warrant in evergreen nursery theft

For Court Use OnlySTATE OF CONl\IEC,:TI~:~~i

SUPERIORwww.jud.ct.gav

SOUTHINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENTAgency name

10-16430Police Case number

ARRESTWARRANT~rrL."W#q

.JD-CR·64b Rev. 1-11e.G.S § 54·2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2. 36-3

Name (Last, First, Middle Initial) Residence (Town) of accused

MILEWSKI, Doreen BRISTOL 17

Application For Arrest WarrantTo: A Judge of the Superior Court

The undersigned hereby applies for a warrant for the arrest of the above-named accused on the basis of the factsset forth in the: [gJ Affidavit Below. D Affidavit(s) Attached.

Date Signed (Prosecuting a Typelprint name of prosecuting authority

'3 ~ -AffidavitThe undersigned affiant, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

1... That the Affiant, Detective Mark Beal, being duly sworn, does depose and state that I am a member of theSouthington Police Department and have been a police officer for approximately twenty (20) years prior to thisdate. Affiant Beal has been promoted to the rank of Detective and has worked as a Detective for about the pastthree years. At all times mentioned herein, was acting as a member of said department. That Affiant Beal hasattended numerous schools, seminars, training classes and in-service training over the years dealing with andspecializing in criminal investigations and related activities. That Affiant Beal has participated in numerousinvestigations involving Criminal Activities and related events which have led to the arrests and convictions ofthose involved as well as the seizures of evidence, contraband, stolen properties and other related items. Thefollowing facts and circumstances are stated from personal knowledge and observations, as well as informationreceived from other police officers acting in their official capacity, and from official police reports and statementsmade by prudent and credible witnesses. That Affiant Beal feels that the information contained herein providesprobable cause for the issuance of said warrant.

2. On October 7, 2010 the Southington Police Department received a complaint from Fred Kuhr, ("Mr. Kuhr")and Elke Kuhr ("Mrs. Kuhr") the owners of Evergreen Nursery at 567 Woodruff St. Southington, CT. that herecently hired a forensic accountant, Forensic Accounting Services LLC, to review his financial records from2007 through to 2009 due to suspicion of employees possibly forging invoice documents for the purpose ofobtaining cash funds from cash paying clients.

3. On October 7, 2010 Mr. Kuhr provided two copies of the Forensic Accounting Analysis along with anelectronic data CD containing records and exhibits provided by Forensic Accounting Services LLC. Accordingto the findings, it was concluded that Evergreen Nursery suffered a loss of approximately $34,021.00 dollarsthrough a skimming and lapping scheme. The findings revealed that cash paying customers accounts werealtered in the company's electronic financial accounting records.

(This is page 1 af a 18 page Affidavit.)Date

Jurat

FindingThe foregoing Application for an arrest warrant, and affidavit(s) attached to said Application, having been submitted to andconsidered by the undersigned, the undersigned finds from said affidavit(s) that there is probable cause to believe thatan offense has been committed and that the accused committed it and, therefore, that probable cause exists for theissuance of a warrant for the arrest of the above-named accused.Date and On (pate) (

Signature \ \ I( i

Signe(:udgeIJ~dge Trial Referee)

f)y--

ARREST WARRANT APPUCJ\,TIONJ D-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3

ST/\TE OF CONNECTICUTSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov

Name (Last, First, Middle Initial)

MILEWSKI, DoreenResidence (Town) of accused

BRISTOLCourt to be held at (Town) Geographical

BRISTOL Area number 17

Affidavit - Continued4. Forensic Accounting Services LLC was engaged to assist in this investigation by analyzing the financialtransactions and activity of Evergreen Nursery, INC (Evergreen) with the specific goal of identifying any and allunauthorized activity. As part of their services they were engaged to assist Evergreen personnel in conductingtheir internal investigation into identifying potential unauthorized activity purportedly committed by Evergreen'sformer Administrative Assistant, Doreen Milewski and her assistant Mary Giannotti.

5. On or about October 18, 1983 Kuhr hired Milewski in the capacity of administrative assistant, but over timeMilewski's role envolved into working as the equivalent of office manager for Evergreen. Throughout heremployment Milewski was responsible for certain financial aspects of Evergreen, with the assistancae ofbookkeepers and or assistants. Many different bookkeepers worked at Evergreen throughout the period, includingMary Giannotti during the approximate period 2007 though 2009. Milewski's financial duties were invoicingcustomers, collecting payments from customers, calling customers for collections, completing deposits in Kuhr'sabsence or unavailability, and completing the deposit summary sheets.

6. In 2007 Evergreen employed Giannotti in the capacity of bookkeeper and/or controller for a period of aboutthree years. Giannotti ended her employment with Evergreen on or about October 2009. Giannotti wasresponsible for accounts receivable, accounts payable, and the QuickBooks electonic finacial data entry recordsfor Evergreen.

7. Mrs Kuhr explained their job summary and payment process. She stated a new customer project would beinitiated with a proposal for work to be performed by Evergreen for a customer. Once the proposal was accepted,Evergreen workers would perform the services and complete a "Job Sheet" (a1k1a "work order") describing theservices performed and other details. The workers would then return the completed job sheets to the office,delivered primarily to Milewski. Milewski was responsible for entering the information from the Job Sheet in theform of an invoice to the customer through QuickBooks, the accounting system utilized by Evergreen. Milewskiwould then send the invoice out to the customer for payment.

8. Mrs. Kuhr stated customer payments were received by Evergreen in four different ways.

a. The first collection method was that the customer mailed their payment to Evergreen. Mr. Kuhr primarilyopened the mail and prepared the deposit. In the instances when Mr. Kuhr was busy or unavailable, Milewskiopened the mail and prepared the deposit. Milewski recorded the payments within QuickBooks. Giannotti couldalso process the deposits when Mr. Kuhr was unavailable.

b. The second collection method was for customers to bring their payment (cash or checks) to the gardencenter at Evergreen. The payments would be placed into an envelope and forwarded to the office. Milewskiwould receive the payments for recording within QuickBooks.

(This is page 2 of a 18 page Affidavit.)Signed (Affiant)

Signed (Subscribed and sworn to before me on (Date)

I-dO-II

Date

Jurat

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATIONJD-CR-64a Rev, 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro 81<. Sec, 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen

Affidavit - Continued

STATE OF CONNECTICUTSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov

Residence (Town) of accused

BRISTOL

Court to be held at (Town)

BRISTOLGeographicalArea number 17

c. The third collection method was for Evergreen workers to collect customer payments (cash or checks) atthe time of the work being performed. The workers brought the payments back to the office, and provided thepayments to Milewski.

d. The fourth collection method was for customers to pay Evergreen by credit card. Customers made creditcard payments at the garden center, or they called the office and provided their credit card information toMilewski.

9. Mrs. Kuhr stated Giannotti and Milewski had access to Evergreen's QuickBooks.

10. On or around August 2008 Mr. Kuhr required surgery, and around the same time Elke B. Kuhr ("Mrs.Kuhr") started coming to work at Evergreen and looking over the financial records. Mrs. Kuhr was familiar withthe business and operations having worked at Evergreen from inception through approximately 2003 when Mrs.Kuhr fully retired from Evergreen.

11. On or around August 7, 2009 Milewski was terminated (laid off) from Evergreen. Mrs. Kuhr continued herreview of the financial records of Evergreen. Mrs. Kuhr stated the financial and customer files were always amess, and that Milewski was the only person who could find anything in the files including the phone numbers ofEvergreen customers.

12. Mrs. Kuhr stated on or around the Fall of2009 after Milewski was terminated, Giannotti came to Mrs. Kuhrand told her she was afraid that if anyone researched prior deposits and determined someone was stealing fromEvergreen, it would look as if Giannotti was stealing when in fact she had stolen nothing from Evergreen. Mrs.Kuhr stated Giannotti told her that often Milewski would come to Giannotti and ask her to re-write deposit slips,and that Milewski would take the deposits to the bank. Mrs. Kuhr stated Giannotti was concerned that thedeposit slips would be in Giannotti's handwriting, when in fact they were re-written at the request of Milewskiwho made the actual deposits, and who caused the differences in the deposit details. Mrs. Kuhr stated Giannottishowed her (Mrs. Kuhr) what was happening with the deposits and the deposit differences, and provided Mrs.Kuhr with examples of the deposits. Mrs. Kuhr stated Giannotti assisted her (Mrs. Kuhr) in identifYing the cashpaying customers and the deposits in question. Mrs. Kuhr stated after she worked with Giannotti, she (Mrs.Kuhr) went to the bank to obtain images of all of the deposits made by Evergreen for the period 2007 through2009, and reviewed every deposit provided to identifY deposits with differences.

(This is page 3 of a 18 page Affidavit.)Date Signed (Affiant)

( i

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATiONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen


STATE OF CONNECTiCUTSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov


BRISTOL



13. Mrs. Kuhr stated during her review that she determined the last two digits of customer phone numbers wereswitched or reversed, preventing anyone from contacting the effected customers using the recorded phonenumbers in the files.

14. Mrs. Kuhr stated incidents of theft had been occurring within the office, but that they were never able todetermine who was responsible. Mrs. Kuhr stated in one incident during the summer 2009 Giannotti had moneypersonally taken from her at Evergreen. Mrs. Kuhr stated only Giannotti and Milewski were present during thetime of Giannotti's loss. Mrs. Kuhr stated in a second incident Mrs. Kuhr placed $80 into the safe at Evergreen,at the time when only she and Milewski were present. Mrs. Kuhr stated the next morning the $80 was missingfrom the safe.

15. Mrs. Kuhr stated on or around June 2009 Milewski purchased New York Giants tickets from a customer(John Fontana) for approximately $600. Mrs. Kuhr stated according to the customer, Milewski made a partialpayment of $250 for the tickets. The customer received a letter from Milewski, causing the customer to drive toEvergreen to meet with Mr. Kuhr. The customer told Mr. Kuhr that Milewski offered to credit off someoutstanding unpaid invoices in the customer in lieu of repaying the balance of the football tickets. The customertold Mr. Kuhr he did not accept her offer, and paid Mr. Kuhr for his outstanding unpaid balances with Evergreen.Copies of the letter and supporting information were provided by Mrs. Kuhr. This is described as Exhibit A, 5paper documents which include a letter from Fontana and invoices from Evergreen.

16. Mrs. Kuhr stated during her review she compared deposits recorded within Evergreen's QuickBooks to actualdeposits. If there were any differences identified within a deposit, the deposit was set aside and furtherresearched. Mrs. Kuhr stated she identified four customers that historically paid Evergreen in cash, and that theactivity and deposit records for these four customers did not match with the Job Sheets prepared when work wasactually performed for these four customers. Mrs. Kuhr identified the following customers:

a. Raju Avancha

345 Mt. Vernon Road Plantsville, CT 06479

b. Murthy Kandarpa215 Mount Pond Road Southington, CT 06489

c. Carol Ann Giammatteo

66 Sabina Drive Southington, CT 06489

(This is page 4 of a 18 page Affidavit.)Date

Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

Signed~ "

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S § 54-2aPr. Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen


www.jud.cLgov


BRISTOLCourt to be held at (Town)


Affidavit - Continuedd. Phil Pomposi

1215 Pleasant Street Southington, CT 06489

17. Mrs. Kuhr stated she reviewed all of the Job Sheets for these customers, quantified the work that wasperformed for each Job Sheet, and compared the amounts to actual deposits received from these customers. Mrs.Kuhr stated she then sent letters to each of the identified customers on February 22, 2010 (Avancha), March 16,2010 (Giammatteo) and March 22,2010 (Kandarpa) showing the work performed and the payments received byEvergreen. Mrs. Kuhr provided copies of the letters which were labeled Exhibit B in the case file.

18. Mrs. Kuhr stated she never received responses from Raju Avancha or Murty Kandarpa. Mrs. Kuhr statedCarol Ann Giammatteo came to Evergreen upset in response to the letter, and stated she had paid all of herinvoices in cash.

19. Mrs. Kuhr stated she filed notice of an insurance claim with Farm Family Insurance Company on March 22,2010. A copy of the notice of a loss was provided and was labeled Exhibit C in the case file.

20. On May 6, 2010 Stephen Pedneault, CPA, CFE, CFF, FCPA, of Forensic Accounting Services LLC metwith Mr. and Mrs. Kuhr at Evergreen in Southington, Connecticut. Mrs. Kuhr provided him an explanation ofher findings as well as copies of various information she identified to date. Mrs. Kuhr provided copies ofdeposits she had identified with differences between the listed deposit items per the Daily Receipt Sheets and theactual bank deposit slips.

21. After Pedneault met with Mrs. Kuhr and reviewed the work she had performed to date, he provided Mrs.Kuhr with additional procedures she should perform to determine the full extent of the unauthorized activity.

22. Pedneault also inquired of Mrs. Kuhr if the original hard drive maintained within the computer used byMilewski and Giannotti containing Evergreen's QuickBooks files had been preserved. Mrs. Kuhr indicated it hadnot been preserved. Pedneault instructed Mrs. Kuhr to purchase an external hard drive and to preserve the harddrive files including Evergreen's QuickBooks files onto the new external hard drive.

23. On August 6, 2010 Pedneault returned to Evergreen and met with Mrs. Kuhr. Mrs. Kuhr provided himfurther information for the identified customers as well as access to Evergreen's QuickBooks records.

24. Mrs. Kuhr provided Pedneault one Seagate external hard drive and indicated the files maintained on thecomputer's hard drive including Evergreen's QuickBooks files had been preserved on the new external hard drive.Pedneault secured the drive as evidence, logged and labeled the drive, and later that day Pedneault secured thedrive within his firm's evidence room maintaining a chain of custody.


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

Signed (

6CLl£Reviewed (Judge/Judge

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATiONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-1'1C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen



www.jud.ct.gov




25. Pedneault accessed Evergreen's QuickBooks files and generated reports identifYing changed or deletedtransactions during the period 2007 through 2009. A report comprised of seventeen (17) pages identified voidedand/or deleted transactions for the period January through December 2007. A report comprised of twenty (20)pages identified voided and/or deleted transactions for the period January through December 2008. A reportcomprised of seventeen (17) pages identified voided and/or deleted transactions for the period January throughDecember 2009. Copies of the reports were saved for the files, (referred as Exhibit D)

26. Pedneault's forensic examination determined that within the voided and deleted transaction reports their weredeleted invoices for customers Pomposi and Avancha, and many other customers with voided or deleted invoicesand transactions.

27. In one instance, invoice #42068 was added into QuickBooks for customer Pomposi on June 23, 2009.Subsequently, the invoice was deleted on July 1, 2009. The user name associated with the deleted invoice was"Doreen". I learned from Mrs. Kuhr that user name "Doreen" was assigned to Milewski. Pedneault generated acomplete history of sales and collection activity for customer Pomposi. Invoice #42068 did not appear on thehistory report. Copies of the transactions were made (Referred as Exhibit E).

28. In another instance, invoice #42680 was added into QuickBooks for customer Avancha on September 30,2009 at 8:42 a.m. Subsequently, the invoice was deleted on September 30, 2009 at 1:42 p.m. The user nameassociated with the deleted invoice was "Doreen". Pedneault learned from Mrs. Kuhr that user name "Doreen"was assigned to Milewski. Copies of the transactions were made (Referred as Exhibit E).

29. Many other examples of deleted invoices were found associated with user name "Doreen." Procedures wereperformed to identifY if issues existed within those customer's history and balances, but due to limitations oninformation maintained within each customer's files, no further customers were identified that could bequantified.

30. Pedneault generated customer histories for the period January 2007 through December 2009 for customersGiammatteo, Avancha and Kandarpa. Using the first identified deposit difference provided by Mrs. Kuhr datedSeptember 18, 2009 reflecting a payment of $1,000 from customer Avancha, Pedneault was able to trace the$1,000 amount per the Daily Receipt Sheet to the posted payment of $1,000 within QuickBooks (Referred asExhibit F).


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

Signed (

QJ.

ARREST WARRANT J.l.PPUCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3

Name (Last, Firs/, Middle Initial)

MILEWSKI, Doreen



www.jud.cLgov




31. Using the same deposit details for September 18, 2009, Pedneault identified that the Deposit Receipt Sheetreflected a payment of $1,000 from customer Avancha, a deposit from customer Dabrowski for $296.80 and apayment from customer Krar for $253.25. The total of the deposit was $1,550.25. However, the deposit slip forthe same day reflecting the same total ($1,550.25) only reflected two deposit items, $296.80 and $1,253.45.Further, the deposit detail provided by Evergreen's bank to Mrs. Kuhr supporting the deposit for that day wascomprised of a check from customer Dabrowski for $296.80 and a check from customer Krar (#1617) for$1,296.80. Pedneault concluded that the payment from customer Krar was inappropriately split between customerKrar ($296.80) and customer Avancha ($1,000), and therefore customer Krar was not properly credited for thefull payment made.

32. Based on training and experience, Pedneault assessed this inappropriate allocation of one customer's payment(Krar) to a different customer (Avancha) as a classic sign of a "lapping" scheme, whereby one customer'spayment is used to conceal the diversion of funds from a different customer's payment, typically a customer whopaid in the form of cash. Given the fact that customer Avancha paid Evergreen in cash, this further supports hisassessment that the application of the payment from customer Krar to customer Avancha was a classic sign that alapping scheme was perpetrated by someone with access to the customer payments received at Evergreen as wellas Evergreen's QuickBooks system (Referred as Exhibit G).

33. Using the deposit details for September 4, 2009, Pedneault identified that the Deposit Receipt Sheetreflected two payments ($950.00 and $900.00) from customer Avancha, as well as four other customer payments.The total of the deposit was $2,345.38. However, the deposit slip for the same day reflecting the same total($2,345.38) only reflected five deposit items. Further, the deposit detail provided by Evergreen's bank to Mrs.Kuhr supporting the deposit for that day was comprised in part of a check from customer Hagstrom (#1664) for$948.82 and a check from customer Cormier (#5043) for $901.00. Neither customers Hagstrom nor customerCormier were included on the Deposit Receipt Sheet.

34. Pedneault concluded that the payments from customers Hagstrom and Cormier were inappropriatelyallocated to customer Avancha ($950.00 and $900.00), and therefore customers Hagstrom and Cormier were notproperly credited for the full payments made.

35. Based on training and experience, Pedneault assessed this inappropriate allocation of customer's payments(Hagstrom and Cormier) to a different customer (Avancha) as another classic sign that a "lapping" scheme wasperpetrated by someone with access to the customer payments received at Evergreen as well as Evergreen'sQuickBooks system (Referred as Exhibit H).


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev, 1-11C,G,S, § 54-2aPr, Bk, Sec, 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen



www,jud,ct.gov


BRISTOL



36. Using the deposit details for August 5, 2009, Pedneault identified that the Deposit Receipt Sheet reflected apayment of $1,484.00 from customer Avancha. The total of the deposit was $1,484.00. The deposit slip for thesame day reflected the same total ($1,484.00). However, the deposit detail provided by Evergreen's bank to Mrs.Kuhr supporting the deposit for that day was comprised of a check from customer Balkus (#5969) for $1,484.00.Pedneault concluded that the payment from customer Balkus was inappropriately allocated to customer Avancha($1,484), and therefore customer Balkus was not properly credited for the full payment made.

37. Based on training and experience, Pedneault assessed this inappropriate allocation of one customer's payment(Balkus) to a different customer (Avancha) as another classic sign that a "lapping" scheme was perpetrated bysomeone with access to the customer payments received at Evergreen as well as Evergreen's QuickBooks system(Referred as Exhibit I).

38. Mrs. Kuhr provided Pedneault with the original deposit details and support for every deposit she identifiedwith a difference in the deposit items (Refered as Exhibit J). Pedneault secured the information as evidence,logged and labeled the information, and later that day he secured the information within Pedneault's firm'sevidence room. Subsequently the information was scanned on-sight into PDF files for reporting purposes, and theoriginal evidence was returned into the evidence room.

39. On August 24, 2010 Pedneault returned to Evergreen and met with Mrs. Kuhr. Mrs. Kuhr provided himfurther information for the identified customers as well as access to Evergreen's QuickBooks records.

40. Mrs. Kuhr provided Pedneault with the original documents evidencing Evergreen's performance of work forcustomers Pomposi, Avancha, Giammatteo and Kandarpa (Referred as Exhibits K through N). Pedneault securedthe information as evidence, logged and labeled the information, and later that day Pedneault secured theinformation within his firm's evidence room. Subsequently the information was scanned on-sight into PDF filesfor reporting purposes, and the original evidence was returned into the evidence room.

41. At Pedneault request, Mr. Kuhr contacted customer Pomposi to inquire how Mr. Pomposi paid for the workperformed by Evergreen with invoice #42068 dated June 23, 2009. Invoice #42068 was deleted from Evergreen'sQuickBooks under user ID "Doreen" and no trace of customer Pomposi's payment had been located. Mr. Kuhrindicated customer Pomposi stated he paid cash for the work performed by Evergreen for invoice #42068. Mr.Kuhr indicated customer Pomposi was well known to Mr. Kuhr as Evergreen had completed a lot of work forhim in the past.


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

ARREST WARRAI\IT APPliCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3

OF CONNECTICUTSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov



BRISTOL




42. Based on the information provided in the form of deposit details as described above, it appears Evergreensustained a loss through an embezzlement perpetrated through a scheme commonly known as lapping. Undersuch a scheme, customer payments, typically paid in cash, are inappropriately diverted from the company as theyare received. To conceal the scheme and diversion, payments received from other unrelated customers are postedand applied to the customers whose payments were diverted. These elements existed within Evergreen asdescribed above. The customers identified by Mrs. Kuhr were all cash paying customers, and evidence of workperformed by Evergreen without corresponding payments received from those customers were a sign that a theftwas perpetrated.

43. Evergreen utilized QuickBooks for their accounting system, including the invoicing of customers and therecording of customer payments. Users were established by Evergreen within QuickBooks. However, otherfeatures of QuickBooks were never fully utilized by Evergreen that would have limited what each user had accessto and what types of activity each user could perform within QuickBooks. Therefore, users were able to utilizethe full functionality of QuickBooks at Evergreen, including the subsequent changing, voiding and deleting oftransactions. Evidence of large amounts of transactions being changed, voided and/or deleted, includinginvoices, was found on Evergreen's QuickBooks system, revealing another sign that embezzlement likelyoccurred at Evergreen that was concealed by changing, voiding and/or deleting transactions within QuickBooks.

44. Based on the condition of the customer files and missing information, coupled with voided and/or deletedtransactions within QuickBooks and the lapping of customer payments, the full amount of the loss likelysustained by Evergreen will never be determinable.

45. The methodology utilized by Mrs. Kuhr to determine the loss for each identified cash-paying customerappeared reasonable based on the facts and circumstances of this matter. Mrs. Kuhr located and identified everyjob sheet (a/k/a work order) completed by the field workers at Evergreen when the work was completed for theidentified cash paying customers. Using the job sheets, Mrs. Kuhr priced out the work performed based on theproposals provided to the customers, consistent with how invoicing was performed all along throughout the yearsby Mrs. Kuhr.

Signed (

Signed (Affiant)

( (


Jurat

Reviewed (Prosecutori

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.GS. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen

OF CONNECTICUTSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov





46. Based on Mrs. Kuhr's procedures, the following were losses incurred by Evergreen for the identifiedcustomers:

• Pomposi $ 5,760

• Avancha $ 8,852

• Giammatteo $ 2,580

• Kandarpa $ 16,829

Total $ 34,021

47. Pedneault provided a copy of his draft report to Mrs. Kuhr and instructed her to review it carefully.Pedneault spoke with Mrs. Kuhr on September 27, 2010. Mrs. Kuhr indicated she and Mr. Kuhr had reviewedthe report in detail, and provided Pedneault two changes to the dates of employment for Milewski. Mrs. Kuhrindicated she and Mr. Kuhr were in agreement with the remainder of the draft report.

48. Using the information for each identified procedure above, Pedneault estimated the loss sustained byEvergreen as follows:

1. Pomposi $ 5,760

2. Avanta 8,852

3. Giammatteo 2,580

4. Kandarpa 16,829

$ 34,021

49. Based on the procedures described above and the results of those procedures, it appears Evergreen suffered aloss approximating $34,021 through the theft of customer cash payments. While a loss was determined andcalculated based on identified transactions, it is highly likely that additional theft occurred, with the additionaldiversions concealed within Evergreen's records. Records were only reviewed for the three-year period 2007through 2009. It is unknown if thefts were occurring prior to 2007. However, based on the knowledge known todate, no additional procedures are contemplated or requested by Evergreen on this matter.

(This is page 10 ofa 18 page Affidavit.)Date

Jurat

"

Signed (Affiant)

Signed

Q!-Reviewed (Judgelfidge

,.

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATiONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen


STATE OF CONNECTi.CUTSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov


BRISTOL



50. The listed exhibits provide the details of the results from Pedneault's procedures. The exhibits are providedelectronically on a CD within the case file. A listing of all exhibits is listed below.

Listing of Exhibits(provided electronically via enclosed CD)

A. Customer John Fontana InformationB. Evergreen letters to Avancha, Kandarpa and GiammatteoC. Farm Family Insurance Company Loss ClaimD. Voided/Deleted Transactions - QuickBooksE. Deleted Transactions - Pomposi and Avancha invoicesF. QuickBooks history reports - customers Giammatteo, Avancha and KandarpaG. Deposit details September 18, 2009H. Deposit details September 4,20091. Deposit details August 5, 2009J. Identified deposits with differencesK. Supporting job sheets and other information - customer PomposiL. Supporting job sheets and other information - customer AvanchaM. Supporting job sheets and other information - customer GiammatteoN. Supporting job sheets and other information - customer KandarpaO. Schedule of Estimated Loss

51. On October 19,2010 Carol Ann Giarnrnatteo (DOB 12/31/41) of 66 Sabina Dr came to the SouthingtonPolice Department and gave a signed sworn statement explaining how she made payments for work conducted byEvergreen Nursery. Giarnmatteo stated how she had work services conducted by Evergreen Nursery and aftertheir services were complete she would always pay them in CASH. Giammatteo said that whenever she wouldpay Evergreen Nursery she would bring CASH monies to their place of Business at 567 Woodruff Street. Shewould pay the clerk at the garden department register and lor sometimes, maybe twice, pay at the office. Thenames of the workers she gave my CASH monies to are Doreen Milewski (about two or three times) and aworker named Heidi (Unknown last name), an employee at the garden center register. Giammatteo said shewould primarily give the cash monies to Heidi or whoever was working at the cash register. Giarnmatteo addedthat whenever she would pay cash monies to them she would have the employee sign her invoice as "PAID" anddate the invoice. In addition, Giarnrnatteo provided three invoices that clearly marked "Paid in Full Cash". Theinvoices she provided are:


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

Reviewed (JUdgeIJUdZFri?' Referee)--; . '1--. ..

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen


STATE OF CONNECTICU'TSUPERIOR COURT

www.jud.ct.gov


BRISTOL



a, Invoice # 41707 dated 5/19/2009, PAID on 5/26/09 and signed with initials and marked "Paid in FullCash", Amount of$54,06

b. Invoice # 42828 dated 9/25/2009, PAID on 9/28/09 and marked "Paid CASH in Full" and signed withinitials, Amount $54.06

c, Invoice # 43256 dated 11/16/2009, PAID on 11/20/09 and marked "Paid full Cash" Amount $ 424.00

52. Giammatteo does not have any other invoices among her records concerning Evergreen Nursery stating shemay have shredded them. These original invoices were placed in this case file for further references during thisinvestigation. Giammatteo stated that to the best of her knowledge, Evergreen Nursery's records should revealthat she has no outstanding or current invoices claiming that she owes monies for services. Giammatteo believesthat her status with Evergreen Nursery is "Paid in Full" on all past invoices.

53. On November 23,2010 Phil Pomposi (DaB 2/1/35) of 1215 Pleasant St. Southington, CT came to theSouthington Police Department and gave this AFFIANT a signed sworn statement stating that he does businesswith Evergreen Nursery. Pomposi stated that he paid Evergreen Nursery. He explained that he hired Evergreen tocut trees down in 2009. Pomposi said he still has the invoice for their work in his records which he forwarded acopy to this AFFIANT for this investigation. The invoice dated June 23, 2009, number 42068, shows thatPomposi paid Evergreen Nursery on June 30, 2009 the sum of$1,300.00 dollars. Pomposi said he paid thisamount to Mr. Kuhr in cash. Mr. Kuhr then wrote "Paid in full" on the invoice and signed his name. Currently theonly other business he has with Evergreen Nursery is that they fertilize his lawn at 1215 Pleasant St. Pomposistates he pays for these services by check which he mails to Evergreen Nursery. Pomposi stated he normally paysfor a year's worth of services at a time by check.

54. On November 30, 2010 Murthy Kandarpa (DaB 8/26/71) of215 Mountain Pond Rd Southington, CT cameto the Southington Police Department and gave this AFFIANT a signed sworn statement stating that he didbusiness with Evergreen Nursery. In March of2002 Kandarpa started having outside landscaping work done athis home at 215 Mountain Pond Rd. Southington, CT. He hired Evergreen Nursery to do the irrigation systemand seeding ofhis lawn for a cost of approximately 8,000.00 dollars. After that he hired Evergreen Nursery to dothe annual maintenance of the irrigation system, install plants, and to mow his grass on occasion. This cost himabout 2,000.00 per year. In 2003 he again hired Evergreen Nursery to install the landscaping all the way aroundhis home. That cost him about 6,000.00 dollars.


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATiONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


www.jud.ct.gov

Name (Last, First, Middle Initial) Residence (Town) of accused Court to be held at (Town) Geographical

MILEWSKI, Doreen BRISTOL BRISTOL Area number 17

Affidavit - Continued55. Kandarpa stated that during the first two years of doing business with Evergreen he paid Mr. Kuhr directlyin cash when he would visit his home requesting payment for the services. He remembers counting the cashpayments with Mr. Kuhr. Mr Kuhr would ask that he pay periodically after a certain amount of work wascompleted. After the year 2002 Mr. Kuhr told Kandarpa he could pay any further payments to Buddy ( TheEvergreen Site Work Foremen), Doreen (The Office Manager) or Mary (The Office Bookkeeper).

56. Kandarpa stated that starting in 2005 he started paying Doreen and Mary for Evergreen Nursery services.Kandarpa never paid "Buddy" any cash. Kandarpa would pay Evergreen Nursery in cash whenever he needed topay them. Doreen and/or Mary gave me him receipt but he never saved it. Kandarpa doesn't always keep receipts.Since he started paying cash to Doreen and Mary he estimated that he paid them about 16,000.00 dollars totalbefore ending his services with Evergreen Nursery.

57. Kandarpa said the cash he paid to Evergreen Nursery would come from cash withdrawals from his savingsaccount or from a cash advance from his credit card. Kandarpa's Bank is Digital Credit Union in Massachusetts.Kandarpa attempted to contact them for receipts and or documents concerning the transactions and was told theywould research his withdrawals and if records can show them they will forward these documents to him.Kandarpa has not received any documents from them.

58. Kandarpa said in 2008 he had Evergreen Nursery do work in the back yard around a shed and Evergreenbilled him 8,000.00 dollars for the work. The work included some plants and general landscaping. Kandarpalearned that Mr. Kuhr had open heart surgery. It was afterwards that he started having problems with EvergreenNursery. Kandarpa said he was accused of not paying them. He sated he did pay Evergreen. He sated he paidCASH to them. Kandarpa said he paid Doreen and Mary cash for the services. Kandarpa said he explained to MrKuhr that he paid Evergreen Nursery in cash like he always has in the past. Mr Kuhr later advised him that heagreed he received payment in cash and told him he had an internal paperwork issue that he was looking into andapologized to him for the misunderstanding.


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

(

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


www.jud.ct.gov



BRISTOLCourt to be held at (Town) Geographical

BRISTOL Area number 17

Affidavit - Continued59. On November 23,2010 Raju Avancha (DaB 8/25/67) of 345 Mount Vernon Road Southington, CT came tothe Southington Police Department and gave this AFFIANT a signed sworn statement stating that in the summerof 2009 he hired Evergreen Nursery to install a block concrete retaining wall at his home located at 345 MountVernon Rd. Plantsville, CT. The cost of the project was $5,200.00 dollars. When he hired Evergreen Nursery todo the work he agreed to pay in three installments. The first installment was a deposit for materials in the amountof $1,500.00 dollars. Then he paid a second deposit just before the work started in the amount of $1,200.00dollars. The next payment he made was $2,500.00 for the completion of the job. When he made these paymentsan employee of Evergreen Nursery named "Doreen" would come to collect the above payments. He paid"Doreen" CASH each time. I didn't get a receipt from Doreen. Doreen told him that she would record hispayment and he assumed this was being done. Then about three or more months ago he was contacted byEvergreen Nursery notifYing him that he needed to pay for the services they provided and that he had anoutstanding balance due to them in the amount of $5,200.00 dollars. He explained to Evergreen that he paid themin CASH. He explained that he paid a person named "Doreen" who told him that she works for EvergreenNursery and this was also confirmed by other employees of Evergreen who were doing the work for him. Theytold him that Doreen was the bookkeeper for Evergreen Nursery. Avancha had bank documents from Bank ofAmerica which clearly shows cash withdrawals from his checking account at Bank of America in the amountsstated above. Avancha said the withdrawals were made specifically for payment to Evergreen Nursery. Avanchaforwarded these documents to this AFFIANT for this investigation.

60. On December 30, 2010 this AFFIANT called and left messages for both Gionnotti and Milewski advisingthem that an investigation was being conducted involving Evergreen Nursery and that I needed to speak withthem. Gionnotti and Milewski returned calls later that day. When they returned contact I asked that they schedulean appointment with me to talk about this investigation. Milewski stated she would advised me when she couldmeet I then spoke with Gionnotti who stated she would meet with me on January 4, 2011. Milewski neverreturned with a date she could meet. On or about January 5, 2011, I contacted Milewski again and she scheduleda date for January 12, 2011 which was changed due to weather conditions. On January 17,2011 Milewski metwith me.

61. On January 4, 2011 Mary Gionnotti (DaB 11/22/52) of 2 Burke Heights Dr. Wallingford CT came to theSouthington Police Department with her attorney, Attorney Harry Murphy of Maya Murphy PC. Gionnottiagreed to provide this AFFIANT with a signed sworn statement prepared by her attorney within a few days.

62. On January 7, 2011 this AFFIANT received an e-mail from Attorney Murphy containing an electronicallyscanned statement signed by Gionnotti from him along with (4) four electronic .wav files of recorded messageson her answering machine and cell phone voice mail from Doreen Milewski. (An original copy was mailed andplaced in this case file) Gionnotti's statement states the following.

1/

Signed (Affiant)

Signe&-(J~ • ' , Notary Public)

~-~~_.-Reviewed (JudgelJud9

rri I Referee)

"'<-

Date

t "to It


Jurat

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1,36-2,36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen



www.jud.ct.gov




62a. Mary Giannotti, being duly sworn, herby deposes and says: I am a resident of Wallingford CT, at an addressknown to the police department of Southington, CT. I worked at evergreen Nursery in Southington fron 2007through the spring of 2010 as the company's bookkeeper. I was interviewed and hired by Doreen Milewski, whoreferred to herself as the officer manager. It is my understanding that Doreen worked for Evergreen forapproximately 24 years, until the fall of 2009.

62b. During my job at Evergreen, I reported to the owners of the company, Fred and Elke Kuhr. Doreen, whoinformed me that she was my superior, trained me as to the company's internal procedures and would give medirectives to follow from time to time. Shortly after Doreen left Evergreen, I telephoned a customer to follow upon a large outstanding (unpaid) balance, as part of my job duties. That customer, (whose name I cannot recallbut was of Indian decent), insisted over the phone that he paid his balance in full by paying cash directly toDoreen. He also said that Doreen had come to his home to retrieve the cash. There was no record of the largeamount of cash having been paid by that customer to Doreen or to Evergreen Nursery. Noting that discrepancyand others, and immediately before I went to the owners to report apparent wrongdoing by someone who wasmy senior at the company (and who had hired me), I contacted and met with the company's accountant andshared with him this and other similar cash discrepancies I had found. The accountant and I met personally withthe owners to share the documents I had found. I informed the owners that I believed Doreen was stealing fromthe company. I urged them on many occasions to contact the police, although they were initially resistant to doso.

62c. While at Evergreen, I very rarely handled any cash, as anyone who paid by cash would give it to Doreen(who sat up front, while I was in the back office). Any and all cash I ever handled was given to Fred. Doreenwould typically make all the deposits at the bank in Fred's absence, and I don't believe I ever deposited cash forthe company, as that was Doreen's job.

62d. As part of my duties, I would often write up deposit slips for money that came in from customers, in themail or otherwise. On occasion, Doreen specifically directed me to re-write a deposit slip that she had writtenherself, using the excuse that she had written it sloppily and she was in a hurry and/or had to leave. Prior toDoreen leaving the company it was her exclusive responsibility to "cost" the jobs, according to job sheets givenfrom the employees, and then invoice the customers. Before Doreen left, I never dealt with job sheets or theinvoicing of customers except when I was specifically directed by Doreen or Fred to adjust invoices in order tocorrect wrong prices or charges originally quoted to clients (for example, if I was instructed that the price of thejob had been changed by mutual agreement of Evergreen and the customer). Unless I was specifically directedby the company in these instances, I never once amended or changed any business records. I never deleted anycustomer accounts, although I believe I uncovered several instances where cash-paying customers' invoices hadbeen entirely deleted and files were missing from Evergreen's records. I shared everything I found with Fred andElke, who confirmed for me that they believed Doreen had been taking money from the company.


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATiONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen



www.jud.ct.gov




62e. In retrospect, I recall many conversations in which Doreen told me about expensive personal homerenovations and remodeling projects. I had wondered at the time how Doreen as a single person could haveafforded her lifestyle while earning such a low salary. While I always expected and hoped that Evergreen wouldcontact the authorities with what I had discovered (in fact, Fred had asked me when I left the company if I wouldbe available to confirm everything I had uncovered about Doreen and brought to their attention), I was notcontacted by the Southington Police Department until December 30, 2010, when I was told that an investigationof this matter was underway.

62f. Beginning the very next day, on Friday, December 31,2010, Doreen began to call me both at home and onmy cell phone. I had not spoken with her at all since she left the company in the fall of 2009, and still have not.She left several voicemails for me with increasing urgency for me to return her calls; I did not. I have providedthe recorded voicemails together with this statement to the Southington Police Department.

63. On January 17, 2011 this AFFIANT met with Doreen Milewski who came to the Southington PoliceDepartment at about 1200 hours. Milewski was advised of this investigation. Milewski was asked if whileworking at Evergreen Nursery, did she alter customer invoices and/or documents. Doreen stated that she had butonly when she was requested to do so by Mr. Kuhr, or the company foreman Bill Woods and Kenneth Stakey.Milewski also stated that Mr. Kuhr's son Eric Kuhr would also request that she alter invoices for customers hewas doing business with. Milewski said that whenever an invoice was altered it was to reflect a different balancedue as requested by them. Milewski denied ever altering invoices to obtain monies for herself. Milewski wasasked why she telephoned Mary Giannotti multiple times before returning contact to this AFFIANT. Milewskistated she wanted to find out from her what was going on and why the police were calling her. Milewski statedafter not getting a response from Mary she contacted this AFFIANT. Milewski was asked if she would providea signed sworn statement regarding her employment at Evergreen Nursery, which she stated "Yes".

63. On January 17,2011 Milewski gave this AFFIANT the following statement: "I worked as a receptionist forEvergreen Nursery. I never made entries into the company Quick-Books financial program. The only time Iwould use Quick- Books was for contacts regarding billing and invoices. I never altered any billing issues orinvoices unless Fred Kuhr, (the owner of Evergreen Nursery) told me to. Fred would say to me that he wanted meto get rid of the invoices and take cash from the business to pay other people and also use it for snow plowmoney. On other occasions Bill Woods and Kenneth Stakey, both Evergreen Foreman, would tell me thecompany over-charged the customer too much and to take money off the bill or order me to rewrite the bill. Thiswas the only time I did this. I never did this on my own. The alterations were done in the computer in the QuickBooks program then afterwards I would reprint the new invoice for the customer".


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

ARREST WARRANT APPLICATIONJD-CR-64a Rev 1-11e.G.s. § 54-2aPr. Bk. Sec. 36-1, 36-2, 36-3


www.jud.ctgov

Name (Last, First, Middle Initial) Residence (Town) of accused Court to be held at (Town) Geographical

MILEWSKI, Doreen BRISTOL BRISTOL Area number 17

Affidavit - Continued63a. ( Statement of Milewski Continued) "There were times when Fred Kuhr and his wife Elke Kuhr wouldargue over accounts receivables. There were times when Fred would insist on removing an invoice so his"Friends" wouldn't have to pay. His wife Elke would become upset and say they needed to pay like everyoneelse. Fred would say then agree with Elke then after Elke would leave Fred would tell me to delete the bill anddisregard Elke. I never did this on my own for my own financial benefit. Also on other occasions his son, EricKuhr would come into the office and tell me to change the bill invoice amount to a lower sum for a customerbecause it was too much. During my employment with Evergreen Nursery, it was very common for Fred Kuhr,Bill Woods, Eric Kuhr, and Kenneth Stakey to have me delete and or change an invoice claiming that the amountwas too high or on rare occasions not enough. I would make these changes for them. That was my job. Alsothroughout my employment it was very common for Fred Kuhr to take cash. He would often ask me to tellcustomers that if they paid in cash he would take ten percent or the tax off the bill. I also remember a time whenFred had no money. Fred was bouncing company checks. I believe this was because he was taking cash from thebusiness. I remember that it became so bad that Fred's business was kicked out of Southington Savings Bank".

64...After Milewski gave the aforementioned statement she read the statement. She stated to this AFFIANT andOfficer Triano ( a member of this Department ready to notarize the statement) that the statement is correcthowever she refused to sign the statement. Milewski stated that she wanted to speak to her attorney, unnamed,first. Milewski stated she would advise this AFFIANT after she spoke to her attorney about signing her statementwithin twenty-four hours. As of January 20, 2010 Milewski has not made further contact with this AFFIANT.

65. The totality of this investigation along with Milewski's interview, actions, and words pertaining to herstatement shows an intention to fabricate a false statement to this AFFIANT in the form of a written instrumentwhich she believes to be untrue with total cause to mislead this investigation.

66 ... This AFFIANT searched Milewski's criminal history which reveals no listed criminal activity.

67.. .In conclusion, this AFFIANT believes this investigation reveals clear probable cause showing Milewskialtered business documents for her own financial benefit, stealing in excess of $34,021.00 dollars as shown byForensic Accounting Services, LLC . Stephen Pedneaukt, CPA/CFF, CFE, FCPA, owner of Forensic AccountingServices, LLC has clearly documented evidence of multiple transactions that were altered immediately afterCASH was received from cash paying customers identified herein were they state in sworn statements that Cashwas given directly to Milewski. The Forensic Audit of Evergreen Nursery's financials clearly show Milewskihaving specific computer access, knowledge, and opportunity to alter financial business invoices to hide theincoming Cash and allocate balances among other Evergreen Nursery customers at the time Cash was received.Milewski's own admission states she altered financial records within Evergreen Nursery's accounts receivable andpayable records but states she only did this upon the request of others, including the owner of Evergreen Nursery,who is the victim within this investigation.

(This is page 17 of a 18 page Affidavit)Date

Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

I II ! II (!

ARREST WARRANT APPUCATIONJD-CR-64a Rev. 1-11C.G.S. § 54-2aPro Bk. Sec. 36-1. 36-2, 36-3


MILEWSKI, Doreen

Affidavit· Continued


www.jud.ct.gov


BRISTOL



68 ... It is requested that an arrest warrant be issued for Doreen MILEWSKI (DOB 11111/56) of 53 Sand Hill RdBristol, Connecticut for being in violation of the Connecticut General Statues, 53a-122; Larceny }St degree,53a-139; Forgery 2nd Degree, and 53a-157b; False Statement 2nd Degree, as stated, during her employment withEvergreen Nursery from 2007 through 2009.


Jurat

Signed (Affiant)

Signed (

IQuL..

warrant in evergreen nursery theft

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