Former Middlebury Fire Chief Convicted of Embezzlement

A federal jury in New Haven today found Paul Perrotti, 47, of Middlebury, guilty of embezzling funds while serving as the Fire Chief of the Town of Middlebury. The trial before U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer began on July 9.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI and our federal law enforcement partners are committed to investigating corruption at all levels of government, and public officials who misappropriate public funds will be prosecuted,” stated U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly. “We thank the members of the jury for their thoughtful consideration of the evidence.”

According to the evidence at trial, Perrotti served as the Fire Chief of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department from 1997 until 2014.

Perrotti also is a licensed electrical contractor and, since approximately 2010, has operated Paul Perrotti Electric, LLC. In 2012 and 2013, Perrotti used town funds to pay for unauthorized personal expenses and for expenses associated with PPE.

These payments included checks made directly payable to employees of PPE, checks made to various vendors of PPE for PPE-related supplies, and checks made to pay third parties, who ultimately passed on the payments to Perrotti.

Perrotti also submitted invoices to the Town of Middlebury for expenses that he falsely claimed were incurred by MVFD but, in fact, were expenses related to the business of PPE, including bills for various vendors of PPE.

The government believes that Perrotti embezzled more than $70,000 from the town and the MVFD.

On November 5, 2014, Perrotti was charged by indictment with three counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. The jury found Perrotti guilty of Count Two and Count Three of the indictment, but could not reach a verdict on Count One.

The charge of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Judge Meyer scheduled sentencing for October 29, 2015.

This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Karwan and Heather Cherry.