By TRACY GORDON FOX
The Hartford Courant
MERIDEN, Conn.— Former state police Maj. Gregory Senick this afternoon announced a settlement with the state in which he will receive $750,000, of which $500,000 will go toward his legal fees which he incurred defending himself against charges of larceny in connection with living in a state-owned house for as little as a $1 a year.
Senick was acquitted last year by a jury in Superior Court in Meriden of larceny and conspiracy charges. He made his announcement at a press conference in front of the courthouse.
As part of the agreement, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has agreed not to pursue the case in a civil court, Senick said. The agreement also states that Senick be reinstated as a major and then allowed to retire as of today. He will receive a major’s pension.
Sencik said Gov. M. Jodi Rell and her chief of Staff Lisa Moody used his case to burnish Rell’s reputation of being tough on corruption.
He said that Rell announced in a press conference that his “situation illustrated her concern about the state’s culture of corruption.”
“Perhaps she was misled by the chief’s state’s attorney, her chief of staff, or others. The fact remains that her comments were irresponsible and hurt my family and me deeply.”
In August 2006, a jury found Senick not guilty of the two larceny and two conspiracy charges filed against him.
Senick, who spent 28 years with the state police and had been chief of staff to former Public Safety Commissioner Arthur Spada, was accused of billing the state for more than $11,000 in goods and services he was supposed to cover while living in a state-owned house at the former Altobello property in Meriden. He had lived there between 1999 and 2004, first for $1 a year, and later for $150 a month under the terms of a lease with the Department of Public Works
Copyright 2007 The Hartford Courant