Trenton water inspector indicted in alleged water sample fraud scheme

A Trenton utility worker who allegedly faked water sampling results for 14 months while collecting overtime pay has been indicted by a state grand jury.

Cesar J. Lugo, 37, of Trenton, was charged last month with six criminal counts, including official misconduct, theft by deception, falsifying public records and violating the state Safe Drinking Water Act.

Lugo was fired from his position as a water quality inspector at Trenton Water Works late last year after the alleged fraud was discovered. The water utility serves 225,000 people in Trenton and four surrounding Mercer County communities.

“Everyone has a right to safe drinking water, and to know that the people charged with keeping their water supply safe are doing their jobs,” Attorney General Matt Platkin said in a release announcing the indictment. “We will continue to actively investigate any allegations of official misconduct, particularly when the actions of public servants endanger the citizens of New Jersey.”

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State environmental officials said they do not believe Lugo’s alleged misconduct put the public at risk because other water quality samples collected during that time did not show problems. But they said Lugo’s alleged actions represented a critical lapse.

“To allegedly falsify samples is to betray the public trust and could pose unacceptable risks to public health,” said Shawn M. LaTourette, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection.

According to the indictment, Lugo worked as a water sample collector from Oct. 1, 2022, to Nov. 13, 2023. During that time, he allegedly submitted falsified test results, altered chain-of-custody reports and submitted false timesheets showing he was in the field working when he was not.

Trenton officials, speaking after Lugo’s December 2024 firing, said he was responsible for collecting samples each day across Trenton Water Works’ 600-plus-mile distribution network. But after reporting to work in the morning, he would return home or spend time with friends, submitting water samples from his own tap or bottled spring water, they said.

Mayor Reed Gusciora said Lugo was caught after neighbors reported that his city-issued car was often parked at home. The water utility investigated and uncovered the alleged scheme, Gusciora said.

Records reviewed by The Jersey Vindicator show Lugo received more than 100 hours of overtime pay during the period in which he is believed to have falsified his work.

The Lugo case is the latest in a string of problems for Trenton Water Works, which dates back to 1804.

In 2022, the agency signed an oversight agreement with state regulators after dozens of water treatment violations were documented. The agreement followed an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease linked to the system that led to three deaths in suburban Trenton.

Earlier this year, consultant reports warned the agency was nearing collapse due to systemic mismanagement. The utility was found to need $500 million in infrastructure upgrades over the next six to 10 years, including a stalled effort to replace lead service lines.

Lugo is scheduled to be arraigned next week before Superior Court Judge Peter E. Warshaw. Court documents do not list a defense attorney.

If convicted, Lugo faces five to 10 years in state prison and a fine of up to $150,000 for the most serious charges.