Ex-Cop Pleads Not Guilty To Six Felonies

By Andrew Gorosko

DANBURY — During his arraignment in Danbury Superior Court on Tuesday, April 5, Andrew Stinson, a former Newtown police officer who is charged with six felonies in connection with his alleged theft of money from the Newtown Police Union’s financial accounts, pleaded not guilty to all six charges.

Mr Stinson, 34, of Watertown, has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, three counts of first-degree larceny, one count of second-degree larceny, and one count of third-degree larceny.

Mr Stinson, an ex-patrol officer and police dog handler, formerly was the police union’s president.

Following a five-month investigation, Danbury police charged Mr Stinson with the offenses on March 16. Danbury police conducted the probe on behalf of the Newtown Police Department.

Attorney James Diamond represented Mr Stinson in court.

State’s Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III served as prosecutor. Judge Susan Quinn Cobb presided.

Also, former Newtown police sergeant Domenic Costello has been arrested in the case. Mr Costello, 33, of Stratford has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny, two counts of first-degree larceny, one count of accessory to first-degree larceny, and one count of third-degree larceny. Mr Costello has pleaded not guilty to all five felonies. Mr Costello formerly served as the police union’s treasurer.

Mr Stinson and Mr Costello have both elected to have jury trials on their criminal charges.

Mr Stinson wore a dark, conservative business suit as he sat on one of the benches in the crowded Courtroom 2 before his brief arraignment on the six charges.

Mr Stinson’s arraignment initially had been scheduled for March 25, but was postponed to April 5 at his lawyer’s request.

Judge Cobb approved Mr Diamond’s request that the next court appearance for Mr Stinson be on April 25.

Mr Costello, who was arraigned on March 25, is next scheduled to appear in court on April 21.

It is expected that future court appearances for the two men would be synchronized so that both would appear in court on the same dates.

Following the courtroom proceedings on April 5, neither Mr Diamond nor Mr Stinson had any comment on the pending court case.

Arrest warrant affidavits for Mr Stinson and Mr Costello describe the Newtown Police Union’s discovery last October that it was missing large sums of money due to illegitimate withdrawals from union financial accounts by the two former police officers.

During a police investigation into the missing money, the two police officers explained that they had “borrowed” money from union accounts to cover personal expenses and intended to pay back the union.

“Both Stinson and Costello admitted that they did take out ‘personal loans’ to help with personal problems,” according to the court papers.

According to the court documents, approximately $187,307 was stolen from police union accounts. Of that sum, Mr Stinson is listed as being responsible for $95,668 of the missing money, and Mr Costello for $91,639 of the missing funds.

Both men are free on written promises to appear in court. Both men resigned as police officers earlier this year.

Mr Stinson joined the police department in July 2001. As the police department’s dog handler, he often demonstrated German shepherd Baro’s skills to various community groups. Last year, Mr Stinson received a certificate of commendation from Newtown police for his aid in the Watertown police’s arrest of a man who had stolen a computer from a store in Watertown. Mr Stinson received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Western Connecticut State University in 1998.