LAURESHA XHIHANI
CHESHIRE [Dash] A former police
officer was arrested on Thursday and charged with stealing $50,000 in police
union funds.
Robert Anderson Jr., 43, of 9
Powder Horn Hill Road in Wilton was charged with two counts of first degree
larceny.
The charges come months after
Anderson resigned from Cheshire Police amid allegations of fund
misappropriations.
A warrant for Anderson's arrest
alleges that he made cash withdrawals of more than $22,000 from ATMs and
charged $27,400 to debit cards linked to the union's bank accounts.
Anderson served as union
president in 2008 and as vice president from 2011 though 2012.
The charges are based on a
complaint filed in February 2013 with the Office of the Chief State's Attorney
by Cheshire Police Chief Neil Dryfe and leaders of the Cheshire Police Union,
according to a press release issued by the Chief State's Attorney on Thursday
afternoon.
Anderson, a member of Cheshire
Police for 11 years, resigned from his job on Sept. 20, following an
investigation by the town into allegations of missing union funds.
The town's investigation also
implicated Jay Markella, a former captain who lead the department's detective
division and who served as department spokesman.
Markella, also resigned from
his job in September 2013.
It wasn't clear on Thursday if
Markella will also be facing criminal charges.
The investigation into the
missing union funds is continuing, according to the Office of the Chief State's
Attorney.
Anderson was arrested by
inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau, part of the Office of the
Chief State's Attorney. He was released on $100,000 surety bond and is due in
Meriden Superior Court on Jan. 17.