The City of Hartford’s Internal Audit Commission voted unanimously to forward its investigation into Hartford City Councilman Alex Thomas’s use of the city’s credit card – also known as a P-Card – to the Hartford Chief of Police and the Chief State’s Attorney to review for possible criminal charges.
The investigation released in August found Thomas had misused the city’s P-card for “personal gain,” while attending a conference in Washington D.C. with his family. Although the disputed expenses were a little more than $500, there was no loss to the city as the unauthorized expenses were deducted from Thomas’ travel reimbursement.
Audit Commission Chairman Bruce Rubenstein said that despite Thomas making restitution to the city through his travel expenses, he still considered the violation “egregious.”
“I know he made good on purchases; however, that doesn’t excuse him. It may mitigate things, but it doesn’t excuse his behavior,” Rubenstein said. “We have a very poor city, perhaps the poorest in the state, the P-Card should be used sparingly for items absolutely necessary for the city business. And there are stringent protocols on what the P-Card can be used for.”
“This is, after all, the taxpayers’ money,” Rubenstein continued. “And we’re the audit commission and the guardians of the taxpayers’ money. Having said that, the report kind of speaks for itself what he did even though he reimbursed the city.”
Thomas, who did not attend the audit commission hearing, is also facing embezzlement charges stemming from an arrest in October of 2024 for racking up more than $14,000 on a church credit card where he served as associate pastor, compounding the issue for Thomas when the investigation report was released.
The Hartford police chief and the chief state’s attorney will determine whether they want to take this issue any further with criminal charges. Barring that, the investigation report could complicate matters for Thomas, who is reportedly seeking accelerated rehabilitation in his ongoing criminal case related to embezzlement charges.
Thomas has since left the church service and, following disclosure of the investigation into his P-Card usage, has stepped down as minority leader for the Working Families Party on the Hartford City Council. A previous letter issued by City Council President Shirley Surgeon outlined his spending on the P-Card, informing Thomas that he violated city travel policy with those charges, and warning Thomas that he may face travel restrictions in the future if he violates travel policy again.
Speaking personally, Rubenstein said he believed it was “bad for the brand of a poor city to have somebody in a position as councilperson doing the city business with all this hanging over his head.”
“However, he is innocent until proven guilty and is afforded all the due process that would be afforded any other citizen,” Rubenstein said.
Councilman Thomas did not return request for comment.
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