Hate Taxes? How about paying more because of local theft?

What's Larceny? 

Larceny is a non violent unauthorized taking and removal of the personal property of another by an individual who intends to permanently deprive the owner of it; a crime against the right of possession.

In this case, larceny is a theft that has already been received or recorded by the organization. 

Former Finance Director, Henry Centrella, from the Town of Winchester plead guilty to larceny changes of more than $2 million Friday January 21 2014. 

The theft occurred between 2008 and 2012, is believed to total 2.5 million, and investigators believe Centrella removed cash from daily deposit bags from the tax department and replaced cash with revenue checks received by other departments. 

Just another fraud case? No. The theft was so severe the town had to impose a tax increase that cost the average taxpayer about $300. We wonder if any of the townspeople will be reimbursed sometime in the future for their additional tax payments? Would you be willing to pay a little extra on your taxes due to local fraud? 

You can read the original article by clicking here. “This theft, by the way, goes on for a period of time in excess to the statute of limitations,” Attorney Shepack said. “...This pattern of defalcation did have palpable and serious ramifications across the community.”

Attorney David Shepack recommended a 20-year sentence for Centrella during Friday’s hearing, but the potential plea deal would mean nine years of that sentence would be suspended. He is scheduled to be sentenced April 4 2014. Each of the five counts of first-degree larceny carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $15,000 in fines.

State police said Centrella used the money he stole from the town to fund his gambling habit and to buy extravagant gifts for a mistress in Florida. 

The town began looking into the possibility that Centrella had been stealing money in late 2012 after discrepancies were discovered by auditors from Blum & Shapiro. The auditors discovered that $26,000 was missing from town coffers in October 2012, with the possibility that more than $250,000 had been misappropriated during the nine months prior to that.

In November 2012, Centrella, who had not been cooperating with the auditors, was put on leave after town cash was found in his desk, and in January 2013, he was fired. Prior to being put on leave, Centrella had a clean employment record.

During this court appearance, Centrella, who kept his head down as Shepack recapped the allegations against him, said he was pleading guilty because he was “in fact” guilty. This trait (clear admission of guilt) is very common with white collar criminals, once caught. It is not usual after an admission of guilt, to find even more (non-admitted to) theft. 

Could this case of Fraud have been prevented? Probably. Based on our experience in dealing with white collar criminals this case is no surprise to us. Here, the town had a long time trusted employee, with little oversight from others, and a clear lack of internal controls. All this criminal needed was a little pressure from external factors (gambling addiction and mistress in this case), a personal justification for the theft, and the opportunity with little risk of being caught. 


Our deepest sympathy for those who will suffer for these crimes - the working tax paying residents.