Catala avoids prosecution in credit card fraud case
New London — Former New London Board of Education member Jason Catala, facing credit card fraud charges, was granted access Wednesday into a diversionary program that essentially ends his criminal case and will leave him without a criminal record if he follows the rules of the two-year program.
Catala, 45, appeared before Judge Hunchu Kwak in New London Superior Court, where his application into the accelerated rehabilitation program was granted. Catala was represented by New London attorney David Gaccione. Catala’s previous attorney, Daryl Justin Finizio, abruptly ended his representation of Catala following an unexplained hospitalization.
Court records are sealed from public viewing in Catala’s case and further details of the requirements of the program were not available.
Waterford police charged Catala on Oct. 18 with second-degree identity theft, a felony, and illegal use of a credit card, a misdemeanor. A charge of witness tampering was added later.
Waterford police alleged Catala used his niece's personal information to open 16 credit card accounts and accrue $8,000 in debt. Police said Catala used his niece's information to open accounts with various stores and banks between November 2017 and June 2018. The highest balance, $3,153, is a Bank of America card. Three of the accounts had no balances, and the other balances ranged from $22 to $1,058.
Catala had admitted to going online and applying for credit cards using the personal information he had obtained by doing his niece's taxes. He said he had a problem with credit and using credit cards.
Catala, a Democrat, had continued an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the school board while his criminal case was pending. The New London Democratic Town Committee had withdrawn its support for Catala, who had served seven terms on the board, prior to the election.
“I’m prepared to move on and put this behind me,” Catala said in a brief statement after his court appearance. “My main priority in my life is and always has been my daughter ... and my career. That’s what I’m going to be focused on.”
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