Investigators Arrest Microb
Phase President
By: Bill Bittar, Associate Editor
07/22/2004
FAIRFIELD MINUTEMAN
NEW HAVEN - In May of 2001, New York
state troopers arrested Ronald Schongar of Clifton Park for allegedly
stealing identities to run up more than $10,000 in credit card bills.
Meanwhile, Dr. Robert Santilli, chief of the allergy department at St.
Vincent's Medical Center, diagnosed Samuel Staples Elementary School in
Easton, Conn., as a sick school and recommended extensive work,
including replacement of mold spore infested ceiling tiles. But the
Board of Education decided to seek a second opinion - from
"Dr." Schongar.
Four months after his arrest, Schongar - representing his company Microb
Phase Laboratories - continued to apply applications of a mystery agent
to kill mold. He was contracted by Staples from 2000 to 2003 and went on
to spray other schools throughout the country, until a federal
Environmental Protection Agency and Easton Police Department
investigation stopped him in his tracks.
Schongar sat at a defense table inside the magistrate's court room at
the federal courthouse in New Haven late Thursday afternoon. Assistant
U.S. Public Defender Terry Ward sat beside him Assistant U.S. Attorney
Brian Spears told the court Schongar, 58, was being charged with mail
fraud, wire fraud and violations of the Federal Fungicide Insecticide
and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
If convicted of mail and wire fraud, Schongar could face up to five
years in prison with a maximum fine of $250,000 on each count. The FIFRA
charge carries up to one year in prison and a maximum $25,000 fine on
each count.
Schongar was released on $50,000 bond. A probable cause hearing is
tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the federal courthouse in
New Haven. As a condition of his release, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joan G.
Margolis said Schongar may only travel to New York state and
Connecticut, may not apply for a passport and can no longer continue his
mold remediation business. Margolis also barred him from contacting
school officials he had done business with.
Outside the courtroom, Easton Police Chief John Solomon said, "It
sends a very good message with this case, that if someone commits
environmental crimes, they are going to get caught. Especially when it
comes to schools and children.
"Hopefully this sends a good message to our school systems,
superintendents and boards of education."
Both Superintendent of Schools Allen Fossbender and Easton Board of
Education Chairman Andrea Rowland said they would cooperate with the
investigation as best they can.
"I hope that justice will be served," Rowland said of the
investigation.
Ward said his client, Schongar, would not comment on his arrest.
Spears said Schongar has grand larceny convictions in New York and
Delaware and is the subject of a federal customs investigation in the
Syracuse, N.Y., area.
Ward said Schongar was not a flight risk and was "hardly a
danger" to the community.
"He's 58 years-old, a lifelong resident of the Albany area, has had
a heart condition for past 20 years, has been married for 22 years, and
responded to a phone call to be here," Ward said of his client.
The affidavit
As the Minuteman reported in January and February, Schongar used Web
sites - including microbphase.com and a site for "Mold Away" -
to advertise his business under several names. The safety data sheet
Schongar gave Easton school officials detailing what he said sprayed
turned out to be Microbe Shield, a mold preventative manufactured by
AEGIS Environmental, a Midland, Mich., firm. The company had said
Schongar did not have permission to use its product, and two Staples'
ceiling tiles tested negative for Microbe Shield.
That information was included in EPA Agent Leonard F. Borges' affidavit.
Though Schongar had visited a number of schools in several states, he
has only been charged for alleged crimes at Connecticut schools in
Easton, Manchester and Bristol.
Borges said Schongar's company has gone under the names Microb Phase,
L.L.C.; British American Environmental Company; Microb Phase, Inc.;
Microb Phase Environmental; Microb Phase Laboratory, Inc.; Mold Away;
Air Tech and Air Tech Services.
The affidavit accuses Schongar of defrauding schools dating back to at
least 2000 in remediating air quality problems he identified,
"falsely and fraudulently representing that the product that he
applied was registered with the EPA and that his remediation program was
approved by the EPA;" and producing fraudulent reports indicating
his services and products had successfully solved the problems.
Schongar has said Microb Phase contains alcohol, which would classified
it as a pesticide. Borges said Schongar violated FIFRA because he
allegedly mislabeled his product and did not register it with the EPA.
In 2001, Schongar forwarded an inspection report and laboratory test to
Easton School officials indicating he had sampled and tested air quality
of certain rooms at Staples, according to the affidavit. The report
stated it "represents the findings of certified environmental
inspectors following the guidelines published by the American Society
for Testing Materials. The report contains precise information
concerning percentages (before treatment) of various microbial growth
identified by Schongar, including 'cladosprium,' 'aspergillum' and 'penicillium'"
Schongars report sites laboratory analysis indicating "no
growth" was detected after his treatment, according to the
affidavit.
But Borges said search warrants executed at Schongar's home, which
doubles as his principal place of business, and a self storage unit
listed under the name "Air Tech Environmental" at Clifton Park
Self Storage failed to turn up equipment that could be used in testing
for the presence of microbial growth.
Alleged fraud
Among the items seized under the search warrants, were falsified
documents stating Schongars education background, training and
experience, Borges said.
Borges said Schongar had said he was a certified environmental inspector
and had earned a PhD., which his investigation was unable to verify.
Evidence collected at Clifton Park Self Storage included certificates,
resumes and diplomas. On an alleged masters of engineering degree from
American University in Heidelberg, Germany, Borges said Heidelberg was
misspelled, adding investigators found another, unsigned, version of the
degree.
"A review of various alleged certifications indicates they appear
on the same card stock and are set out in similar format, not
withstanding the fact that the certifications purport to have been
issued by different organizations," the affidavit reads.
Other alleged instances of fraud include Schongar telling Manchester
school officials in a letter that his company was awarded "a grant
from the National Center for Environmental Research and Quality
Assurance" and that he was involved with an "R&D
study" with the EPA.
In a 2003 report to Green Hills Elementary School in Bristol, Schongar
allegedly told school officials laboratory analysis was performed by
"Analytical Laboratories, Inc. But Borges said Albany, N.Y.
business was bought by Alpine Laboratories in 1999, which closed down
Analytical Labs in 2000 because of a criminal EPA investigation of that
company. Borges said Alpine Labs told him it did not perform testing
services for Microb Phase.
Schongar had worked for Analytical Labs in the 1990s before being
terminated for applying a questionable substance at State University in
New York, according to Borges.
In an interview with Borges, Schongar allegedly admitted to forwarding
customers a technical bulletin Microbe Shield, which he did not use.
Borges said Schongar told him he mixes his own chemical substance in his
garage, adding it "typically consists of isopropyl alcohol and some
form of soap solution."
