Prosecutor Drops Charges Against Three Shelton Condo Owners Arrested While Investigating Property Manager
A state prosecutor Friday dropped larceny charges that had been filed against three Shelton condo owners accused of stealing financial documents from the property manager of their complex whom they were investigating for incompetence and double billing
Joseph Miller, 79, a former board member, Kathy Benedetto, 56, a hospital accountant, and Joan Pagliuco, 66, a travel agent, – all of Sunwood Condominiums, had their cases nolled today according to Beneditto.
They were each charged last July with sixth degree larceny charges. The three professionals had sought to have the charged dismissed but Benedetto said Friday they will accept the nolle, which means that after 13 months the charges will be dismissed. During that time the prosecutor can reopen the charges.
Defense attorney Edward Murnane of Bridgeport, who confirmed the nolles, said the prosecution refused to dismiss the charges.
All three deny intended to steal any documents and say they will now seriously investigate the property manager and will demand hundreds of more pages of documents.
The arrests was a culmination of a dispute that went into high gear when a worker for a construction company Knauf hired fell off a 39-foot roof last winter and was killed. No building permit was obtained for the skylight replacement project and OSHA required safety harnesses were not worn by the workers. OSHA shut the job down at least two times.
Since then the dissident condo owners have been demanding hundreds of pages of documents from the board of directors and from Knauf, including financial records to see if there were double billings, questions that Knauf refused to answer when contacted by CtCondoNews.
Out of frustration, the dissident owners contacted CtCondoNew and the Connecticut Condo Owners Coalition seeking advice.
I – as an executive committee member of the CCOC and editor and publisher of the web site, suggested that they attend the next board meeting and hand out copies of their demands to Knauf and all the board members.
As the result, they were told the documents would be made available to them at Knauf’s office. Then come two versions of what happened when the three went to get the documents.
Knauf accused them of stealing the documents and claimed they had always intended to steal them.
“That is what we believe,” said Knauf, owner of County Management “they intended to steal from me.”
Knauf and one of his assistants, filed larceny claims against Miller, Benedetto, 56,and Pagliuco.
Knauf said the three came to his office on June 29 after they had demanded access to hundreds of pages of financial documents.
He said “we treated them cordially…we are a full believer in transparency.”
Knauf said his staff made copies of the documents they wanted, and when the secretary who provided them the copies went into Knauf’s office, the three left taking not only 400 pages of copies but 50 pages of original documents.
He said the three knew that they had to pay $60 an hour for researching the requested documents, plus 5 cents a copy. While a final tally of the costs were not presented, Knauf said the three knew they had to pay to take the papers.
Asked why he simply did not send them an invoice instead of calling the police, Knauf indicated it was time for payback.
“They have been persecuting us for three years, they had the opportunity to do the right thing,” Knauf said. “They didn’t offer to give us a check.”
Asked how he knew the three took original documents also, Knauf said they had to because the documents were missing after the three left. He conceded that no one saw the three take the documents, which he claimed had been left on a counter.
The three arrested deny stealing the documents and said they did not take the originals. They said they assumed since everyone left the office they would be sent a bill for the documents. They had brought a check with them to pay, but said they were not told what the amount they were owed.
“I just can’t believe he stooped to this level to hide something,” Pagliuco said. “The documents weren’t his. They belong to us and the association.”
Benedetto said they later found out the copying charge was less than $16. However, the research charge to find the documents was probably $190.
The three have since paid their bill to the property manager.
The following is a copy of the arrest warrant the three received yesterday. Click here to read.
Thank you for keeping us up to date on this issue. This whole thing should have been a non-issue, except for the fact that the property manager is (a) suspect, and (b) punitive. His behavior and that of his subordinate sounds very much like a setup, and he couldn’t wait to attack these owners for questioning his governance. This has got to have a negative impact on the resale value of condos in that association. The BOD should never have let this blow up as it did, since they are fiduciarilly responsible for the value of the property and I would guess that it has tanked. Let the buyer beware.
On the other hand, this event has given a black eye to all other associations even if they are run competently and honestly. We deserve better than this scandal in our industry. That property manager should be graded for his part in this disaster. As a matter of fact, all property managers should be rated as to the competence and support they offer to their clients so that condominium associations can make educated choices on whom to hire.
Thank you for taking the time to write a comment Erna. We are discussing with the CAI the possibility of having joint presentations for condo owners at various locations throughout the state. There are somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 condo complexes throughout the state so visiting each one is impossible considering that we are all volunteers. George
I agree 100% with the statement. I am going thru an on going problem with County Management myself. They are bullies and the company does not answer the condo owners request for the breakdown of their MISC. items. I have had a problem with damages done to my unit. THEIR OWN INSURANCE COMPANY has had problems with them. Their claim adjuster took pictures and report to CMS, The also sent a check, which they say they never received. When I called Knaus, he said he will not be taking any of my calls. I am not the only one. We are all very unhappy with the boards director and CMS
I continue to have issues with CMS. Perhaps if we all join forces we can bring some justice into the picture.
This year was difficult for CCOC and CAI in its attempts to have proposed legislation incorporated into bills raised before committee. Condo owners major supporter, Rep. James Albis was appointed Chairman of the Environment Committee by Speaker of the House J. Brendan Sharkey and his time now is limited.
At this time, it is critical for new legislators to be aware of the injustice to unit owners whether in a self managed condo or with a contracted property manager.
The following link will, as it states, assist you in finding your legislator[s]. It is imperative these new legislators are made aware of the plights of unit owners.
FYI, most of their web sites provide a link to send an email, but unlike email software, your email is not saved. Hence a written letter [copy the CT Condo Owners Coalition], will provide the needed paper trail when CCOC is proposing new legislation and we meet with legislators.
FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR
http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp