SEYMOUR – A former Seymour police officer who was charged with first-degree larceny was granted entry into a court diversionary program meant for non-violent, first-time offenders, his lawyer and the police chief said.
Justin Quilty was charged April 13 with stealing $32,250.80 from the Seymour police union. He resigned from the department on April 14. According to the police warrant, some of the money was allegedly used on DraftKings, a gambling website.
The charge is a felony.
Quilty is the former president of the police union in Seymour. He was hired as a police officer in Seymour in August 2022.
His attorney said Quilty was granted accelerated rehabilitation and is required to pay the money back.
“AR was granted with full restitution required,” said attorney Jeffrey Ment via an email sent to the Valley Indy on Oct. 28.
Quilty’s last court date was Oct. 16.
In general, accelerated rehabilitation is a special form of probation that allows criminal charges to be erased if the defendant stays out of trouble for a certain period of time. In addition, the defendant must comply with any court-ordered programming.
AR is meant for non-violent, first-time offenders.
According to the state’s court database, Quilty has a hearing scheduled for Oct. 15, 2027. His case file has been sealed, which is routine in Connecticut for defendants who receive accelerated rehabilitation.
Seymour Police Chief John Bucherati said he was notified last week that Quilty was granted AR.
“His attorney notified me last week via phone call,” Bucherati said via an email Oct. 28 to the Valley Indy. “I did know beforehand that he was applying for AR and intended on making full restitution.”
Bucherati said he filed paperwork with Connecticut’s Police Officer Standards and Training Council, or POSTC, requesting that Quilty be decertified.
POSTC is the state body responsible in part for establishing minimum qualifications for police officers, certifying officers after required training, enforcing standards for certification and decertification, and accrediting law enforcement units that meet state standards.
“I did file the paperwork with POST for his decertification as a police officer, however I haven’t heard anything on that yet,” Bucherati said.
David Parratt, the current Seymour police union president, said Oct. 26 that the union hasn’t received any restitution yet. The Valley Indy could not determine how long Quilty has to pay the union back.
“We are just happy to have this behind us, and look forward to moving forward,” Parratt said.
Parratt, who was vice president of the union when Quilty was president, said the union has made some changes about how money is handled. He would not say what the changes are.
The Background
An investigation into missing union money was triggered by members of the executive board of Seymour Police Department union last year.
The executive board was notified Oct. 1, 2025 by the National Fraternal Order of Police that the local union’s dues “had not been paid in months,” and that the union was at risk of losing legal defense services, according to the arrest warrant.
Quilty was union president of the Seymour union at the time. He had sole access to two union financial accounts, according to the warrant: a Venmo account and an Ion Bank account.
Union officials began an internal audit and were told by Ion Bank officials that there was $114,000 in the account. However, the union said there was supposed to be $170,000 in there.
Union leadership also learned a debit card had been issued for the Ion Bank account. That was a concern, because no one had authorized it, according to the arrest warrant.
Another, unnamed police union leader was shown ATM withdrawal surveillance video by Ion Bank around Oct. 14, 2025. The union leader “was able to identify that the person making the cash withdrawal was Quilty,” according to the warrant.
“That same day, upon learning of the audit and pending investigation, Quilty resigned as union president,” according to the warrant.
The investigation snowballed, with the union’s executive board revealing a Venmo account allegedly tied to Quilty which was used to withdraw union funds.
State police got involved Oct. 23, 2025 at the request of the Ansonia-Milford State’s Attorney’s Office. That office had been contacted by Seymour police.
State police issued a number of search warrants that allegedly showed a series of ATM withdrawals, along with Venmo and bank transfers, were all going into Quilty’s personal bank account.
The deposits ranged from Dec. 1, 2024 through Oct. 22, 2025, according to the warrant.
State police “identified a total loss of $32,250.80 from the Seymour Police Union accounts,” the warrant states.
The warrant further alleges that the dollar amounts of some withdrawals from the union accounts not only matched deposits made into Quilty’s personal account – but then matched deposits made from the personal account into DraftKings.
Quilty was placed on administrative leave in October 2025. He resigned from the department the day after his arrest in April.