As probe continues, Shelton considers lien

A home at 23 Crescent Drive in Shelton, owned by Sharon Scanlon, the city's former assistant finance director, who is the focus of a fraud investigation at City Hall, according to sources close to the case. A home at 23 Crescent Drive in Shelton, owned by Sharon Scanlon, the city's former assistant finance director, who is the focus of a fraud investigation at City Hall, according to sources close to the case. Photo: Autumn Driscoll Photo: Autumn Driscoll Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close As probe continues, Shelton considers lien 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

SHELTON -- The city has started the process to put a lien on property owned by Sharon Scanlon, the city's former assistant finance director, who is the focus of a fraud investigation at City Hall, according to sources close to the case.

An attorney was in the city/town clerk's office Friday making a copy of the deed to 23 Crescent Drive, which Scanlon owns. A copy of the deed is needed to begin the lien process, which is a legal procedure. The assessed value of the property is $285,110, according to the assessor's office.

Mayor Mark A. Lauretti announced Friday that a criminal probe "into the theft of public funds" was under way.

At that time, he said that the city was also "pursuing various avenues to obtain full restitution." On Monday, the mayor said a lien "very well could be one of them." He declined further comment.

A lien is a way to ensure the payment of a debt or other obligation when a property is sold and could be one of those avenues. In this case, it would protect the city's right to seize assets, if the former official is arrested and found guilty.

According to Finance Director Louis Marusic, Scanlon allegedly misappropriated at least $218,000. Marusic said he discovered the alleged fraud on July 25 and that he personally turned over documentation to the city's auditors "to verify" that amount. But he declined to say how Scanlon allegedly misappropriated money.

Marusic said it appears that Scanlon "committed fraud in that amount" over a two year period and that sources close to the investigation told him that the amount is now "close to $320,000 over three years."

Scanlon, a city employee for the past 17 years, resigned last week. She oversaw the accounting and control section of the city's Finance Department, which included processing vendor payments and grant money and handling the city's payroll accounts.

Marusic, finance director for the past 31 years, was put on administrative leave last Monday by Lauretti. Marusic, Lauretti said, is not a suspect in the case.

Scanlon has not been charged in the case.

It will take weeks, if not months, for State Police to complete the criminal investigation, state police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance, said Monday.

"We received a request from the Milford State's Attorney's office to conduct an investigation into the allegation," he said. "We've assigned the Central District Major Crime detectives to handle it." He said the case was handed to the detectives on Friday.

Vance said investigating possible fraud "takes a painstakingly long time" to complete because of the amount of documents that need to be reviewed.

Scanlon has not returned numerous calls for comment.

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