Bartlett Stole Thousands From Disabled Woman, Court Documents Say

FAIRFIELD, CT — Former Fairfield public works superintendent Scott Bartlett stole thousands of dollars from a mentally disabled woman he was charged with protecting, according to court documents that detail the recent allegations.

Bartlett was arrested Tuesday and is accused of committing one count of first-degree larceny and two counts of second-degree larceny. The new allegations come after Bartlett was charged with financial and environmental crimes last summer in connection with the management of the town fill pile.

An arrest warrant affidavit for Bartlett in the latest accusations describes the "many suspicious and inappropriate transactions" that led to the charges.

In 2013, Bartlett and his wife were appointed in court to manage the affairs of the adult daughter of a deceased public works employee, according to a court filing first reported on by Patch in November. Six years later, two GE Credit Union employees contacted police about questionable transactions on the woman's account, according to the filing, which also noted that from 2014 to 2016 the Bartletts were more than $1 million in debt.

Between December 2015 and September 2019, Bartlett illegally withdrew nearly $36,000 from the woman's account in cash or by issuance of a check for cash, according to the latest affidavit. Bartlett also charged $500 on the woman's debit card for a transaction at a used car dealership in Seymour, the affidavit said, even though the woman does not own a car and cannot drive. Additionally, Bartlett deposited a $120 tax refund for the woman into his own bank account, according to the affidavit.

Of the nearly $36,000 illegally withdrawn from the woman's account, Bartlett paid back just over $31,000, the affidavit said, leaving a nearly $5,000 deficit.

When police in late January offered Bartlett an opportunity to explain the activity on the woman's account, Bartlett declined, other than to say through his attorney that all the transactions were conducted by him and none were conducted by his wife, according to the affidavit.

Additional transactions Bartlett made using the woman's account at Home Depot, HomeGoods, Trader Joe's, Walmart, a car dealership, and restaurants in Fairfield, Bridgeport and Stratford were not considered for criminal charges, the affidavit said. This was also the case for thousands of dollars spent at grocery stores using the woman's account — transactions police considered to be "excessive for the needs of one adult woman" and "possibly a larceny," according to the affidavit.

The woman's case worker told police that Bartlett visits the woman and appears to be attentive to her needs, and that Bartlett and his wife occasionally take her out to dinner, the affidavit said. However, in late 2019 the Barletts petitioned the court to resign as the woman's guardian and conservator, according to the affidavit. Bartlett refused to provide a court-ordered accounting of the conservatorship, the affidavit said, and police obtained a search warrant for the woman's banking records.

When asked about the specifics of the allegations, Bartlett's attorney, Fred Paoletti, declined to comment, saying he had not yet seen the charging documents.

Bartlett turned himself in Tuesday to the Fairfield Police Department and was released on a $35,000 bond, according to police. He is set to appear in court Monday. Paoletti said Bartlett intends to plead not guilty.

Bartlett is already charged with forgery, larceny, receiving kickbacks, dumping and more in the fill pile case, in which he has pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. Two other Fairfield employees and an ex-town contractor are also charged. The recent larceny charges against Bartlett will be prosecuted as a separate case, Paoletti said.

Fairfield's contamination crisis dominated headlines and public meetings for months in town after the first round of charges were brought in August. Around the same time, contaminants tied to the town fill were reported to police at a local park. Since then, more than 70 areas in Fairfield have been tested for contamination. The vast majority have been deemed safe, but some sites were found to contain asbestos, arsenic and additional contaminants.