So who are the people behind the Copar Quarry?

Meet your new neighbors, Part 3

Copar Company Controller Daniel Thibodeau

Phil Armetta - you met him in Part 1. Copar is
located in his headquarters
Photo courtesy of Middletown Eye News

By Will Collette

Progressive Charlestown brought you the scoop that the Connecticut-based Copar Quarry, which has been giving the neighbors of its Bradford quarry fits for the past two years, took over operations of Morrone’s sand and gravel operation on Route 91.

We also brought you the story that, despite an anti-Copar resolution by the Town Council posted on the town website, Charlestown granted Copar a business license on June 4, even though Copar had been operating without a license for three months and didn’t even fine Copar the $25 a day called for under Charlestown’s ordinances.

We also brought you the story that Copar misstated its address when it registered its business with the state and listed as their “resident agent” a guy who doesn’t live in Rhode Island, even though state law requires the resident agent be a Rhode Island resident.

One way to understand why Copar has operated the way it has in Bradford and now in Charlestown is to understand who runs the company. 

In Part One, we introduced you to Copar money guy Phil Armetta, Connecticut’s “Titan of Trash,” whose headquarters is also the headquarters of Copar. Armetta did federal prison time after he was indicted as part of the federal probe of the Galante family.

In Part Two, we introduced you to Randy Roberge, Copar’s Rhode Island Resident Agent who doesn’t actually reside in Rhode Island. Roberge is also Copar’s Chief Financial Officer. Roberge was also the CFO for the Mortgage Lenders Network (MLN), whose demise was one of the triggers of the real estate crash. The state of Connecticut deemed Roberge as lacking in character and integrity to hold a mortgage broker’s license, so Roberge now works for Copar.

Now, in Part Three, we’ll take a look at Copar’s Corporate Controller Daniel J. Thibodeau. “Controller” is an important position. The Controller handles all of a company’s financial and accounting matters. 

This is actually a step down for Thibodeau who was the CEO of Thibodeau Enterprises, Thibodeau Management Services and Thibodeau General Contractors for years. Through those companies, Thibodeau built developments and, according to the Hartford Courant, managed as many as 100 condo associations between 1994 and 1998.

At least he did until those companies crashed and burned.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal (now US Senator)
accused Thobodeau of defrauding his clients and customers

In 1998, his business went belly up with investigators from the state Attorney General’s office nipping at his heels. The state had filed suit against Thibodeau for failing to perform work he had been paid $60,000 to perform. Then Attorney General (now US Senator) Richard Blumenthal alleged that Thibodeau and his companies defrauded 38 condo associations.

The Courant reported there were an additional 50 complaints still being processed from condo associations for incomplete or inadequate work and from subcontractors who had not been paid.

I found dozens of lawsuits, foreclosure proceedings, civil judgments and mechanics’ liens against Thibodeau and his companies before, during and after his businesses all crashed.

Blaming the Attorney General, Thibodeau folded his companies in April 1998.

He also has a history of failure to pay taxes.

According to the Westlaw database, the state of Connecticut filed tax liens against him in 2010 (for $7,667) and most recently on April 8, 2013 for $2,169.

IRS filed federal tax liens against him in 2001 (for $8,903) and again in 2010, this time for $53,384.

Thibodeau filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in 1999.

Now he’s Copar’s Controller.

Since he took on that position, according to the Westlaw database, Copar and its subsidiaries have been on the wrong end of a large number of lawsuits, judgment, liens and tax liens in Connecticut. We’ll go deeper into Copar’s lively legal history in a later installment in this series, since Thibodeau is not the only Copar official who bears responsibility for Copar’s management.

So in additional to the very colorful Phil Armetta, Copar’s money guy, and Randy Roberge, Copar’s non-resident resident agent and Chief Financial Officer (and disgraced former MLN CFO), here’s Daniel Thibodeau, Copar’s Corporate Controller, whose business career has, to put it mildly, seen some major troubles.

Town Council boss Tom Gentz (CCA Party) promised
residents decisive action to keep Copar in check. Empty words.

And we’re not done profiling the Copar management team. Next, we’ll take a close look at Copar’s CEO Sam Cocopard.

NOTE: Charlestown lacks a "good character" or "bad actor" provision in its ordinances that would prohibit issuing licenses to or doing business with companies with records of law-breaking. In Copar's case, their track record in Westerly alone, never mind the records of the company and its principals in Connecticut, would be more than sufficient to trigger most bad actor laws I've seen.

But that would require the Charlestown Town Council, controlled by the CCA Party, to do more than simply pass a resolution saying Copar is a naughty company.