Cedar Island Attorney Enters Plea Of No Contest

David Thomas, the former attorney charged with embezzling some $120,000 from the Cedar Island Home Improvement Association in 2005, won’t serve jail time on the charge if he repays a portion of the funds, prosecutors say.

Thomas entered a plea of no contest recently in Middletown Superior Court to a charge of first-degree larceny by embezzlement in a negotiated resolution to the case, assistant state’s attorney Russell Zentner said.

When he is sentenced next month, Thomas will receive a suspended five-year jail sentence and five years probation, with the stipulation that he repay $30,000 to the association within 58 months of his sentencing, Zentner said.

When Thomas came to court to enter his plea, he brought a check for $10,000 toward the amount he owes, Zentner said, “which I took to be a good faith act” in demonstrating his commitment to the reimbursement.

Cedar Island residents for years had complained about the inadequacy of the seasonal water line laid to the island for fire protection, but had been unable to convince town officials to fund the installation of a permanent line that could deliver a water flow suitable for fires.

The sandy island, which forms the eastern boundary of Clinton harbor, is home to 52 cottages and 104 summer residents, and is accessible only by boat.

Eventually, the water main project was enabled by the Connecticut Water Co., which agreed to donate the pipe and loan the Cedar Island Association the funds to install it – a total of $350,000.

A Killingworth resident who had a law office in Guilford and was acquainted with one of the islanders, Thomas was hired in 2005 to solicit bids for the project, oversee the work, oversee the installation of a $350,000 permanent water main to Cedar Island and to pay the bills as they were incurred, police said.

Thomas was to be paid a flat fee of $30,000 for his role in the long-awaited project, police said.

But, as the water company wired him money to pay the bills, Thomas began pocketing the money for his own use, police said.  Thomas took nearly $121,000 of the $350,000 loaned by the water company, police said, claiming that the money was payment for his services.

The islanders hired an attorney and an accounting firm to investigate the situation, eventually presenting their allegations to police and prevailing in a complaint about Thomas filed with the statewide grievance board. His license to practice law was suspended.

New Haven attorney Hugh Keefe, who represented Thomas in the state court, said Thomas entered the plea after “coming to terms with what occurred. He wanted to make the loss whole, and get on with the rest of his life.”

In addition to the $30,000 Thomas is to repay the association, Zentner said the islanders have received restitution of some $91,000 from the state’s Client Security Fund, established to reimburse victims of misappropriation of money by attorneys.

In federal court last year, Thomas was sentenced to three years of probation for reporting his adjusted gross income as zero on his 2004 and 2005 federal tax returns, failing to pay income taxes on the $120,000 he received for the Cedar Island project.

Thomas is required to perform 150 hours of community service and pay approximately $81,000 in back taxes, penalties, and interest, according to news reports.

Patch was unable to reach Thomas for comment on this article.