A former lawyer accused of stealing $175,000 from a Shelton developer pleaded not guilty in his criminal case Tuesday.
Benson Snaider, 75, was arrested by Shelton police last November on a single charge of first-degree larceny in connection with the alleged theft.
Tuesday marked Snaider’s first appearance on the charge at Superior Court in Milford, where the most serious cases from the Valley are handled.
After calling the case, Judge Frank Iannotti guessed correctly what Snaider’s lawyer, Ira Grudberg, planned on asking for during the brief appearance.
“Mr. Grudberg, I would assume your intention today is simply to enter not guilty pleas?” Iannotti said.
“That’s correct,” Grudberg replied.
Judge Iannotti then continued the case to Feb. 26 for a pretrial conference.
Snaider, a once-prominent New Haven attorney known for his handling of eminent domain cases, was arrested after a nearly yearlong investigation by Shelton police.
Investigators first became aware of the alleged theft in November 2011, when Adam Zuckerman, who owns Phoenix Housing of Shelton, LLC, with his father, Jonathan, visited the Shelton police station to make a complaint.
Zuckerman told police that in 2006 his company sold a parcel of land off River Road where the Crescent Village Condominium Complex now stands. The land is the former site of the Pinecrest Country Club.
During the sale, the City of Shelton took a nearby parcel from Zuckerman’s company through eminent domain, and Snaider represented them.
During that process, $175,000 was deposited into a Superior Court trust account in May 2007.
But the money never made it into the Zuckermans’ hands, according to an affidavit supporting Snaider’s arrest — instead, he told his clients that they could not have it because the case was pending.
Then, in November 2011, the Zuckermans saw a newspaper article saying that Snaider had been charged with stealing $800,000 from a Stamford car dealership in another eminent domain case.
Upon seeing the news article, Jonathan Zuckerman immediately called Snaider, who confessed he had spent the money himself, the affidavit says.
In addition to the criminal case against him, the state’s chief disciplinary counsel has filed a lawsuit against Snaider seeking to disbar him for 12 years, the maximum time allowable for a lawyer who misappropriates client funds.
