August 6, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Area Mowell pleads guilty in water pollution case by John Koster William Mowell, a former Ridgewood Water Company engineer and a Wyckoff resident, has reportedly pleaded guilty to second degree conspiracy to manipulate test results and falsely report lower levels of a regulated contaminant in drinking water supplied to customers of the East Orange Water Commission than those that turned Students receive scholarships RealSource Treasurer Jeanine Soderlund, RealSource President Dorothea Bello, scholarship recipient Brittany Jeffers, scholarship recipient Brendon Perry, RealSource Past President Ed Thor, RealSource CEO Elsie Abramo, and RealSource President-elect Andy Emery. The New Jersey Association of Realtors Educational Foundation has announced that Brittany Jeffers of Wyckoff and Bren- don Perry of Ramsey were among 39 stu- dents who received scholarships for their academic achievements. The scholarships, which are awarded annually, range from $1,000 to $3,500 and were presented at the NJAR Board of Direc- tors meeting. “Year after year, we are very impressed (continued on page 7) up during mandated testing. Sentencing has been scheduled for Nov. 7 by Superior Court Judge Carolyn Wright of Essex County and the state will report- edly recommend that Mowell be given a three-year prison sentence. The guilty plea was entered in Superior Court of Essex County July 25. “Mowell had a duty to ensure the qual- ity and safety of the drinking water sup- plied to tens of thousands of residents, and instead he deliberately falsified test results to cover up elevated levels of a potential carcinogen,” said Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman. “He showed a complete disregard for the people he served and the harm that might have resulted from his conduct.” Mowell was working as the assistant executive director and engineer for the East Orange Water Commission when the offenses took place. The original indict- ment handed down on Feb. 12, 2013, included charges against the executive director of the water company, Harry L. Mansmann, who has since died. By plead- ing guilty, Mowell reportedly admitted that he had conspired with Mansmann to fal- sify mandatory testing records of the East Orange water supply and to hide elevated levels of the contaminant tetraclorethene, an industrial solvent used for dry cleaning and other purposes and classified as a prob- able carcinogen. The false results violated both the New Jersey Safe Drinking Water Act and the New Jersey Water Pollution Control Act, according to the office of the New Jersey Attorney General. Mowell had worked for the Ridgewood Water Company, which supplies water to Ridgewood, Glen Rock, Midland Park, and Wyckoff before a series of layoffs due to local budgetary issues four years ago. Ridgewood had 34 employees either fur- loughed or urged to take early retirement at that time.