'I'm due this.' Erin Stewart demanded 'shocking' $205,000 payout, report shows
The former New Britain mayor and one-time Republican front-runner for governor may have committed fraud, larceny and embezzlement, according to an outside law firm hired by Stewart's successor, Democrat Bobby Sanchez.
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Former New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, once the Republican front-runner for governor, improperly demanded $205,479 in severance for working "24/7 for 12 years," according to a new report from an outside law firm.
That's nearly 20 times what she was owed, the report concluded.
The new revelations came one day after Attorney General William Tong launched an investigation into Stewart's handling of a charitable fund and three weeks after the FBI and Connecticut State Police began investigating more than $200,000 of personal expenses charged to the former mayor's taxpayer-funded credit card, including a Peppa Pig-themed birthday party for her daughter.
NEW REVELATIONS
The new findings come from Crumbie Law Firm, hired by Stewart's successor, Democrat Bobby Sanchez, to investigate spending questions.
"Her actions may constitute fraud, larceny, embezzlement, false statements and official misconduct," the report concluded.
Stewart claimed she was owed compensation for 240 unused vacation days, 78 unused personal days, 126 unused holidays and 192 unused sick days dating back to 2013.
Despite Stewart's claims, the report noted that the mayor "had taken two separate maternity leaves for the birth of her children and medical leave to have surgery, and that there was other documented leave time taken by Ms. Stewart."
"DON'T YOU THINK I'M DUE THIS?"
When New Britain's human resources director, Linda Guard, questioned the payouts, the mayor allegedly got mad.
"Ms. Stewart angrily responded that she 'worked 24/7 for 12 years,' she then asked, 'Don't you think I'm due this?'" the report states. "Ms. Stewart's reasoning for the shocking amount she demanded was based on the claim that over her 12-year term as mayor, she did not take a single day off for vacation, illness, or any other reason."
Eventually, Stewart relented – sort of.
The mayor came back with a lower "separation payout" of $150,949. Despite her concerns, Guard told investigators that Stewart pressured her to approve the deal.
"Ms. Guard reported that she signed the Letter reluctantly because she feared that refusing to do so would jeopardize her employment," the report said. "The evidence suggests the Letter was an attempt to manufacture a paper trail to support a claim of entitlement to benefits to which Ms. Stewart was not entitled."
Stewart received $121,978 before Sanchez halted the payments.
The mayor's political allies benefited too.
Documents show that chief of staff Justin Dorsey, deputy chief of staff Brock Weber, communications director Rachel Zaniewski and Desiree Rivera - the mayor's assistant - received $60,000 in payouts.
In addition to the severance, taxpayers paid $31,561 in tuition reimbursement for Stewart's Master's degree at the University of New Haven, a violation of city and state law. The report claims that then-Common Council President Kristian Rosado approved the tuition payments without the full council's approval.
An attorney representing Stewart did not respond to a request for comment. But last month, she called the accusations a political "witch hunt" by her opponents.
"They want headlines before facts," Stewart told supporters at a campaign rally. "They want political damage. They want personal vengeance."
Two days later, she abruptly suspended her campaign two days before the Republican state convention.
NEW MAYOR: TAXPAYERS "DESERVE RESTITUTION"
Sanchez said the city will fight to get taxpayers' money back.
"The taxpayers of New Britain deserve answers, they deserve restitution where appropriate, and they deserve confidence that no individual, regardless of position or title, is above the law," Sanchez said in a statement.
