STAFFORD, Conn. (AP) — Police say the former president of the Staffordville Cemetery Association stole $26,000 and overcharged grieving families for cemetery plots to feed a cocaine habit.

The Hartford Courant reports that Mitchell Muzio is charged with first-degree larceny. He has pleaded not guilty and has not yet hired a lawyer.

The newspaper says he did not respond to requests for comment.

Authorities say the 49-year-old Muzio resigned and returned bank records to the association when confronted about the alleged theft. He wrote to association members, apologized for taking the money, promised to repay it and said he could not afford to go to jail.

Police say he told a state trooper he believed some of the money he allegedly took fed a cocaine addiction.