Wilton Man, Former Cop, Charged with Stealing From Police Union

Update: This article has been updated to include a photo of Robert Anderson, courtesy Office of the Chief State's Attorney

Information provided by the State of Connecticut, Dept. of Criminal Justice

A former Cheshire police officer was arrested Thursday, Jan. 9 and charged with stealing nearly $50,000 from the police union he served as president and vice president.

Robert A. Anderson, Jr., age 43, of 9 Powder Horn Hill Road, Wilton, was charged with two counts of Larceny in the First Degree, a class B felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $15,000 on each count.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, the arrest is a result of an investigation into a complaint filed in February 2013 with the Statewide Prosecution Bureau in the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney by Cheshire Police Chief Neil Dryfe and leaders of the Cheshire Police Union.

Anderson served as union president in 2008 and vice president from 2011 through the end of 2012 while employed as a Cheshire police officer. Union officers are volunteers who receive no compensation for their service, the warrant states.

The warrant alleges that Anderson stole more than $22,000 in cash through automated teller machine (ATM) withdrawals and approximately another $27,400 through debit card transactions from the union’s bank accounts.

Anderson resigned from the Cheshire Police Department on September 20, 2013.

Anderson was arrested by Inspectors from the Statewide Prosecution Bureau and released on a $100,000 non-surety bond. He will be arraigned in Superior Court, G.A. No. 7, Meriden, on January 17, 2014.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by the Statewide Prosecution Bureau, which is continuing the investigation into the suspected theft of Cheshire Police Union funds.