Thomas Brigante:  

Life Thomas Here........ Norwalk, Connecticut native, born and raised in a section of town known as "Whistleville" to most old timers from era's gone by. Whistleville was on the proverbial wrong side of the tracks by today's standards, but I wouldn't trade my childhood growing up there for anything on earth. It was, and still is a rough neighborhood, characterized by housing developments, row houses and ethnic gentrification. It was mostly Italian families then across the north and east sides of the area, and predominantly black on the south end. We all seemed to co-exist without any problems that couldn't be quickly resolved, depending where you were. It was a great place to learn some of life's most basic lessons, and I took with me a lasting knowledge-base of people, adaptation, and resourcefulness that guided my life and career moving forward. Moved to the "east side" in my teens, near the beach. The ocean ultimately became my first true love, an affinity that has only grown stronger as I matured. Attended parochial school for nine years, then switched to public in High School, graduating from Norwalk High in 1973. I immediately went to work as a commercial fisherman during High School, and after, attending Fairfield University at night. In the off-seasons I worked for an oil-spill recovery company, working mostly on water-borne oil spills along the northeast coast, and became fascinated with pollution-control technologies. I suspended my academic plans to work emergency response 24/7 in the environmental business, fishing whenever I had the time. I met my wife in 1979, married in 1980, and had two children, Luke, now 26, and Lauren, 25, by 1982. In '86 I left the oil spill company to start my own firm. We specialized in underground petroleum and chemical spills, and I trademarked four distinct technologies to detoxify damaged water supplies and contaminated soils. The firm grew to nearly 200 employees by 1995, with offices in six states. We had a third ...Expand for more