FBI raids Wilton turbine business

PHOTOGRAPHER: Erica Miller

Agents from FBI, HCI, and Commerce are at Turbine Services Ltd. Tuesday

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WILTON – The Federal Bureau of Investigation Tuesday morning raided a business in Wilton, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed.

The FBI arrived at Turbine Services, Ltd., 41 Old Gick Road, in Wilton at about 9 a.m. as part of “court authorized activity connected with an ongoing federal investigation,” spokeswoman Sarah Ruane told reporters.

Ruane spoke with media members briefly at the scene just before noon.

The FBI was being assisted by Homeland Security Investigations and the federal Department of Commerce, Ruane said.

Asked how long she expected agents to be at the business, Ruane said she expected them to be there “a while.”

Photos: Images from Tuesday’s raid at Turbine Services, June 25, 2019

Turbine Services has worked in turbine replacement parts since 1972 and it “stands as the largest full line supplier for virtually all GE gas turbine models,” according to its website.

Turbine’s CEO is listed elsewhere online as Ronald Riggi. He is the husband of Saratoga Springs socialite Michele Riggi.

Turbine Services has been the subject of legal action, though civil legal action, previously. A federal judge in 2003 found it in violation of a court order issued two years earlier that prohibited the company from claiming a partnership with General Electric.

The 2001 order stemmed from a 1985 lawsuit filed by General Electric alleging trademark infringement and the use of proprietary technical information belonging to GE. The lawsuit, along with a countersuit, resulted in a detailed settlement and led to the 2001 court order when GE claimed violations.

A woman who answered the phone at Turbine Services’ phone number early Tuesday afternoon said “we have no comment at this time.”

Gazette business editor John Cropley and photographer Erica Miller contributed to this article