Former Paralegal, Convicted Of Embezzling $1.7 Million From Law Firm Now Charged With Embezzling Again

Patricia Baddeley Meehan, 44, of Ellington, Connecticut, was sentenced to 46 months in prison for embezzling some $1.7 million from the law firm of Berman & Russo in South Windsor where she had been employed as a paralegal. According to prosecutors, Meehan's embezzlement scheme lasted 4 years, from August 2003 to May 2007. In October 2008, she had plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. Prosecutors had alleged that Meehan, who handled real estate closings for the firm, wrote 77 checks to herself from a client funds account. According to reports, Meehan's thefts paid for a gambling habit and to personal luxuries and personal credit card bills.

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Update (3/9/2015): Convicted Embezzler Will Face State Larceny Charges

From the Hartford Courant on 3/9/2015:

An Ellington woman who served 40 months in federal prison for stealing $1.7 million from a South Windsor law firm will now face state charges that she stole from three other businesses where she worked.

 

Patricia Meehan, 49, pleaded not guilty in all three cases and asked for a jury trial during an appearance Monday in Superior Court in Manchester. She is accused of stealing from two dress shops and a hair salon, all in Glastonbury.

Two of the cases, which date from before Meehan, 49, went to federal prison, were returned to the docket for prosecution on Monday. Her lawyer at the time had successfully argued to have her admitted to a pretrial diversionary program for people whose crimes are related to a mental illness. Had she successfully completed a period of probation that ended next month, the charges would have been dismissed.

 

But Meehan's latest arrest, on Jan. 2, prompted prosecutors to seek to have the charges brought back onto the criminal docket for prosecution. In the new case, Glastonbury police charged Meehan with stealing money from the Image Company Hair Salon, where she worked as a receptionist from September 2013 until her termination on Sept. 29, 2014.

The other two cases date from 2009, before Meehan, who is also known as Patricia Baddeley Meehan, went to federal prison. While pleading guilty and awaiting sentencing for stealing from the Berman and Russo law firm, Meehan was charged with stealing more than $40,000 worth of clothing from two clothing stores, Jeri James and White House Black Market.

The two older cases were restored to the docket by agreement between Meehan's lawyer, Hubert J. Santos, and prosecutors Jaclyn Preville and Anthony Spinella. Prosecutors agreed not to argue for an increase in her bail that could have immediately incarcerated her.

Meehan is already under house arrest. A federal judge last month ordered she be confined to her home and be electronically monitored as the state cases proceed. The federal government is awaiting the results of the state prosecution before acting on a charge that Meehan violated the terms of her federal supervised release.

Federal prosecutors have also indicated they have evidence Meehan gambled at Foxwoods in 2014, which would be a violation of the terms of her federal probation.

Of the $1.7 million Meehan stole from the law firm, $1.4 million went to cover cash advances taken at various casinos, according to federal prosecutor.