Stonington — The former treasurer of the Stonington High School Athletic Hall of Fame has been charged with stealing almost $9,000 from the organization, which has put on an annual induction banquet for the past 13 years.

Kenneth Wilcox, 78, of 45 Fellows St., Pawcatuck, was charged with third-degree larceny when he turned himself in to police on Saturday after they had obtained a warrant for his arrest. He was released on a $1,500 nonsurety bond and is scheduled to be arraigned July 25 in New London Superior Court.

According to the warrant for his arrest, Wilcox has been the group’s treasurer since its inception in 2013 and has been in possession of its checkbook during that time.

In February, police charged Wilcox with soliciting a man in his 20s for sex after he picked him up in his car in downtown Pawcatuck. That case has been sealed and has a disposition date of June 27, 2018, which typically indicates he was admitted into a pre-trial program, such as accelerated rehabilitation, that will eventually erase the charge from his record.

After the solicitation arrest became public, high school Principal Mark Friese, who is a member of the Hall of Fame Committee, said he informed Wilcox he could no longer be affiliated with the organization. Friese said Tuesday that Wilcox agreed and turned over the checkbook.

Until that point, Friese said there was no indication of any financial irregularities.

“I never dreamed anything like this could happen. It’s very unfortunate,” he said.

The warrant states that Wilcox relinquished the checkbook to committee member and retired police Chief David Erskine but did not provide any supporting documents. Erskine then obtained copies of the statements from the checking account from Chelsea Groton Bank in Pawcatuck, where the checks were cashed.

Erskine noticed that Wilcox had written many more checks than the typical 10 a year and they were all for even amounts of money, such as $20. Erskine then contacted fellow committee member Sam Agnello, who had taken over as treasurer.

Agnello also reviewed the statements, requested additional ones from the bank, audited the account and “found numerous problems,” according to the warrant. Both Erskine and Agnello have been with the committee since it was founded and are familiar with its workings, according to the warrant.

They gave the statements and canceled checks to veteran police Officer Herbert Barrell, who conducted the investigation. Barrell wrote in the warrant that it appeared Wilcox had written 113 checks totaling $8,890 between April 2013 and February 2017.

His review showed that Wilson wrote checks to himself ranging from $20 to $250, all for even amounts and most in the $20 to $60 range. Barrell wrote that legitimately written checks were for odd amounts and payable to a third party, not Wilcox.

When interviewed by police, Barrell wrote that Wilcox did not dispute he wrote the checks but said he had written them to himself because he had received a letter from the bank saying the account would be closed if it showed no activity. He additionally said he would take $500 to $600 a year out of the account and put it in his personal account so there would be enough money in the hall of fame account to start off the next year. It was unclear what he meant by that. 

Wilcox also said after his February arrest he had deposited $3,000 in the committee account to make up for the money he withdrew. The bank, though, told police that the hall of fame account would not have been subjected to restrictions on the account because there was activity in a calendar year. Police also found no evidence that Wilcox had deposited $3,000 after his February arrest.

Friese said the committee has taken steps to ensure a similar problem does not occur again in the future.

“This is a great group of people who put together a fabulous event every year ...” he said. “While this is unfortunate, they’ll get past it and continue to do the great work they have been doing.”

j.wojtas@theday.com