WATERBURY — A Naugatuck man who is facing charges in connection with poisoning his boss is seeking accelerated rehabilitation.
William Lampron, 43, of Naugatuck was charged last week with second-degree assault and second-degree reckless endangerment. Lampron, a former employee of the Waterbury parks department, was charged in connection with lacing his boss’s oatmeal with SpeedyDry, a chemical substance that’s normally used for cleaning up highway spills. Lampron’s supervisor, 50-year-old Greg Tortora, got sick from the incident.
Lampron, who was angry about the way his supervisor was treating him, told police the poisoning was his way of “getting him, but not really hurting him.”
Lampron’s arrest warrant shows Tortora ate the oatmeal for days before he noticed the substance had been mixed with the oats.
Lampron was arraigned Wednesday in Waterbury Superior Court, where he applied for a program that could lead to a dismissal of the charges against him.
“I just put a little of the SpeedyDry in the oatmeal and I never wanted him to get hurt,” Lampron’s statement to police read. “It was just (a) really stupid reaction and my way of dealing with the issue.”
The chemical is a trade name for a combination of granular resin, cement and other substances that can be used for absorbing spills. The substance is a known carcinogen, police say.
Tortora ate the poisoned oatmeal in November and had cramps and other stomach issues afterward, but recovered after a few days. After having the stomach troubles, Tortora checked the oatmeal, finding the absorbent chemical had been mixed with it.
He had kept a can of the breakfast food in his office, along with notes he had taken detailing Lampron’s absences from his job at the Western Hills golf course repair shop, which is part of the parks department.
Lampron had worked for the city for nearly 25 years. While admitting to putting the SpeedyDry in the oatmeal, he told police he was angry at Tortora because he was “always pushing my buttons and he would dock hours from my pay if I wasn’t working to his standards.”
Lampron doesn’t have a criminal record. He applied for the court’s accelerated rehabilitation program on Wednesday during a brief court hearing. He may be allowed into the program if a judge approves the application at his next court date in January.
If it’s granted, the program could lead to a dismissal of both charges he faces. Applicants accepted into the program serve a probationary period and their record is cleared at the end of that term.
Lampron hid his face beneath the black hood of his sweatshirt as he fled from reporters after leaving the courthouse. When asked if he had anything to say to Tortora, he politely declined to comment.
Lampron’s attorney, William Hickey, described his client’s actions as out of character.
“I don’t think he was trying to hurt him,” Hickey said. “It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing he thought of doing and it was the wrong thing.”
Hickey said he hopes the judge in January takes Lampron’s long work history and lack of criminal record into account.
“I think he is completely remorseful for the whole situation,” Hickey said. “He said to me this morning that they had a very good relationship. Again, for whatever happened, it deteriorated. I certainly think he’s remorseful for having to go through all of this.”
