Crime & Safety
Ex-Picatinny Employee Accused of Having Radioactive Materials in Sparta Home
Joseph Gibeau accused of having Uranium 235 and Americium 241 within reach of children and stealing items from Picatinny.
A former Picatinny Arsenal employee has been accused of stealing items from the facility and having radioactive materials in his Sparta home.
Joseph E. Gibeau, 44, has been charged with two counts of second-degree child endangerment and one count of third-degree stolen property with additional charges pending.
According to Sgt. John-Paul Beebe, Sparta police responded to Gibeau's Route 94 home for a 911 hangup call at about 5:30 p.m. Friday. Gibeau was found "highly intoxicated" and involved in an argument with his wife, Beebe said.
Officers saw in plain view three small metallic casks painted yellow and marked as "radioactive material," Beebe said.
Member of the Picatinny Arsenal Fire Department, who are trained in Radiological Isotope Detection, initially determined that two of the three casks were radioactive and contained Uranium 235 and Americium 241, Beebe said.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection transported the materials to the State Laboratory in Bayonne for additional testing.
The Sparta First Aid Squad transported Gibeau to the Newton Medical Center for possible alcohol poisoning. He was treated and released at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday when he was placed under arrest.
The two counts of child endangerment stem from Gibeau leaving the radioactive materials within the reach of his two children, ages 9 and 6, Beebe said.
The theft charge is related to Gibeau possessing a large amount of glass beakers valued at more than $500 that belonged to Picatinny Arsenal Building No. 91, Beebe said.
Gibeau, who was employed at Picatinny as a computer programmer, has been lodged at the Sussex County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Sparta Detective Sgt. Terrence Mulligan, Sgt. Joseph Pensado, and members from the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI, The Department of Homeland Security, New Jersey State Police, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Picatinny Arsenal’s police and fire departments assisted at the scene.
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