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Construction Company Owner Falsified Lab Reports Of Water Samples, Pennsylvania Attorney General Says

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The owner of a Berks County construction company was arrested Friday, according to Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Matthew Barrasso was arrested in connection with falsifying lab reports of water samples when new water mains were installed in Berks and Lancaster Counties.

In 2017, Barrasso's company, Barrasso Excavation Inc., replaced a water main in Wyomissing County.

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That is when he allegedly changed the lab results to show that the samples from the water main were negative for total coliform and E.coli. The new water main was used to serve nearly 40 residential connections in the county.

"Pennsylvanians have a constitutional right to pure water — and I will do everything in my power to defend that right,"  Shapiro said. "This defendant recklessly changed lab results to lie about the quality of the drinking water for dozens of households, putting the health and well-being of those citizens at risk."

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Barrasso also allegedly changed results of a water main his company installed in Quarryville, Pennsylvania.

He is facing tampering with public records, violating the Safe Drinking Water Act, forgery, and unsworn falsification charges.

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