Cop sentenced for union embezzlement

Former Newtown police officer Domenic Costello Former Newtown police officer Domenic Costello Photo: Contributed Photo, ST Photo: Contributed Photo, ST Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Cop sentenced for union embezzlement 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

DANBURY -- A former Newtown police sergeant who admitted embezzling more than $95,000 from the Newtown police union was formally sentenced to a six-month jail term in state Superior Court here Wednesday.

The penalty that Judge John Blawie imposed on Domenic Costello -- 10 years in prison, suspended after he serves six months, three years of probation and full restitution to the victims -- was identical to the term Costello's co-defendant, Andrew Stinson, received last week.

Defense attorney Robert Gulash said Blawie had announced the sentence last week but continued the case until Wednesday so court officials could clear up a "minor discrepancy" over how much money Costello still owed the union.

The issue was resolved, and full restitution has been made, Gulash said Wednesday.

Stinson, 35, of Watertown, repaid his share of the money before he was sentenced, his attorney, James Diamond, said previously.

Between 2007 and 2010, Costello, at the time the police union treasurer, and Stinson, the president, "borrowed" more than $180,000 to stave off foreclosures on their respective homes and pay personal bills, they confessed.

More Information Domenic Costello Age: 34 Charge: First-degree larceny Sentence: Ten years in jail, suspended after serving six months, three years of probation, full restitution to victims

The statements came during a meeting with the union's vice president and a Newtown detective in October 2010, a few days after another officer expressed concern about their stewardship of the accounts, according to court documents.

Both men were then suspended by Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe, and they submitted their resignations early last year.

An investigation conducted by Danbury police detectives at Kehoe's request alleged the two officers used the union treasury as a piggy bank, withdrawing large amounts of cash and depositing the money in their own or their wives' bank accounts.

Both men were originally accused of multiple counts of larceny, but they eventually pleaded guilty and were each sentenced on a single larceny charge.

Costello, 34, of Stratford, as did his co-defendant, expressed his "high level of remorse to his former colleagues," Gulash said.

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