Last modified: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 12:41 AM EST Bankert probed for altering meters BY DAVID LINTON SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - North Attleboro selectman candidate Steve Bankert is under investigation for allegedly tampering with city water meters at two of three laundromats he operates in Attleboro - a probe Bankert says is soaked in politics. Police and water department officials allege water meters and plumbing were altered at Laundry World at 6 Falmouth St. The water meter at County Square Laundromat at 282 County St. was seized last week for examination. Some of the details of the investigation are contained in a police affidavit filed by Detective Sgt. Arthur Brillon to support a search warrant executed Jan. 22 at County Square Laundromat. The affidavit was released Monday in Attleboro District Court after police returned the search warrant. There is no estimate in the affidavit of the loss of revenue for water service, and Brillon said the case remains under investigation. Bankert's lawyer, Frank O'Boy of Taunton, said he has not been notified of any charges in the case. "He denies doing anything wrong with them," O'Boy said of the water meters. Bankert said he has written the city on three occasions since the spring of 2005 asking that his water meters be tested for accuracy and has never denied the city access to them. Bankert said he was surprised the dispute has resulted in police involvement. "The fact that I'm running for selectman seems to be the overriding issue here," Bankert said. "I think there is something wrong with these meters and I've specifically asked them to test them. At no point did I tell them you can't look at them," he said. According to Brillon's affidavit, water officials suspected Bankert of tampering with the water meter at Laundry World in the spring of 2005 and began reading the meters at his businesses quarterly. Water department officials removed the meter after finding that a metal screen had been inserted in it that affected the operation of the meter, Brillon wrote. Another incident occurred last September, Brillon wrote, when the owner of a barber shop next door in the same building complained about an excessive water bill. Upon investigating, Brillon wrote, the water department found that plumbing had been tampered with so that Bankert's laundromat was receiving water from a line feeding the barber shop. The affidavit specifically accuses Bankert of tampering with the meters in both instances and of using a washing machine hose to get water from the barber shop's water line. Another incident occurred Jan. 19 at Laundry World, when water officials inspected the water meter, then returned more than two hours later and found it had been tampered with, according to Brillon's affidavit. At County Square Laundromat, water officials used an external remote reader to measure the water usage because the water meter is located inside a locked closet in the business. Water officials discovered readings that were less than the month earlier, suggesting either tampering or a malfunctioning meter, the affidavit says. Police obtained the search warrant to gain access to the meter and remove it so it could be tested. Brillon is investigating the case with city Water Superintendent Michael Burgess and Assistant Water Superintendent Greg O'Brien.