Connecticut: Feds Want Embezzler Back In Prison After Gambling On Supervised Release

Probation officers said Patricia Baddeley Meehan almost immediately started gambling after being released from federal prison in August 2013.


Feds Want Embezzler Back In Prison After Gambling On Supervised Release

By Dave Altimari

A day after a federal judge decided not to revoke Patricia Baddeley Meehan's supervised release from prison in February of 2015 and warned her not to gamble, she was playing the slots at Foxwoods Resort Casino — a pattern authorities say of her continuing to gamble while free, winning more than $51,000 in the process.

Now the federal government is asking U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill to revoke her supervised release one month before it is supposed to end and put her back in federal prison for as long as 36 months. Baddeley Meehan, 50, will appear before Underhill on Thursday.

Federal authorities also are expected to ask the judge to order her to forfeit all of the money she won playing slot machines at Foxwoods while she was on probation.

Meehan was sentenced to 46 months in a federal prison in February 2010 after pleading guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. She admitted that, while employed as a paralegal at the Berman and Russo law firm in South Windsor, she had several credit card accounts in her name that she used for purchases and cash advances to fuel her gambling habit at various casino's.

Authorities said she stole at least $1.7 million from the law firm over a five-year period beginning in 2002.

Meehan was released from federal prison in August 2013 and began her 36 months on federal probation.

But probation officials said she almost immediately started gambling again, using her Foxwoods player card at least 10 times in 2014, according to a court document filed by her probation officer. During that time span she had jackpot winnings of $43,173, court records show.

Federal authorities tried to revoke her probation in February 2015 after she was arrested for stealing funds from a Glastonbury hair dresser where she was working as a receptionist. Underhill postponed doing anything regarding her probation while the state case was pending.

A day after her initial appearance on the revocation, she was at Foxwoods playing slot machines. She last used her player's card at Foxwoods on Feb. 13, 2015 – the day after appearing before Underhill.

But Meehan did not stop gambling. In an apparent effort to evade detection, she stopped using her player's card, according to court records.

Foxwoods did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Authorities only were able to determine she was still gambling because her lucky streak at the slots apparently continued. When a slots player wins more than $1,200 at a machine, they are required to cash out in person and present identification.

Casino records show that Meehan played the slots at least four times in March 2016, winning more than $7,000. Authorities also discovered a $1,600 payout to her in July 2015.

Overall federal authorities allege since she went on probation in 2013 Meehan has won more than $51,862 at the slots at Foxwoods.

As she was apparently winning at the casino, she was not paying down her debt as ordered by the court when she was sentenced. With fees and interest, the court ordered her to repay the law firm about $1.9 million. She has paid back only $8,021 of that, authorities said.

Meehan could face an additional 36 months in federal prison if Underhill determines she has violated the conditions of her release. Her supervised release is scheduled to end as of Aug. 29.

She also is currently facing state larceny charges for the theft from the Glastonbury shop. Court documents show she stole more than $40,000 in cash from The Image Company Hair Salon, where she worked from September 2013 until her termination on Sept. 29, 2014.

Meehan allegedly stole money from the register and the tip jar. She is free on a $75,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state court again on Feb. 1.

http://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-ellington-woman-slot-winnings-revoked-20160720-story.html