A member of the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from his former employer made his first appearance Monday in Bridgeport Superior Court.
Frank Lazowski Sr. was arrested Aug. 27 on charges of first-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery.
Lazowski, while working at M&O Corp. of Bridgeport, allegedly approved the payment of bills paid for work that was never performed. Click here for our previous story.
Lazowski allegedly split the money with another person who was working with him to steal from the company.
Police allege that Lazowski stole about $40,000, but the owners of M&O, a HVAC company, are suing him in civil court for $150,000. They believe that Lazowski’s alleged actions reach farther back than police were able to address due to the statute of limitations.
Lazowski worked at the company from 1998 until February of this year.
Attorney Michael Luzzi of the Hamden law firm Dolan and Luzzi stood before Judge Earl Richards Monday morning with Lazowski at his side, where a request was made to transfer the case to the Part A docket, which would transfer the case from the Golden Hill Street courtroom to the Fairfield County courthouse on Main Street.
Lazowski did not enter a plea and the case was continued to Sept. 28, when the judge will rule on the request.
Afterwards, both Luzzi and Lazowski declined to comment on the case.
After Lazowski left his job in February, M&O company owner Robert Oetjen discovered one of the alleged bogus purchases and contacted Bridgeport Police, who investigated Lazowski for five months before lodging the charges against him.
Lazowski has served on the Board of Apportionment and Taxation since April 2009 and has been active with the Derby Democratic Town Committee.
After his arrest, tax board chairman Judy Szewczyk said she expected him to resign from the board while the criminal case goes to court.
“There are a lot of people who feel that is the right thing for him to do,” said Ken Hughes, president of the Board of Aldermen.
