#MIDDLEBURY #MVFD #PERROTTI
By MARJORIE NEEDHAM
Middlebury’s former fire chief, Paul Perrotti, 49, was sentenced in New Haven Aug. 29 to three months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer also ordered Perrotti to perform 200 hours of community service during his supervised release and to pay the town restitution of $10,000. The sentence came more than a year after a jury found Perrotti guilty on two of three counts of embezzling funds from the town while serving as its fire chief.
Perrotti’s attorney, Martin Minnella, said of the sentence Tuesday, “We thought it was very fair. The judge heard the whole case and had to respect the decision of the jury on two counts.”
He said the prosecution had offered Perrotti a pretrial plea bargain of 6 months in jail and paying restitution of $70,000. After a July 23, 2015, jury decision found Perrotti guilty on two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, an FBI press release said the government believed Perrotti embezzled more than $70,000. In a post-trial ruling, however, Judge Meyer found that Perrotti embezzled $25,746 from the town and the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD).
Perrotti said Tuesday of the charges, trial and sentence, “It’s the worst thing that could ever happen, but I have to deal with it.” He said his attorneys will file an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit Court in New York City. “I know it’s only three months,” Perrotti said, “but I don’t want to do time for a crime I didn’t commit.”
Minnella said the judge told Perrotti Monday he had an impressive service record and said he had a hard time believing Perrotti would do something criminal. However, the jury did believe that, so the judge said he had no choice but to follow the jury’s decision.
In contrast to the three-month sentence Meyer handed down, the prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Karwan and Heather Cherry, could have asked the judge to impose a minimum 15-month sentence.
Minnella said Anthony Bruno, the current fire chief, read a letter in court Tuesday that characterized Perrotti as dictatorial and divisive. Minnella said he responded by asking, “Does a dictator clean toilets? Does a dictator cut the grass? Does a dictator clean the building?”
Minnella said the notice to appeal, which will be handled by attorney Lori Welch-Rubin, will be filed within the required 14 days. The appeal will be based on the argument Minnella tried to present several times during the embezzlement trial – that Perrotti was not a town employee and therefore the government had no jurisdiction over him.
Minnella said the town in 2005 had Perrotti sign an agreement acknowledging he could not bind the town to any contract. Furthermore, he was elected chief by a 501(c)3 organization and received no health benefits, pension benefits or vacation time from the town. “It is clear Mr. Perrotti should not have been convicted nor arrested,” Minnella said.
