Centrella sentenced: 11 years in jail

LITCHFIELD — Former Finance Director Henry Centrella was formally sentenced to jail at Litchfield Superior Court on Friday, April 4, by Judge James Ginocchio.Ginocchio sentenced Centrella to 20 years in prison, suspended after 11 years and five years probation.He also has to repay at least $2.7 million to the town of Winchester.Centrella was the finance director for the town from 1977 until he was fired in January 2013.This January, Centrella pleaded guilty to five charges of larceny in his appearance at Litchfield Superior Court.The sentencing was part of a plea agreement between Centrella and the state.Before the court sentenced Centrella, he was transferred from New Haven Correctional Center to the courthouse.Centrella walked into the back entrance of the courthouse chained with several other prisoners.When he walked into court, he looked gaunt and wore an orange prison jumpsuit along with a white sweater.As court proceeded, Centrella bowed his head down and never looked up as Town Attorney Kevin Nelligan spoke.“This defendant is a cancer to this town,” Nelligan said to Ginocchio. “He used town tax payments as his own. He covered up facts, and he left both co-workers and his friends out to dry.”Nelligan said Centrella left Winsted in a very bad financial state and that the town is still dealing with the aftereffects of Centrella’s fraud.“Moody’s revoked our credit rating,” Nelligan said. “We don’t even have a junk bond rating. We have no credit rating at all. If the town needs money for anything, we are all on our own,”Nelligan said that Centrella’s actions left some employees in Town Hall emotionally shattered.“[Purchasing Agent] Mark Douglass broke down in tears when he found out about [Centrella’s] actions,” Nelligan said. “This defendant is not Winsted. Winsted is a hardworking town. The defendant can never call Winsted his hometown.”Before Centrella was sentenced, Town Manager Dale Martin submitted to the state a victim’s impact statement on behalf of the town.“The actions of Centrella have roiled the community,” Martin said. “Within Town Hall, employees who worked for decades with Centrella were disbelieving, shocked, hurt and angry. He was a trusted colleague. With perhaps one exception, he was not necessarily close to anyone at Town Hall. But he was well liked and approachable.”Martin said Centrella’s actions caused havoc to the town’s finances.“In hindsight, the Winchester community has suffered for many years by the hand of Centrella and it will continue to struggle with its finances and the stigma of his actions for many more,” Martin said. “The need for the Board of Selectmen to levy a supplemental tax of 3 mills in order to forestall cash flow issues and for the community to seek outside funding to maintain school operations are indicative of the true financial impact of his actions.”Before he was sentenced, Centrella read a statement to the court.“To my wife Gregg, I am so sorry,” Centrella said. “I made a vow to you 34 years ago and I broke that vow. You didn’t deserve the pain and embarrassment I caused you. To my children, you once looked up to me. Like your mom, you didn’t deserve this. I wish you the best in your lives. To the citizens who placed your trust in me for 35 years, I betrayed you. I will not disrespect you further by offering any excuses because there are none. It has been said that good people sometimes do bad things. I was once a good person and someday I hope to be one again.”Judge Ginocchio said he was amazed to see emotions running high in a larceny case.“Centrella has a long road to redemption,” Ginocchio said. “As for Winsted, you are all New Englanders. You will rise above all of this.”Investigation began June 2012Centrella’s sentencing on April 4 marks the end of a long saga that started in June 2012 when a months-long investigation began after town auditors BlumShapiro discovered an unusual general ledger account titled Change Line item.When questioned about the account, Centrella told auditors that funds had been withdrawn from the bank and placed in the town’s safe for future emergencies.The auditors noted that $54,106 was missing from town accounts, but was deposited in small increments over the course of the week.Martin initiated an investigation after the auditors brought the situation to his attention.In the investigation, conducted by BlumShapiro, it was discovered that between 2008 and 2012 a total of $2,073,340 in tax revenues was missing.The investigation determined Centrella was responsible for the daily bank deposits that were short of cash.BlumShapiro also discovered, after researching 58 months worth of documents, that cash deposits by Centrella had been replaced with forged checks. A state police investigation concluded that Centrella stole cash deposits from the town’s tax office and inflated his income tax withholdings since at least 1995 by at least $180,000.The state police also found that Centrella and his wife, Gregg, had incurred $548,000 of gambling losses from 2008 to 2012 at state casinos.In July, the town filed a legal complaint against Centrella accusing him of defrauding the town and the federal government of more than $2.2 million, but criminal charges were not filed at the time.In August, Centrella was arrested and in January pleaded guilty to all five felony charges of larceny against him.As part of his plea, Centrella agreed to assist the town in any civil claims, waive payments of interest from his pension, pay the full amount of restitution equal to the town’s loss and waive all claims to any accrued sick, vacation and personal time during his employment with the town.Nelligan said Centrella will also surrender interest in the house he co-owns with Gregg Centrella.According to Nelligan, it cost the state $300,000 to investigate Centrella.