Gambling issue leads to larceny charge
December 9, 2016
By Jason Vallee Sun staff writer
STONINGTON — A Mystic man is facing charges after police said he had been “floating deposits” while working as a manager at Dunkin’ Donuts in order to pay for a gambling addiction.
Ryan Richard Farrell, 28, of 207 Whitehall Ave., Apt. #3, was taken into custody by Stonington police Tuesday morning after the department obtained a warrant. He was arraigned the same day in New London Superior Court on one count of third-degree larceny and pleaded not guilty, court records show.
According to a police report, an investigation revealed that between Sept. 19 and Oct. 2, Farrell had operated a “floating deposit” scheme in an effort to help fund what police called a gambling addiction. A “floating deposit” is the act of using money from one deposit to supplement a second in order to skim money off the top.
Over the course of two weeks, police said a review of deposits showed he had taken $6,822 from the two Dunkin’ Donuts locations on Route 27 in Mystic.
Police said the investigation was initiated Oct. 4 after the owners of the two stores, Greg and Karen Daley, reported to police that they believed Farrell, who was employed as a manager, had not made several deposits. Officers spoke with Farrell and discovered he was still in possession of several deposit bags and nearly $445 in cash.
Farrell told police that he had tossed some of the money into the Poquonnock River at Bluff Point and admitted to officers he was experiencing financial hardship as a result of lost wages due to a previous incident. According to the affidavit, he told officers that in May, money had gone missing while he was working as a manager and he was forced to come to an agreement with the Daleys to repay the money over time through paycheck withholdings.
Farrell told Greg Daley that he left the money on a desk by mistake and it was taken, likely by another employee. The May losses totaled nearly $6,500, police said, but the incident was not reported because Daley was concerned that if he fired Farrell and sought criminal charges, he would not be able to recoup the funds.
In early November, police again spoke with Farrell and he told officers that an assistant manager was responsible for the missing money, $800 in all. Farrell said he had been “floating deposits” in an effort to give the assistant manager time to pay it back but that she was unable to do so.
Concerned over inconsistencies in Farrell’s story and having received information that he may have a gambling problem, police then contacted Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun and determined he was a frequent visitor to both. According to the affidavit, the two casinos reported that in 2016 alone, he had run up losses of more than $18,000 — including $5,998 in the two weeks when money went missing.
Further investigation also revealed that Farrell had a similar issue in 2015 while employed at a Groton Dunkin’ Donuts. He was arrested in March 2015 and convicted in October 2016 of third-degree larceny after pleading guilty, according to court records. He was given a two-year sentence in that case, execution suspended pending the completion of a one-year probation period.
The latest charge is not considered a probation violation because, court officials said, the incident occurred prior to his sentencing. Farrell remains in state custody in lieu of a $25,000 bond, records show, and is due back in New London Superior Court for a pretrial hearing on Dec. 23.
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