Former Carting Company Sales Representative Sentenced to 21 Months in Federal Prison for Fraud Scheme

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TIMOTHY ARCIOLA, 38, of Washington, Connecticut, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 21 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. On April 2, 2009, ARCIOLA pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud while under pre-trial release in another criminal case.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, ARCIOLA devised a scheme to defraud Automated Waste Disposal (AWD) and Superior Waste Disposal (SWD), trash hauling companies located in Danbury that were at the center of a long-term federal investigation into the trash hauling industry. ARCIOLA, who was employed as a salesman at AWD and SWD until March 2008, created a scheme by which a portion of payments made by some of AWD and SWD’s customers were diverted to him.

In December 2007, ARCIOLA formed Omni Management Group, LLC, and was the company’s only listed officer. As part of a scheme to defraud, ARCIOLA, through Omni Management Group, LLC, solicited customers with established business relationships with AWD/SWD. ARCIOLA and others approached customers of AWD/SWD, had them sign contracts with Omni Management Group, LLC, and asked them to submit future payments for trash removal to Omni Management Group, LLC. ARCIOLA and others then approached company officials at AWD/SWD and provided them with fraudulent reasons why customers should be given a reduced rate for trash service currently being provided to the AWD/SWD customer. AWD/SWD then executed change orders that reflected the lowered rate. The change orders often would substitute a post office box controlled by ARCIOLA for the customers’ legitimate addresses. The customer would pay Omni Management Group, LLC, who then would mail a portion of that payment to AWD/SWD. ARCIOLA and others would take the difference between the two payments and retain the funds.

ARCIOLA has been ordered to pay $4111.66 in restitution to the customers that he defrauded through this scheme.

ARCIOLA initiated this fraud scheme after being charged for his participation in a trash industry racketeering conspiracy on June 8, 2006. On June 9, 2006, ARCIOLA was arrested and subsequently released on bond, a condition of which required that he not commit any offense in violation of federal, state or local law while on release. On May 11, 2007, ARCIOLA pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and, on January 22, 2008, he was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment. ARCIOLA began serving his prison term on approximately March 4, 2008, and currently is incarcerated.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ray Miller.