeanor; and one count of criminal non-compliance with Ohio Revised Code Chapter 6109 (safe drinking water rules), an unclassified misdemeanor.

As a result of the Chapter 6109 conviction, all of Vigorito’s certifications as a water operator and training instructor are permanently revoked.

The offenses stemmed from Vigorito, as part of his own training business, issuing invalid training certificates for water-operator classes at the Youngstown Water Department in 2014. Contact hours for the operators who signed up for the classes were not completed as required by Ohio Environmental Protection Agency training rules.

Visiting Judge Thomas Pokorny in the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Vigorito to 30 days of suspended jail time, $3,000 in fines, and 100 hours of community service as part of a one-year term of probation.

The case was handled by the Ohio Attorney General’s Environmental Enforcement Section following a referral from the Ohio EPA. Attorneys with the Environmental Enforcement Section were appointed as special prosecutors by the Mahoning County Prosecutor.

CONTACTS: Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840; Kate Hanson: 614-466-3840