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"WESTBROOK -- Town Constable Benjamin Quinones, who was fired from his lieutenant position at the Connecticut Valley Hospital for allegedly falsifying time cards, was arrested Thursday on a charge of first-degree larceny. Quinones, 42, of 45 Meetinghouse Lane, has been under investigation by state police and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services for the past year, stemming from a complaint that DMHAS filed about him possibly falsifying time cards. A state investigative report released in June detailed that Quinones was compensated for 528 overtime hours, or about $32,000, that he didn't work, resulting in more scrutiny by DMHAS. State police said they uncovered evidence and leads that lead to the submission of an arrest warrant and Quinones turned himself in Thursday, at which point he was arrested and processed. He is due in Superior Court in Middletown March 15. Upon his firing last March, Quinones was placed on paid administrative leave from his constable job in Westbrook. From the time he was placed on leave until Thursday, Quinones was paid $12,983 by the town, according to town officials. First Selectman Noel Bishop said they may pay him for a few more days because of how the pay cycle is set up. If that occurs, he would be paid another $329. With regard to Quinones' employment as a constable, Bishop's Administrative Assistant Suzanne Helchowski said, \"The first selectman, in consultation with the town's labor council, is going to review the underlying facts in the case before making a decision about Quinones' status as an employee.\" The state's investigative report detailed that Quinones said he did not keep a log of his hours worked, but he recalled from memory his hours worked at the end of the pay period. After filling out his time sheet, he hand delivered it to DMHAS payroll until Jan. 14, 2011, when he asked Sgt. John Rumley to deliver the time sheets for him, and Rumley noticed \"an unusual amount of overtime.\" Chief Marcia Aleksunes placed Quinones, who had worked for DMHAS for 21 years, on paid administrative leave on Feb. 18, 2011, and the matter was further investigated until he was fired that March. Since Quinones was fired, DMHAS has changed the way it operates. According to DMHAS' spokesman Jim Siemianowski, \"Things now have to go to the chief. Someone would not be able to take a timecard to human resources. Now they're being done electronically. We moved to a system where the supervisor has to approve time sheets.\" He previously told the Register that greater internal controls have also been added regarding the authorization and approval process for overtime. DMHAS administrators are asking Quinones for restitution for the amount of hours he allegedly over-reported and was compensated for, which amounts to about $32,000. Call Alexandra Sanders at 203-789-5714. Follow her on Twitter @asanders88."
<https://www.middletownpress.com/news/article/Westbrook-town-constable-charged-with-larceny-11845720.php>