Norwich police officer charged with stealing thousands in PBA funds
Feb. 14—NORWICH — A 16-year veteran Norwich police officer was arrested Monday on a third-degree larceny charge following a two-year investigation by state police and the Chief State's Attorney's office into theft of funds from the Norwich Police Benevolent Association, city and state police announced Wednesday.
Ryan R. O'Connell, 42, of Preston, former president of the PBA, was charged in connection with missing funds from the PBA totaling $3,168.92 from 2019 through 2021, according to the affidavit for his arrest warrant. The total represented 92 separate purchases during the five-year statute of limitations period allowed for felony prosecutions, the affidavit stated.
The purchases ranged from $2.13 at Dunkin Donuts and $2.75 at Dairy Queen to $476.10 at Fairfield Inn & Suites in Uncasville and a $500 cash withdrawal. The location of a $23.40 purchase in Bozrah on March 31, 2021, was redacted in the affidavit.
O'Connell turned himself in to Central District Major Crime Detectives at Troop I in Bethany on Monday. He was taken into custody, processed and released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in Norwich on Feb. 27.
A patrol officer who works day shift, he has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation by Deputy Chief Corey Poore to determine what department administrative actions could be taken.
Public records indicate O'Connell is married to a state's attorney in the New London Judicial District. According to the affidavit, New London's top state's attorney, Paul J. Narducci in January 2022 requested the case be handled by the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, with assistance from the state police Central District Major Crime Squad, "to eliminate any potential investigative and prosecutorial conflict."
Police Chief Patrick Daley said Wednesday he could not comment on the arrest, citing the pending internal investigation. He said he could not estimate how long the investigation could take, but he understood the urgency of the investigation.
According to the affidavit, written by state police detective Michael Moricoli of the Central District Major Crime Squad, O'Connell served as president of the Norwich PBA starting in 2015. He resigned as president on Jan. 4, 2022, about two weeks after PBA executive board members discovered the association's funds were short.
The PBA routinely pays for meals for officers who work holidays, and shortly before Christmas in December 2021, executive officers discovered discrepancies from September 2020 through December 2021 that left the association unable to pay for holiday meals for officers working on Christmas.
The PBA's vice president, police Sgt. Christopher Chastang, told state police investigators that its executive board met with O'Connell on Jan. 4, 2022, to review the association's financial records.
"President O'Connell admitted to using the account on occasions for personal reasons," the affidavit stated. "Their initial estimated value was determined to be in excess of $1,000."
O'Connell resigned and turned in the PBA debit card to Chastang that day, the affidavit stated.
Chastang assisted state police investigators in obtaining bank statements, checking account information, credit card and debit card expenses and tax records for the period of O'Connell's leadership dating back to 2015. Moricoli wrote that the investigation identified transactions totaling $15,900 in expenses for which the investigators sought explanations from O'Connell.
O'Connell provided explanations through his attorney, Robert Britt, but the affidavit stated the officer did not explain all the suspicious expenses. PBA officials also questioned some of the explanations.
Moricoli sought an interview with O'Connell but wrote that Britt failed to respond to the requests after initially stating O'Connell would be willing to speak with the investigator.
The affidavit listed 92 expenses totaling $3,168.92. O'Connell told investigators the cash withdrawal was to fund a podcast done by the PBA. Other PBA executive officers said they were not aware of the podcast expense.
Most were small expenses for food, postal fees and cash withdrawals. For example, the list contains 11 expenses at Dunkin Donuts, $13.25 at the Connecticut Tigers minor league baseball team, five expenses at Starbuck's.
Larger amounts included $268.78 at Dick's Sporting Goods in Lisbon and $242.25 at Aroogas Bar & Grill in Uncasville. The list also includes 21 payments for $12.99 each to Amazon Prime for a total of $272.79. O'Connell told investigators the PBA had an Amazon Prime account.
