KESSLER THERMOMETER CORPORATION PLEADS GUILTY TO FELONY RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT FOR EXPOSING EMPLOYEES TO MERCURY CAUSING THEM SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURIES
Robert Peyser, the Owner and Principal Agent of Kessler Thermometer Corp., Also Pleaded Guilty to Misdemeanor Reckless Endangerment
Robert Peyser, the Owner and Principal Agent of Kessler Thermometer Corp(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Robert Peyser, 66, of Bellmore, and his corporation, Kessler Thermometer Corp., located in West Babylon, pleaded guilty to Reckless Endangerment, for knowingly exposing several of their employees to hazardous levels of mercury and for not providing proper ventilation or protective equipment to them, despite having knowledge of at least one employee’s prior mercury poisoning diagnosis.
“Despite being notified that an employee was suffering from mercury poisoning, this defendant and his corporation continued to put their employees’ health, and lives, at risk,” said District Attorney Tierney. “I thank our detectives in the Suffolk County Police Department’s District Attorney Squad, as well as the EPA and OSHA, for their efforts to ensure that these defendants were held responsible for their actions.”
“Kessler Thermometer Corp. knowingly endangered the lives and health of their employees by ignoring basic safeguards to control hazardous mercury in the workplace and failed to acknowledge its employees were being sickened by mercury exposure,” said OSHA Area Director Kevin Sullivan. “This company has been operating for about 20 years and knows the dangers their workers face.”
“We reserve criminal investigation for egregious cases involving serious employer misconduct, especially when workers are placed in harm’s way,” said Tyler Amon, Special Agent in Charge with EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in New York. “Workplace safety violations will continue to be an area of focus for EPA to ensure employers are following important health and safety requirements.”
According to the investigation and admissions made during guilty plea allocutions, on or about August 29, 2022, several employees of Kessler Thermometer Corp. were exposed to mercury at their worksite in West Babylon. Mercury is a neurotoxin and hazardous substance. Once spilled, if mercury is not cleaned properly, it can vaporize into the air. The mercury exposure can result in internal injuries, such as lethal damage to the nervous system, lungs, kidneys, and heart. It can also severely attack one’s mental faculties.
Employees of Kessler Thermometer Corp. worked with mercury daily when manufacturing and filling orders for glass thermometers and hydrometers. These employees were exposed to the neurotoxin when glass instruments or machines broke, causing the mercury to spill on their work area, clothes, and skin. The employees were not provided with the proper protection, ventilation, or cleaning supplies needed once a spill occurred, causing the mercury to vaporize into the air.
In the days and weeks after the large mercury spill on August 29, 2022, multiple employees began to exhibit symptoms consistent with mercury poisoning and receive medical treatment at North Shore University Hospital and Long Island Jewish Medical Center. According to blood and urine tests, four employees exhibited high levels of mercury and were diagnosed with mercury poisoning. One of those employees had a heart block which required the implementation of a permanent pacemaker. Another employee was in a coma, and to this day needs an oxygen tank to assist his breathing. Other employees suffered from memory loss and fatigue. A treating physician notified OSHA, the EPA, and the New York State Department of Health of the employees’ mercury exposure.
There were several complaints prior to the August 29, 2022 incident, particularly in July 2020, when Peyser was notified by a physician that one of the employees at Kessler Thermometer Corp. had been exposed to toxic levels of mercury. The physician recommended that Peyser implement the necessary health and safety procedures to protect all of his employees at Kessler Thermometer Corp. However, Kessler Thermometer Corp. failed to change and implement proper health and safety standards. During his plea, Peyser himself admitted that he failed to implement the necessary and legally required safety measures to protect the corporation’s employees from the harmful effects of mercury.
On October 18, 2024, Kessler Thermometer Corp. pleaded guilty, as charged, to Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, a Class D felony, before Acting County Court Judge Pierce F. Cohalan. As a component of an extensive plea disposition, the SCDA required the corporation to pay $75,000 in fines. This is in addition to a separate civil assessment of approximately $97,000 against Kessler as a result of OSHA violations.
On that same day, Peyser pleaded guilty to Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor, before Judge Cohalan. Peyser was sentenced to probation on December 13, 2024. During his probationary period, Peyser must ensure corporate compliance with all of OSHA’s, the EPA’s, and the NYS DEC’s health and safety standards. Should he violate any term of his plea or condition of his probation, Peyser faces a sentence of up to 1 year in jail.
Peyser and Kessler Thermometer Corp. are being represented by Michael J. Brown, Esq. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Adriana Noyola of the Biological Environmental Animal Safety Team (BEAST), and the investigation was conducted by Detective
Thomas Smith and other members of the Suffolk County Police Department’s District Attorney Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.4
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