New Larceny Charge For Accused Stamford Softball President: PD

STAMFORD, CT — The longtime president of Stamford Babe Ruth Girls Softball, who was arrested last month on larceny charges, is facing a new allegation that he stiffed a local grocery store out of $4,000 in catering fees, according to Stamford police.

Charles Pia, 62, of Windell Place, was arrested Monday on a charge of third-degree larceny and was released after posting bond on bail of $25,000.

"A grocery store, located on the East Side of Stamford, claims they were approached by Pia in 2015 to cater an event for the league," stated Stamford police on the department's Facebook page. "Pia allegedly requested a price reduction as the event was for the girls softball league. The grocery store reduced the catering price by $2,000.00 and charged the league $4,000.00. Despite numerous attempts to obtain payment from Pia the invoice was never satisfied."

The name of the store was not disclosed, but its owners recently filed a formal complaint. Stamford police obtained an arrest warrant and charged him. He is scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court on April 18.

Pia's attorney, Stephan Seeger, said in a statement to Patch that he believes the allegation was misplaced. Seeger said that he will mount a defense against the charge, but that a resolution might be reached in civil court.

Last month, Pia was arrested on charges of fifth-degree larceny, failure to register as a charitable organization, and misallocation of property of a charitable organization for private use after police said he allegedly embezzled more than $1,500 from the softball league.

Complaints about Pia's "suspected impropriety" relating to the group's finances had been circulating for years, said Stamford Police Lt. Thomas Scanlon in a statement.