A judge on Monday approved a request from the City of Shelton to attach $348,416 worth of former assistant finance director Sharon Scanlon’s assets to a lawsuit the city will file claiming she stole at least that much from taxpayers.
Scanlon’s lawyer, William F. Dow III, agreed to the request, saying the city would have won a hearing on the issue.
A lawyer representing the city filed papers at Superior Court in Milford this month claiming Scanlon had taken at least $348,416 from taxpayers in part by depositing city checks into her personal accounts without authorization.
State police have been investigating the missing funds since last month.
In court Monday, Dow and Shelton’s assistant corporation counsel, Ramon Sous, met with Judge Frank Iannotti behind closed doors for about 10 minutes before Dow said in court that he had no objection to the city’s request.
Scanlon was not in court Monday, but Dow said he was authorized to speak on her behalf.
Judge Iannotti asked Dow if he was willing to agree to the city’s request for a “prejudgment remedy” in the case.
“That’s correct, your honor,” Dow replied. “It’s a low standard.”
He was referring to the fact that if a hearing on the matter had gone forward, the city would only have to show that there would be probable cause to believe Scanlon took the money in order to win a request to attach her Crescent Drive home to the case.
“We believe the city would be able to,” Dow told Iannotti.
Judge Iannotti said he’d enter the order granting the city’s request at some point Monday.
Dow declined to comment further while leaving court.
Sous said he will be filing a lawsuit against Scanlon on behalf of the city “as soon as I get the paperwork.”
News of the alleged thefts broke last month, when Mayor Mark Lauretti announced state police had opened an investigation and that Scanlon had resigned Aug. 23.
State police were at City Hall the next week, and removed bags of evidence and a computer from the finance office.
The documents filed this month are embedded below. Mayor Mark Lauretti told the Valley Indy this month that an internal investigation by the city is ongoing and that he expects the $348,416 number to go higher.
