MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (WTIC) - A former Middletown Common Council member and Mayor is going to federal prison for embezzling nearly one million dollars.
68-year-old Stephen Gionfriddo of Middletown was sentenced Wednesday to 46 months in prison for stealing from a law firm in Rocky Hill, as well as from his brother.
Working as a paralegal, Gionfriddo began to intercept checks, forge signatures, and deposit money that belonged to the law firm into his personal bank account.
Through the scheme he stole more than $540,000 from the firm and its clients. When confronted by the firm, Gionfriddo attempted to pay them back through stealing nearly $400,000 from his brother.
Gionfriddo has been ordered to pay restitution, mostly to his brother. He will report to federal prison April 1st, for his second stint in jail. In 2006, Gionfriddo was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for embezzling more than $633,000 from clients he represented as their lawyer.
