Superior Court in Milford.
DERBY – State prosecutors have offered a plea deal to a former Derby Public Works Director accused of embezzling $97,000 from the Adriatic Machegian Club on Hawthorne Avenue.
In Superior Court on Friday (June 28) in Milford, prosecutors offered Ron Culmo, who is accused of draining the AM Club’s bank accounts to fund a gambling habit, a sentence of up to five years in prison, followed by five years of probation.
The deal includes the right to argue – which means that Culmo’s attorney, Greg Cerritelli, could argue for a lighter sentence if the deal is accepted.
Howard Stein, the supervisory assistant state’s attorney prosecuting the case, said a lighter sentence is possible if Culmo pays the club back.
Culmo, who headed the Derby Public Works Department from about 2005 until 2013, is charged with first-degree larceny.
Around 2015, the AM Club made Culmo their secretary treasurer, according to a police investigation. From then until 2020, he is alleged to have made monthly trips to Connecticut casinos using money from the club’s accounts.
Those trips lined up with money transfers between the AM Club’s bank account and Culmo’s personal account, police said.
In July 2020, a police investigation began after the club’s president, Jacques “Jocko” Veillette found that the club’s account had dwindled from about $100,000, down to just $4,000. Club members had wanted to withdraw money to fund building repairs the month prior, but Veillette said Culmo had resisted that idea, the warrant states.
Culmo was making $54,000 per year in pension and social security benefits, in addition to $500 per month in his role as the club’s secretary treasurer. Between 2015 and 2020, he lost $163,761 to the Mohegan Sun’s slot machines, police said.
Culmo was arrested in February 2022 following the investigation.
Culmo’s attorney Cerritelli declined to comment on the offer, but said that he is still working to figure out how much money is owed. At Culmo’s previous court date in March, he said it was uncertain as to whether any money was owed.
Culmo’s next court date is Aug. 28, when he is expected to accept or reject the state’s offer.
