Pension Investigation Led To Arrest Of Former New Canaan Director

NEW CANAAN, CT — We may never know whether accused former New Canaan Public Schools food services director Bruce Gluck might have gotten away with the crime, but we now know what contributed to his arrest in connection with the $480,000 theft from two school cafeterias.

According to First Selectman Kevin Moynihan, Gluck's request for a disability pension triggered a separate investigation by the state Pension Board, state Attorney General's office, Moynihan's office and Town Attorney Ira Bloom that eventually led to Gluck's arrest last month.

In early 2018, after New Canaan police and school district officials had launched their investigation into the theft from the New Canaan High School and Saxe Middle School cafeterias, Gluck had requested a $37,000 annual disability pension, Moynihan told Patch and other news organizations during a briefing in Town Hall Thursday. Even though he and sisters Marie Wilson and Joanne Pascarelli, the other two accused, worked for school district, their pensions are part of the town employee pool because they were not teachers.

Gluck's pension request, which went upstate to the Pension Board, was flagged while the investigation into the theft was ongoing last year. During that time, Gluck's attorney kept inquiring about when the pension would be approved, but the town kept delaying a decision while the investigation was underway because Gluck was a suspect, according to Moynihan.

Then last August, Wilson and Pascarelli were arrested, and that's when the state Attorney General's office contacted the town.

"They told us that there's a state stature that denies pensions if you commit theft or fraud against your employer, in this case the town," Moynihan said. "And they offered their help to investigate it."

Even though Wilson and Pascarelli had been arrested, New Canaan police were not able to build a case against Gluck, Moynihan said, but once the AG's office became involved, the Bloom and others kicked into high gear.

The investigation eventually led to prosecutors obtaining Gluck's bank records, which Moynihan said showed several large deposits, which a forensic audit was able to trace back to missing money from the cafeterias.

Gluck, 61, subsequently was charged with first-degree larceny - defrauding a public community, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. And his request for a disability pension has been denied.

"Over 20 or more years, not having to pay his pension would save the town a considerable amount of money," Moynihan said.

Gluck, Wilson and Pascarelli have only been accused and have not yet stood trial or been proven guilty.