Montville — The chairman of the Water Pollution Control Authority says he recently turned over to state police an auditor's report allegedly detailing "inappropriate purchases" made by the WPCA more than a year ago.

The audit, requested by WPCA Chairman and Town Councilor Jeff Rogers in March, was conducted by accounting firm PKF O'Connor Davies, which reviewed WPCA expenses between Nov. 1, 2017 and Nov. 1, 2018.

"The report reveals inappropriate expenses within the WPCA," Rogers said Monday. "I took those findings to the state police Major Crime Squad who is now further investigating."

Rogers said when he was elected WPCA chairman in February, he had been "suspicious" of spending. He asked wastewater treatment plant Superintendent Derek Albertson, hired in October 2018, to dig into expenses prior to his arrival and to provide Rogers with "a detailed list of specific expenses."

That list, which was not shared with The Day after a Freedom of Information Act request, prompted Rogers to contact PKF O'Connor Davies in March.

Rogers said the accountants shared a report on the audit with the commission at a June 3 executive session. The WPCA has held multiple executive sessions on the issue, claiming it is a personnel matter. But former WPCA Administrator Brian Lynch — who was in charge during most of the period examined — had asked town officials to discuss the issue in public sessions.

 Lynch could not be reached on Wednesday.

A state police spokesman on Tuesday said he was unaware of a news release issued by Rogers and could not confirm any details on the matter. State police did not respond to emailed followup questions Wednesday.

Rogers said Monday that the public has a right to know the audit led to a potential state police investigation, but he would not "speculate or disclose" details on who was involved or the nature of the expenses in question.

The report on finances comes a year after Lynch and former plant Superintendent Michael Didato resigned and took jobs in Putnam. Lynch and town councilors had argued over purchasing policies and the amount the WPCA paid the town for financial services, emails obtained by The Day and officials said last year.

Didato earlier this year said he was largely uninvolved with WPCA finances.

'Public trust'

Rogers said he showed a copy of the audit report to WPCA commissioners and Mayor Ron McDaniel during the June 3 executive session, but Rogers kept all copies of the report, which he said state police told him was "evidence of a crime" and therefore exempt from public disclosure.

"It's not a town document until it is no longer evidence for a criminal investigation," Rogers said Monday when asked for a copy of the report. "I'm not going to do it without (state police's) permission."

The Day submitted an FOI request to the town for all records related to the audit on Tuesday. McDaniel said he thought the audit report "is a public document as I know of no CPA/client privilege that would preclude it."

Rogers on Tuesday said he reached out to state police and town attorneys for clarification on whether the audit report could be released under FOI.

Duncan Forsyth, of town attorney Halloran & Sage, said in an email Tuesday that he had not seen any audit report or spoken with town officials about the issue.

Matthew Reed, of the state FOI office, said while state police may seek to withhold information if release could impede an investigation, town officials "can't stand behind state police. They have to make their own argument as to why they wouldn't release a public document. They purchased it. It was prepared for them. It was all public business."

Rogers said he didn't have an exact cost of the audit, but that it was "under $10,000."

WPCA commissioner Brian Quinn, who was not present at the June 3 meeting, challenged Rogers for contacting state police without first seeking commissioners' approval. Quinn said commissioners only found out about Rogers' initial push for an audit during a March meeting, and learned of state police's potential involvement Monday.

"We need more transparency as a commission," Quinn said. "It seems like there's a pecking order here and Town Council is the major leagues and we're the minors and we get thrown crumbs."

Rogers told The Day he had to be cautious "because I don't want to compromise a police investigation. What we're doing is in the interest of public trust."

WPCA finances previously came under scrutiny more than a decade ago, when a former deputy administrator was convicted of embezzling more than $50,000, prompting officials to implement greater oversight.

Mahoney Sabol's town audit for the year ending June 30, 2018, disclosed "no instances of noncompliance" that must be reported under Government Auditing Standards, and identified no concerns with the town's internal controls over financial reporting.

b.kail@theday.com