A former employee of the Stoughton Water Department, Robert J. Bullock, Sr., has pleaded guilty to tampering with the town's drinking water supply. The 60-year-old Brockton resident admitted to one count of tampering with a water system in a federal court in Boston.
The incident occurred on November 29, 2022, when Bullock entered a pumping station and turned off the pump responsible for introducing chlorine into the drinking water. This action resulted in inadequately disinfected water being supplied to residents.
U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper has scheduled Bullock's sentencing for June 25, 2025. The charge he faces carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the plea alongside Jodi Cohen from the FBI's Boston Division and Kathryn Rivera from the EPA's Criminal Investigation Division in Boston. They acknowledged assistance from local law enforcement agencies including Massachusetts State Police and police departments from Stoughton and Brockton.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Tolkoff is handling the prosecution of this case.