A Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) worker has been arrested on third-degree larceny charges over allegations she was working for DESPP while also working at another job.
Sherry Pina has worked for DESPP since August 2012, serving first as an office assistant and later as a processing technician within the department’s overtime coordinator’s office, a role she’s held since 2019.
Pina’s use of state time was first the subject of an investigation by the Connecticut State Police Internal Affairs Unit within DESPP’s Bureau of Professional Standards and Compliance. The investigation revealed timesheets showing that, in 2021, Pina was simultaneously working for DESPP and an answering service company. The name of that company is redacted in the arrest warrant.
Concerns over the investigation’s findings led to the case being turned over to the state police’s Western District Major Crime Squad (WDMCS) in June 2023. The internal affairs investigation is currently still active, pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
Detective Ashley Padua, assigned to the WDMCS investigation, compared records from DESPP and the answering service and found 95 instances of overlap in 2021. In total, the investigation uncovered 247 hours and 7 minutes of DESPP work time that overlapped with work time at the answering service, totaling $9,295.96. That figure includes 1 hour and 28 minutes of overtime.
The arrest warrant for Pina also details sworn statements provided by detectives by two individuals with knowledge of Pina working a second job. The first, whose name is redacted, was aware Pina had a second job but said they had no knowledge the answering service ever interfered with her DESPP work and believed she worked for the answering service “solely from home and mostly on weekends.”
The second individual, whose name is also redacted, stated that Pina told them she worked for the answering company on nights and weekends and that she had two computers at home, one for DESPP work and one for the answering service. The individual told detectives they had never witnessed Pina work for the answering service at DESPP headquarters but assumed she went home and worked overtime for DESPP while working for the answering company.
On December 20, 2023, Pina voluntarily met with officers involved in the investigation. During the interview, Pina indicated she began completing overtime work, at a rate of 1.5 to 2 hours per day, at home after another technician left the office.
Investigators asked Pina if she worked an hour of overtime between April 2021 and November 2, 2023. Pina said she didn’t. She also stated she worked for the answering service for about two years and had left on May 30, 2022. Pina added she worked there three times a week and that if she had to work for DESPP and the answering service on the same day she would either complete her DESPP work immediately after getting home or wait until 10 PM when her hours at the answering service were over.
Investigators have also been unable to confirm whether Pina turned in proper paperwork to DESPP detailing her second form of employment.
A warrant for Pina’s arrest was issued on March 14.
Pina turned herself in to Connecticut State Police Troop H in Hartford on March 18. She was processed and released on a $2,500 non-surety bond. She is scheduled to appear in Middletown Superior Court on April 2.
Was this article helpful?
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
