Ron Culmo
DERBY — A former member of the executive board of the Adriatic Marchegian Club on Hawthorne Avenue was arrested Feb. 24 for allegedly stealing about $97,000 from the club over five years.
Derby police arrested Ron Culmo, 79, of Derby, on Feb. 24 and charged him with first-degree larceny.
Culmo previously served as director of the Derby Public Works Department in Mayor Tony Staffieri’s administration, and he’s a former commissioner of the Derby Fire Department.
Police allege Culmo stole money from the AM Club to fund a gambling habit and to cover costs from living above his means, according to a warrant from Derby police.
Culmo made monthly gambling trips to Connecticut casinos between 2015 and 2020, according to the police investigation. The trips lined up with transfers he made funneling AM Club bank funds into his private bank account.
Culmo’s crimes are alleged to have started in 2015, shortly after the AM Club made Culmo secretary treasurer of the club. The warrant notes the longtime members of the club trusted Culmo, some having known him for 50 years, which could be why the stealing went unnoticed for years.
Efforts to reach Culmo for comment were not successful this week.
AM Club members noticed something was wrong with their finances in June 2020, when club members were talking about making repairs to their building at 30 Hawthorne Ave.
According to the warrant, AM Club President Jacques “Jocko” Veillette grew suspicious of Culmo after Culmo resisted taking money from the bank to make repairs.
Veillette expected there to be $100,000 in the AM Club’s bank accounts. Veillette then checked the AM Club’s bank accounts — and saw they had just $4,000.
The AM Club brought in an accounting firm to look into what happened, and a police investigation kicked off in July 2020.
According to the warrant, Culmo was busiest in 2017, when he allegedly made five money transfers and three monetary withdrawals totaling $22,200. In 2019 there were 14 withdrawals totaling $23,150.
Meanwhile, police said Culmo lost $163,761 gambling on slot machines at Mohegan Sun Casino between 2015 and 2020.
Culmo was making about $54,000 annually in pension and social security benefits, according to the warrant. He was also paid $500 per month as the AM Club’s secretary treasurer.
“On average, Culmo’s monthly expenses exceeded his monthly income requiring fund transfers to cover losses in his own personal account,” according to the warrant.
Shortly after Derby police started their investigation into Culmo, Detective Edward Sullivan became concerned there could be a conflict of interest with local police investigating.
Derby police took their concerns to a prosecutor, who asked state police to handle the preliminary investigation and see if a conflict existed.
In July 2021, state police said no conflict existed, allowing Derby detectives to continue the case.
The arrest warrant does not describe the potential conflict of interest. However, the AM Club, a private social club, is a staple in Derby’s community and has been since 1926. Several current and retired Derby police officers are members, along with a cross-section of Derby residents young and old. In addition. some of Culmo’s relatives work in city hall along with some relatives of Derby police officers.
Culmo is scheduled to appear in court March 10, according to police.
