Crime & Safety

Former Newtown Police Officers Charged With Stealing Union Funds

Former police Sgt. Domenic Costello and K-9 Police Officer Andrew Stinson are accused of stealing more than $90,000 each in union funds, officials say

Former Newtown police Sgt. Domenic Costello and K-9 Officer Andrew Stinson were arrested in connection with stealing more than $90,000 each from the police union, officials said today.

Costello, 33, of Stratford, was charged with two counts of first-degree larceny and first-degree accessory to larceny while Stinson, 34, of Watertown, was charged with three counts of first-degree larceny and second-degree larceny. Both also were charged with first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny and third-degree larceny.

The pair, who in October were placed on paid administrative leave and earlier this year resigned from their Newtown police jobs, turned themselves in on an arrest warrant Wednesday at the Danbury police department, officials said. Danbury has been handling the investigation.

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An investigation into the two began Oct. 15 after Newtown police union members noticed irregularities in their bank accounts. Stinson was the union president and Costello was the treasurer.

Union officials said the two co-signed checks that allowed them to withdraw money from the police union account without anyone else knowing.

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Up until the Wednesday news release, officials had been tight-lipped about how much money was taken. Officials said the two used more than $90,000 each in police union funds for their personal use during a period of three or more years.

Stinson was a nine-year police department veteran and Costello was a seven-year department veteran. Costello was promoted to a sergeant in 2009 and Stinson, who was the department's K-9 officer, had been a candidate for a sergeant position prior to the scandal.

According to town data, Stinson earned a gross salary of $83,842 while Costello earned $86,587 during fiscal year 2009-10.

The two were released on promises to appear in state Superior Court in Danbury on March 25.

Editor's note: The expected court appearance for the two former police officers has been added to this article.

Correction: The exact charges were incorrect in an earlier version of this article.


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