November 19, 2015

A Superior Court judge has granted a state motion seeking revocation of a former Connecticut State Police trooper's pension following his conviction on a felony larceny charge related to his state position, Attorney General George Jepsen said today.

Aaron Huntsman, a Fairfield resident, was employed as a state trooper from November 1994 to May 2013. In 2012, Huntsman was charged with stealing cash and jewelry of a victim of a fatal motorcycle accident to which he responded while on duty as a state trooper.

In July 2014, Huntsman pleaded guilty under the Alford Doctrine to a charge of Larceny in the Third Degree and was sentenced to five years of incarceration, execution suspended after one year, and three years of probation. He would have been eligible to begin receiving a monthly pension benefit of approximately $1,530.00 on July 1, 2024. The Attorney General filed an action seeking the revocation of Huntsman's pension in Hartford Superior Court in October 2014 following sentencing in the criminal case.

"Theft related to an individual's state or municipal position is a serious violation of the public trust and this particular case represented an unconscionable violation of that trust on the part of a law enforcement officer," said Attorney General Jepsen. "In 2008, the General Assembly granted my office authority to seek a pension revocation or reduction from a state or municipal official convicted of a felony in connection with their public position. With this court order, Connecticut taxpayers will no longer be on the hook for Mr. Huntsman's pension."

Attorney General Jepsen praised State's Attorney John C. Smriga for his prosecution of the criminal case.

Under state statute enacted in 2008, the Attorney General is authorized to initiate a civil action seeking reduction or revocation of the pension of any state or municipal official who, in state or federal court, is convicted of or pleads guilty to a crime related to their state or municipal office on or after October 1, 2008.

Any state or municipal official convicted on corruption-related charges – defined specifically in the law as embezzling public funds; committing felony theft from the state; bribery in connection with one's service as a state or municipal employee; or committing a felony with intent to defraud in order to obtain a profit, gain or advantage for themselves or someone else – could face court action to reduce or revoke their pension.

Assistant Attorneys General Gary Becker and Michael Cole, chief of the Antitrust and Government Program Fraud Department, are assisting the Attorney General with this matter.

Please click here to read the court's order.  

###