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I admit I was curious, but not in a gossipy sort of way. I attended Cindy Cross's sentencing today at New London Superior Court. Cindy was the former executive administrator of the Ledyard Water Pollution Control Authority. A lot of people in town, myself included, considered Cindy a friend. She was charged last year of stealing $64,000 from the WPCA office. That amount has grown to $152,000 and getting larger as a forensic audit continues. Despite, Cindy's efforts to deny her guilt, the State's Attorney said the proof was clear, and called it a simple case of larceny. I went to court today, hoping to hear Cindy say she was sorry and admit what she did was wrong. Although she accepted "full responsibility", she never did admit she was personally responsible. In my mind, there is a definite distinction. I was impressed with Judge Susan Handy. She spoke of Cindy's betrayal of the public trust and her refusal to acknowledge her crime. She said that Cindy "just didn't get it". Mayor Mendenhall spoke for the Town of Ledyard. "In addition to over $152,000 being stolen, the exploitations by Mrs. Cross, of her public position and of her life long residency in the Ledyard community, has resulted in irrevocable damages in the public's eyes, of town officials and town employees.....For our town, the ramifications of this lost trust will takes years to overcome, and it just exacerbates the negativity with which people often pre-judge town officials and town employees as not to be trusted." Cindy was sentenced to five years in prison, suspended after eight months. |
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