Ansonia police said Monday they are close to making an arrest in the alleged misappropriation of funds from the Prendergast School Parent Teacher Organization.
“We’re at the point where we are trying to finalize the details. It’s not ‘if’ there is going to be an arrest warrant, it is when,” Ansonia police Lt. Andrew Cota said.
Police started an investigation in February after receiving a complaint alleging funds from the PTO may have been misused.
The complaint came from Ansonia School District Superintendent Carol Merlone.
Cota, the police department’s spokesman, said detectives have one suspect. The suspect has been in once to talk to investigators.
“We’ve had an initial conversation, yes. And there will be follow-ups once we get more details,” Cota said.
Cota couldn’t talk in much detail about the case. More will be revealed when an arrest is made and a warrant is filed in court, assuming the warrant isn’t sealed.
Part of the investigation involves using a PTO debit card to make unauthorized purchases.
The investigation has taken a long time because police had to gather not just bank statements, but data from stores where the debit card was used.
“We are trying to get itemized lists from the stores the person went to,” Cota said.
Cota said police are still waiting for information from some stores. Police are trying to figure out whether some of those purchases were made for legitimate PTO purposes.
Cota couldn’t reveal a precise dollar amount.
“That’s what we’re trying to figure out. We know it is quite a few dollars. It’s going to be probably in the thousands of dollars. I can tell you that much. I can’t say it will be $10,000 or $12,000, but it will be at least in the few thousand dollar range,” he said.
The final dollar amount will determine what criminal charges are filed.
“There are different levels or larceny and we’re just trying to figure out what degree of larceny this is,” Cota said.
Meanwhile, Prendergast PTO meeting minutes from March show a new regime is running the volunteer organization.
Those same meeting minutes show the PTO started 2012 with just $27.50 in its bank account.
A number of safeguards were put in place since the criminal complaint filed with police. The use of a debit card has been eliminated. Checks now need two signatures. There are no cash reimbursements to PTO volunteers. The PTO also does a monthly treasurer’s report to be more transparent with members.
