Southington Police Investigative Report on Coach Bill Mella

SOUTHINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATIVE REPORT

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That on or about May 28, 2009 this Writer was assigned an investigation from the Office of Police Chief John Daly. He had received information about the possible misuse of funds (monies) by Southington High School Football Coach William "Bill" Mella. Said monies were from an account titled "Blue Knights Football". That according to Southington Town Attorney Mark Sciota, the monies contained within this account are considered to be "Town Monies" and or "Municipal Funds" as this account utilizes the Southington Board of Educations' Tax ID Number with regard to management of this account.

That shortly after receiving this investigation I went to the Southington Board of Education and met with Sherri DiNello, Business and Finance Director. She provided me with all the documentation she had in her possession with regard to the account to include bank statements and a checkbook ledger. That upon examination of several pages of bank statements it was learned that this particular account was a Municipal Interest Checking Account. The statements were made out to SOUTHINGTON BOARD OF EDUCATION BLUE KNIGHTS FOOTBALL COACHES ACCOUNT, under account #( through TD BankNorth. I then contacted Rosemary DeFeo,' Manager of the Southington Main Street Branch of TD BankNorth. DeFeo confirmed that the Tax ID number utilized for the Blue Knights Football Coaches Account is in fact the Southington Board of Educations' Tax ID number, confirming that any and all funds in this account would be considered Town of Southington Monies.

That prior to any further Police Investigation, 1 spoke with Joseph Erardi, Southington Superintendant of Schools. Erardi agreed to have this account in question professionally audited.

Blum Shapiro Consulting (tax and business consulting firm) completed such audit. On or about July 17, 2009 I received a "Report of Independent Accountants on Applying Agreed-Upon Procedures" from Attorney Christine Chinni, Council for the Southington Board of Education. Upon review of this report it had little bearing regarding my investigation as it provided no financial figures nor did it comment or state anything about actual rnissing funds. The report did indicate that from July 1, 2008 through May 31, 2009 there were seventy one recorded transactions, that twenty one of them had no supporting invoices, and that there were ten voided checks during this time period.

That I contacted Kathleen MCGRATH, Principal at Southington High School. I was aware that McGrath had met with Coach Mella in May with regard to cash monies that were "missing" from the Blue Knight Football Account. McGrath provided me the following information in written form: "On Monday, May 18, 2009, I met with William Mella, head football coach at Southington High School and Eric Swallow, the athletic director. The meeting was to address with Mr. Mella concerns that had been brought to Mr. Swallow's and my attention by members of his coaching staff. The main issue was the status of the $5,000 given to Mr. Mella in the fall by the treasurer of the coaches' fundraising account. Mr. Mella told us he had requested the funds to pay an assistant coach who worked with him on the defense program for the football team and that he could produce verification from this individual that he had received this compensation. He further informed us that he had the remaining $4,000 that he held for unanticipated expenses related to the football program that might arise throughout the year. I shared with him that the coaches had told Mr. 1

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Swallow and me that he (Me"a) told them on May 15 that he did not have the money or any invoices or receipts for how it had been spent. He said that he was angry with the accusations made by them at that time and that was why he responded as he did. He then stated he could return the remaining $4,000 now. I asked him if he was going to write a check for that amount and he said, no, he had the cash that he had been given earlier in the school year. I told him to keep the money until I spoke to the Superintendent, Dr. Erardi. The meeting ended shortly after that time. On Tuesday, May 19, Dr. Erardi, Mr. Swallow, and I met with Mr. Mella. Mr. Mella told Dr. Erardi what he had shared with Mr. Swallow and me the day before. He again said "I have the $4,000 and can give it to you right now". Dr. Erardi asked him where he has kept the funds and Mr. Mella responded he had it either with him or in his office since receiving the money in the fall. Dr. Erardi said the money should be placed in the high school'S activity account. I asked that this take place at the start of the next school day so that the secretary/bookkeeper could accurately record the deposit. On May 20 th , Mr. Mella gave $4,000 in cash to his secretary, Mrs. Landino, who deposited the money into the activity account and confirmed to me that he had placed $4,000 in cash into the high school account".

That on July 24, 2009 I met Michael PRAIRIE at the Southington Police Department. Prairie was one of the Assistant Football Coaches that resigned earlier this year and brought accusations to light about the possible misuse of monies. Prairie provided a signed, sworn written statement that contains the following information: I have been associated with the Southington High School Football Program since 1993. In 1994 I was hired as an Assistant Coach. Jude Kelly was the head Coach until around 2003. When he retired, William "Bill" Me"a was hired as the Head Football Coach and currently he is still in that position. While Coach Kelly was still the head football coach, I started a Fund called "Blue Knight Footba"". I started this fund by obtaining donations from friends and business relationships. The fund was established to pay for items (mainly equipment) that the Board of Education or the Grid Iron Club could not or would not fund. For several years this Fund was managed by the late Dick Seeger and he was assisted by Steve Daniels. After Coach Mella's first season as Head Coach, Dick Seeger passed the management of this Fund to Me"a.

Somewhere around that time, Tony Mazzarella Jr. was asked to manage the check book (for this account). Several years ago, Frank Stamilio, who was another one of the Assistant Coaches, began managing a fundraiser to raise monies for this Fund. Frank utilized a company called Varsity Gold Inc. Prairie further stated: Last year Frank took charge and ran another fundraiser using Varsity Gold Inc. At the end of the fundraiser, which was around the end of September 2008 or the beginning or October 2008, we had a Net Profit from this particular fundraiser of twenty two thousand fifty one dollars (22,051.00). Of those monies collected, just over ten thousand dollars (10,000.00) was cash monies. In February 2009 I was asked to take over the management of this Fund Account. I did so as both Tony Mazzarella Jr. and Bill Mella both mentioned that the book keeping for the Fund needed to be cleaned up. In doing so, I began to review all the transactions over the last several years. In doing so, I found some transactions that were at best questionable. Therefore, on May 15, 2009 I arranged a meeting between myself, Frank Stamitio, Bill Mella and Tony Mazzare"a Jr. I was told by Tony Jr. that the cash was taken by Coach Mella to pay volunteer coaches. Prior to this meeting, / contacted a/I of the "volunteer" coaches. I specifically asked them if they had received any cash payment from Bill Mella for their services. Even though they are "volunteer" coaches, it has been the past practice of the program to pay these coaches. Usually their payments were from the stipends to the assistant coaches who would donate part of their

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stipend so that the 'volunteer" coaches would receive some financial compensation. Of all the coaches I called, all of them told me they had not received any cash monies from the prior season from Coach Mella. Knowing the amount of monies we made on the September/October 2008 Fundraiser, I also searched the Account records looking for the deposit from that event. Again, I knew our net profit was over twenty two thousand dollars, yet I was unable to locate any deposit slip close to that amount. I did find one deposit slip dated October 16, 2008 for the amount of eighteen thousand six hundred fifty seven dollars (18,657.00). When I further viewed that particular deposit slip, it showed that the amount of cash being deposited was only five thousand one hundred six dollars (5,106.00), which was exactly five thousand dollars (5,000.00) less than what was reported on the Varsity Gold reconciliation.

Prairie further stated: Therefore, at our meeting on May 15, 2009 I showed Tony Mazzarella Jr. and Bill Mella a copy of this deposit slip and asked the question, where is the remaining five thousand dollars in cash. Bill Mella immediately answered me and told me that "he took it". Mella further told me that he used the money to pay the volunteer coaches and misc. expenses because the Administration did not want the volunteer coaches to be paid and this would have kept the payments under the radar. I then responded that this response did not make sense due to the fact that on November 3, 2008 a check was issued to Andy Guyon for two thousand dollars, on December 15, 2008 a check was issued to Steve Angiletta for one thousand dollars, and on December 15, 2008 a check was issued to Chase Mayoussier for one thousand dollars. I then stated that his answer about paying the volunteer coaches with the five thousand dollars of cash monies wasn't true because I had already called all of the volunteer coaches and all reported that they had not received any cash payments. I then asked Bill Mella again, where did the money go, meaning the five thousand dollars in cash. Mella stated that he paid Ryan Hankard one thousand dollars and that he used the balance to "buy stuff for the program". I then expounded upon the fact that four thousand dollars was a lot of money and I wanted to know what "stuff' he purchased for four thousand dollars. I also asked Bill Mella if he had receipts for the "stuff' that he bought. Bill Mella stated that he did not have any receipts for what he bought and that he did not remember what he purchased with the money as it was seven to eight months ago. He began to get belligerent and got upset that we would question him about this. Bill Mella stated that he might have "messed up" but that he did not use any of the money for personal gain. I agaIn asked, then where is the money?

Prairie further stated: I then stated that, didn't he remember that he had asked me for money in March for the Highlight Video and Passing Leagues because the account had no money in it. If he had four thousand dollars, (4,000.00) in his possession, why did he need one thousand dollars (1,000.00) from me to pay for the video, and why didn't he just use that money for the Passing League fees. If the money wasn't spent on stuff or coaches and he still had it, which he did because he gave it back to the SHS Student Activity Fund in May after his meeting with the Administration regarding this matter, then why not use it. I would also like to add that in my overview of the Account, I found a couple of checks that are also questionable in nature. Check # 346 was issued to Bill Mella on May 2, 2008 for three hundred fifty dollars. In the narrative section it states, "Philadelphia Hotel" and no receipt. Check # 340 was issued to Bill Mella on March 31, 2008 for one thousand dollars. In the narrative section it states, "Reimbursement" but again, there are no receipts. Check # 380 was issued on August 21, 2008 in the amount of four hundred dollars and is for "petty cash" that was allegedly given to Bill Mella prior to going to Camp in Vermont.

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That on July 28, 2009 I met with Frank STAMILIO at the Southington Police Department. During this meeting and interview Stamilio provided a signed written statement that contains the following information: For the past eighteen (18) years I have been a member of the coaching staff for the Southington High School Football Team. This past season my position/title was Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Football Coach. This was a stipend position for which I did receive some payment. Bill Mella was the Head Coach and has been for about the past four years. About eight to nine years ago, the football coaching staff got together and organized a fund called "Blue Knight Football". The purpose behind this account was to raise monies to be spent on Capitol Items such as equipment. This fund was not intended to pay for any items or expenses incurred by any coaches. For the past several years I ran a fund raiser using Varsity Gold Inc. This past summer/fall we held another fund raiser that ended in September 2008. During this fund raiser, I took charge of "our" end of the fundraiser with regard to the monies raised. At the end of the fundraiser, I completed an accounting of the monies. We took in ten thousand one hundred six dollars (10,106.00) in cash monies. We took in an additional thirteen thousand four hundred seventy five dollars (13,475.00) in checks. When all prizes were paid for, we had a NET profit of twenty two thousand fifty one dollars. At the completion of the fund raiser, the monies to include the ten thousand one hundred six dollars in cash monies were then turned over to Tony Mazzarella Jr. Tony Jr. is also an assistant coach as well as the "check book/money keeper" of the Blue Knight Football Account.

Stamilio further stated: That sometime in early 2009 I received a call from Mike Prairie with regard to the monies in this account. He had obtained the account checkbook from Tony Mazzarella as Tony wanted Mike to have his bookkeeper give him a hand with the checkbook. I later learned from Mike Prairie that about five thousand dollars in cash monies had never been deposited into the account as it should have been. In May 2009 we had a meeting (Prairie, Bill Mella, Tony Mazzarrella and myself). During this meeting Mike Prairie asked Mella about the missing five thousand dollars and Mella stated that he took the money from Tony back in the fall.

He was then asked what he did with the monies and he first told us that he used the monies to pay the "volunteer" coaches. He stated that he wanted to pay them in cash so that it was not detected.

It has been the practice that the volunteer coaches get some compensation. Genera:llythis money would come from the paid stipend coaches from our monies that we would give back so that the "volunteer" coaches would get something. Mike Prairie then confronted Bill Mella with the fact that he (Prairie) had polled the volunteer coaches and none reported receiving any monies from Mella.

Mella then told us that he paid Ryan Hankard one thousand dollars. When asked about the remaining four thousand dollars, Bill Mella stated that "he bought stuff". He was unable to state what he bought. Mella further stated that he did not have receipts for the items that he bought. It is my understanding that shortly after Mella took the five thousand dollars that he stated he used to pay the "volunteer" coaches, that he had Tony Mazzarella write out two different checks from this account to two different "volunteer" coaches to pay them.

That on August 19, 2009 I met with Anthony Mazzarella Jr., (Tony Jr) at the Southington Police Department. During this meeting and interview Mazzarella provided a' signed written statement that contains the following information: In 2002 or 2003 I was hired as an assistant coach for the Southington High School Football Team. Shortly after that, probably my second year as assistant coach, Bill Mella was hired as the new head coach for the football team. When I first started there, the late Dick Seegar was in charge of the Blue Knights Football account. After Dick resigned from 4

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this duty I took over the duties. Last year, September/October 2008, we ended our yearly fundraiser, known as the Gold Card Fundraiser. We had raised a net profit of just over twenty two thousand dollars. This was after all the expenses were paid out. Of that money, around ten thousand dollars was cash monies. Frank Stamilio had run the fundraiser and when it was all over, he turned all the monies over to me. Sometime around mid October and before I had deposited the monies into the account, Bill Mella asked me for five thousand dollars to pay for the volunteer coaches. I gave Bill five thousand dollars in cash. I did not receive or obtain any receipt for the money that I gave to Bill. I then deposited the rest of the funds. It has been the practice in the past that sometime towards the end of the season that the "volunteer" coaches do get compensated. Some of this compensation would come from the assistant coaches who would share either part of or all of their stipend, so that the volunteer coaches would be paid.

Mazzarella Jr. further stated: I eventually turned over the book keeping of this fund along with associated paperwork to Mike Prairie. Mike is another one of the assistant coaches. Sometime this past spring, I would have to say it was in May, Mike Prairie questioned me about the monies we raised during the annual fundraiser. He asked me about the five thousand dollars in cash monies that was not deposited into the account. I told him I gave the money to Bill Mella. Shortly after this Mike called a meeting that I attended. Also present was Frank Stamilio and Bill Mella. During this meeting, Mella was asked about the five thousand dollars. He told us he used the monies to pay the volunteer coaches. Mike Prairie then told Mella that he had spoken with all of the volunteer coaches except for Hankard, and all the coaches denied being paid in cash monies by Mella. Mella then told us he paid Hankard one thousand dollars. Later this day or that evening, I spoke with Mella on the phone. Mella told me that he had some of the remaining four thousand dollars at his house and some of the remaining four thousand dollars in his office at SHS. Mazzarella Jr. further stated: Prior to turning over the account duties to Mike Prairie, I would write out checks from this account. Some checks were even written out by my wife. Check # 340 was written out to Bill Mella in the amount of one thousand dollars. The check was apparently for some type of reimbursement expenses as that is what is in the notation section on the check. I have no idea what was purchased with this money or what it was used for. Check # 346 was written out to Bill Mella for three hundred fifty dollars. Bill Mella told me this was for reimbursement of expenses for a trip that he took. The notes section on this check states Philly reimbursement. Check # 380 was made out to cash on August 21, 2008 in the amount of four hundred dollars. From what I remember about this check was that Bill called me shortly before we were going to camp and he stated that he was going to need monies for incidentals. Either I or my wife made the check out, cashed it and gave the monies to Bill. At some point last fall I did write out checks to Steve Angiletta, Andy Guyon and Chase Mayoussier from this account. I can say that the monies from this account were freely spent. If Bill or someone else needed a check to pay for something (I assume was football related) I would provide the check to them. In the Spring of 2008 I was scheduled to go to Philadelphia with Bill Mella. We were going to attend college spring practice at University of Pennsylvania and Temple. Right before we were supposed to go, my back was bothering me and I was unable to attend this trip. Bill Mella ended up going on this trip by himself.

That on August 17, 2009 and again on August 20, 2009 I met with William "Bill" Mella at the Southington Police Station. That between both interviews, Mella provided a signed, sworn written statement that contains the following information: On August 17, 2009 I called and spoke with

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Lieutenant Shanley asking to meet with him. I did this knowing that he was conducting an investigation into the Blue Knights Football account and I wanted to clear my name. I am employed by the Southington Board of Education. I work as a health teacher and physical education teacher at Southington High School. I am also the head football coach at Southington High School. I have attended college and earned my Bachelors Degree as well as a Masters Degree. I was hired in Southington in 2005 and that was also my first year as the Head Coach of the football team. The football team had an established checking account called "Blue Knight Football". This account was used for purchasing items that could not or would not be funded by the Board of Education or the Gridiron Club. At the time I started as Coach, this fund was managed by the late Dick Seegar. Dick was meticulous in his handling of this fund. He and I would probably meet one to two times a month with regard to this account and each month he would give me a written report regarding bills, expenses, as well as the funds that were available.

Mella further stated: After Dick relinquished his duties with this fund, Tony Mazzarella Jr's wife initially took it over. From there, Tony Jr. then ran the fund. My duties stayed the same throughout, I more or less delegated what items I felt we needed to purchase and the others wrote out the checks. Tony had the check book and I as the coach would submit bills to him or tell him what needed to be paid for or purchased. Sometime after the 2008 football season ended, Tony and I went to Mike Prairie. Mike has a financial background. We went to him knowing he had a book keeper and asked him if he would take over the account and clean it up. Neither Tony or I had the time or attention to detail that Dick Seegar did to manage this account. Mike Prairie agreed to do this. I want to say that sometime probably around the beginning of this year, Dr. Erardi notified us that he wanted this account closed. Apparently this came from a recommendation of an accounting firm that the Board of Education uses. Last year we did our annual fundraiser to raise monies for this account. When the fundraiser was over I spoke with Tony Jr. and asked him for five thousand dollars. Tony gave me the money in cash. I needed the money to pay some of the volunteer coaches as well as the other expenses that come up and to purchase items for the football team.

After I received the money from Tony, I did pay Ryan Hankard one thousand dollars. Ryan is one of the volunteer coaches. Although these coaches are "volunteer" coaches, it has always been past practice that they do get some amount of financial compensation. After I paid Ryan, I held onto the remaining monies, knowing I was probably going to have other expenses coming up.

Mella further stated: This past May, I believe it was May 15, 2009 I got a call from Mike Prairie.

He wanted to get together with myself and the other coaches. We met at Mike's office. It was Mike Prairie, Frank Stamilio, Tony Mazzarella Jr. and myself. They asked me about the five thousand dollars and I immediately told them that I had it. Shortly thereafter, Mike and Frank started to attack me. I got upset. I felt they were being condescending towards me. They accused me of stealing. I know that I did not steal any monies from this account and I did not handle this well. I was angry that they were accusing me of something that I did not do. I felt that Mike and Frank were against me and I did not know where Tony stood. As the meeting went on, they asked me other questions and being pissed, I just thought I would give them answers that they wanted to hear. I was upset and angry that they went behind my back and called all the coaches to see if they had been paid. I knew who had been paid and how but I was pissed. I also knew that I had the balance of the monies, the four thousand dollars accounted for and in my possession. Later that night I had a conversation with Tony Jr. I told him that I did not steal the money and that it was all accounted for.

I think I told him that I had some of the monies at home and some of the monies in my office. The

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reason for the split is that I do a lot of work on the football program from home. There could be times when I am home and order something for the football program and go out and pick it up. It would not make sense if I had to drive to Southington, pick up the monies and then drive to wherever to pick it up and pay for it. I don't believe that I gave Tony any specifics as far as how much money I had secured at my house or how much money I had secured at my office at school.

I just know that I had all the monies accounted for.

Mella further stated: Two days after this we had a second meeting. This time it was Prairie, Stamilio and Tony Mazzarella Senior (Tony Jr's father). At this meeting, I could tell that all three, Mike, Tony and Frank had all aligned themselves and were coming after me. After this meeting, I called Kathy McGrath at home. I wanted to tell her about the concerns that the three had brought up. I wanted to explain to her what was going on and to give her my side. I also spoke with Eric Swallow (athletic director) this same day, advising him of what I told Kathy. The following day which would have been Monday, I went into school and met with Kathy McGrath. I wanted to tell her my side of the story and turn the four thousand dollars over to her. I did not want or need any other accusations made against me. Even though I knew I was going to be needing to purchase items in the near future, I didn't want the headache of having the money, so I wanted to transfer it to Kathy McGrath. At this point I had no idea of the status of the Blue Knights Football account.

Rather than transferring the monies to one of the other coaches, I wanted to transfer it to someone who was independent and removed. I brought the four thousand dollars with me and Kathy asked me to hang on to it. She wanted to transfer it to one of the secretaries that could record the transfer but I think the particular secretary was not working at the time. I think that if Kathy suspected me of stealing any monies, she would not have asked me to hang onto what I had. Eventually I did meet with the secretary, I think it was the next day and I transferred the monies.

Mella further stated: Within this past year I did contact Mike Prairie and asked him for monies to pay for two different items. The reason that I contacted Mike was that he was now handling the checkbook and accounting duties for this fund. First was the highlight video and the second item was for the passing leagues. I did not want to use the cash monies that I was holding for either of these expenses. I wanted to hold the monies I had in reserve in case we needed to purchase any other equipment or supplies that the Town or the Gridiron Club would not fund. I wanted to hang onto this money for things that would directly benefit the kids such as equipment rather than use it for operating expenses. With regard to check # 340 made out to me for one thousand dollars. This check was issued to me by Tony Jr. The money from this check was used for different incidentals that I purchased for the football team both prior to this check being issued as well as purchases that were made after the check was issued. Among the things this money was used for were the Winter 7 on 7 league, Winter 7 on 7 tournament, t-shirts, gloves, office supplies, quarterback T and trips to different colleges. I had asked Tony for a check in the round figure of a thousand dollars knowing that I had spent a certain amount of monies and that I would be spending more aI/ towards or for the SHS football program. With regard to check # 346 made out to me for three hundred fifty dollars. This check was for reimbursement of my expenses for a trip I made to Philadelphia in the spring of 2008. Tony Jr. was supposed to make this trip with me but last minute he backed out due to him hurting his back. I went alone. I went to the University of Pennsylvania.

The reimbursement was for my mileage, tol/s, gas and food. I know that round trip this was well over four hundred miles. Where I stayed was about thirty miles from the school and I went back

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and forth a couple of times. The food also included taking a member of their coaching staff out to dinner. This was not for my benefit but rather for the benefit of my players, hoping that I could build interest with members of the University of Pennsylvania to come to Southington and scout my players that were looking to go to college and play football.

Mella further stated: During the summer I run a Summer Youth Football Camp. This is separate from Blue Knights Football. After last years summer camp I donated fifteen hundred dollars that was raised during the summer camp into the Blue Knights Football account. I also need to state' that finances are not my strong point. Paperwork is not one of my strong points. I never gave a second thought to saving receipts and or documenting all the monies I spent or recording all the purchases made for team items. The way we ran the fund was very informal and I realized that this year. This was one of the reasons that Tony and I had to reach out to Mike Prairie to have his bookkeeper straighten out the books. I would further like to state that I have not taken any monies from this account, I did not steal any monies. I was in control of the balance of the original five thousand dollars from the time I received it from Tony Jr. up until the day I transferred the monies to the secretary. I did not take or use any monies outside of the football program and or it's related expenses.

I spoke with Ms. Susan Euley, an employee of the Business Department of the Southington Board of Education. My question to her was does William Mella utilize Direct Deposit for his paychecks. If so, what was the bank he utilized as well as the Account Number. I further inquired whether any other banking information was contained within his file at the Business Office. Everly looked into this matter after getting authorization from Dr. Erardi. Euley advised me that William Mella does not utilize Direct Deposit and that he does not have any personal banking information within his file. I then requested copies of Mella's pay for September and October 2008. Euley provided me with such documents. Upon receipt and view of them, the following was noted: for check dated August 29, 2008 his NET Pay was $2,095.34, for check dated September 26, 2008 his NET Pay was $1,793.37, for check dated October 10, 2008 his NET Pay was for $1,793.37, for check dated October 24, 2008 his NET Pay was $1,793.37 and for a second check also dated September 24, 2008 his NET Pay was $5,908.67 (this second check had to do with him being payed for his Coaching Position).

I then met with Mella again, this time at Southington High School on September 16, 2009 upon my return to work. Mella was in the presence of Eric Swallow, Southington Athletic Director. During my interview with Mella he was asked what institutions he conducts his banking though. He advised me that he uses two different banks. He stated that his personal checking account is through I advised , Bank and that he has a "Game Plan Football Account" through Mella that I needed him to contact both banks and for the banks to fax or send directly to me, copies of all statements from his accounts to include the months of September 2008, October 2008 and May 2009. The reason for this particular time frame was that on September 22, 2008 the Varsity Gold Fundraising was completed (09/22/2008 is the date on the Varsity Gold Accounting Form signed by Frank Stamilio) and that October 16, 2008 was the date of the deposit of the balance of monies from the Fundraiser. Believing that if Mella had misappropriated the funds and he deposited them into an account under his control, it most likely would have been during this time period. As far as the May 2009 dates are concerned, May 15, 2009 was the first meeting between Mella and his Assistant Coaches when they accused him of taking monies and according

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to Kathleen McGrath on May 20, 2009, Mella returned the four thousand dollars (4,000) in cash monies to the school. Therefore, I concluded that had Mella misappropriated any or all of the funds, and he needed to replace said funds, it would have been likely that he would have done so between May 15, 2009 and May 20, 2009.

That on September 18, 2009, I received a fax directly from with regard to the Account belonging to William R. Mella DBA Bill Mellas Gameplan Football Camp. Upon review of this document, the following is noted: That for the months of September and October 2008 there were no deposits into this Account. That between May 15, 2009 and May 20, 2009 there were no withdrawals from this account, only debit purchases of minor value items. Also, upon review of these documents I again spoke with Joseph Erardi (Southington Superintendant of Schools). He informed me that this Account (Bill Mella's Gameplan Football Camp) is completely separate from the Board of Education and no funds from this Account would be considered Town Monies. . Bank with regard to That on September 18, 2009 I received a fax directly from The Melia's account. Upon review of these documents, it was determined this was a checking account.

Further review showed the following deposits for September and October 2008: September 3, 2008 a deposit of $2,095.24 was made (this matches his 08-29-2008 pay to the penny).

September 16, 2008 a deposit of $1,793.37 was made (this matches his 09-12-2008 pay to the penny).

October 1, 2008 a deposit of $1,793.37 was made (this matches his 09-26-2008 pay to the penny).

October 14, 2008 a deposit of $1,793.37 was made (this matches his 10-10-2008 pay to the penny).

October 27, 2008 a deposit of $2,793.37 was made (on October 24, 2008 Mella had been issued two checks through work with a total NET Pay of $7,702.04).

That during this time period (September and October 2008 there were only two other deposits into this Account. They are as follows: September 16, 2008 there was a deposit of $500.00 (this date would have been a week before the fundraiser was complete and about a month before Mazzarella stated he gave the monies to Mella) and then on October 21, 2008 there was a deposit of $500.00 into this account. That between May 15, 2009 and May 20, 2009 there were no withdrawals made from this account. I did however find that on May 12, 2009 (this would have been three days prior to Mella meeting with the three Assistant Coaches) there was an "Electronic Check" issued from his account (check # 2500) in the amount of two thousand two hundred dollars and twenty six cents ($2,200.26).

Therefore, upon seeing this activity I again met with Mella on September 24, 2009 at Southington High School. During this meeting with Mella I produced the banking statements. Upon him seeing the statements I advised him that I needed to know about the two five hundred dollars deposits as well as the "electronic check". Mella stated that it is not uncommon for his parents to either hand

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him monies when they come to visit or to send him monies. He stated that his parents often "help out" giving him money to pay for day care and other family expenses. He stated that the two five hundred dollars deposits were monies given to him by his parents. With regard to the "electronic check" (check # 2500) he stated that he would need to contact his bank to have them research that particular transaction.

That on September 29, 2009 I received a fax transaction directly from The and attached statement indicated that check # 2500, was issued to mortgage payment from Mella's account.

Bank. This fax as a

I also contacted Joseph Erardi and requested a copy of the actual report produced by Blum

Shapiro regarding the audit they preformed for the Board of Education. Upon review if this

document the following was noted: The document was addressed to Attorney Christine Chinni,

Counsel for the Southington Board of Education. The remainder of the report was identical to the

letter I had previously received from Attorney Chinni regarding the audit with the following

additional information: "We were not engaged to and did not conduct an examination, the objective

of which would be the expression of an opinion on the Blue Knight Football Account. Accordingly,

we do not express such an opinion. Had we performed additional procedures, other matters might

have come to our attention that would have been reported to you."

Investigative Findings:

With regard to this investigation, the general overall allegation was that Southington High School

Head Football Coach William Mella allegedly misused monies that did not belong to him. In review

of this allegation, I broke that down to four separate transactions that needed to be investigated.

First was the five thousand dollars in cash monies that was given to Mella by Tony Mazzarella Jr.

at the end of the 2008 fundraiser. Second was check # 340. Third was check # 346 and the fourth

was check # 380.

First off, in reviewing the checkbook ledger that I was provided for the "Blue Knight Football

Account", I found that it was very poorly maintained. The ledger started on JanuarY 27, 2007 and

continued through April 2009 when this Account was "closed". I found several checks that had to

be re-issued due to the fact that the initial check that had been issued "bounced", presumably to a

lack of funds in the account. Many of the entries in the ledger had no dates associated with when

the check was issued. Also, a number of entries in the ledger had been marked "void" with no

further explanation.

Investigation of the five thousand dollars of cash monies. With regard to the five thousand

dollars provided to Mella on or about the middle of October 2008. There is no dispute that Mella

received these monies. During the May 15, 2009 meeting with Prairie, Stamilio and Mazzarella Jr.,

Mella admitted to taking possession of these monies. When I met with Mella and obtained his

written statement, Mella again admitted taking possession of the monies. During the May 15, 2009

meeting with his assistant coaches, Mella stated that he used the monies to pay the volunteer

coaches. When confronted with the fact that all volunteer coaches except Ryan Hankard had been

contacted and stated they had not received any cash payments, Mella then told the assistant

coaches that he paid Ryan Hankard one thousand dollars and used the rest of the money to "buy

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stuff for the program". Mella further told the assistant coaches that he did not remember exactly what he purchased and that he had no receipts for what items he purchased. Three days later Mella met with Kathy McGrath and Eric Swallow. During this meeting (according to the written documentation provided to me by Kathy McGrath) Mella explained to them that "he had requested the funds to pay an assistant coach who worked with him on the defense program for the football team and that he could produce verification from this individual that he had received this compensation. He further informed us that he had the remaining $4,000 that he held for unanticipated expenses related to the football program that might arise throughout the year. I shared with him that the coaches had told Mr. Swallow and me that he (Mella) told them on May 15 that he did not have the money or any invoices or receipts for how it had been spent. He said that he was angry with the accusations made by them at that time and that was why he responded as he did. He then stated he could return the remaining $4,000 now. I asked him if he was going to write a check for that amount and he said, no, he had the cash that he had been given earlier in the school year. I told him to keep the money until I spoke to the Superintendent, Dr. Erardi. The meeting ended shortly after that time. On Tuesday, May 19, Dr. Erardi, Mr. Swallow, and I met with Mr. Mella. Mr. Mella told Dr. Erardi what he had shared with Mr. Swallow and me the day before.

He again said "I have the $4,000 and can give it to you right now". Dr, Erardi asked him where he has kept the funds and Mr. Mella responded he had it either with him or in his office since receiving the money in the fall. Dr. Erardi said the money should be placed in the high school's activity account. I asked that this take place at the start of the next school day so that the secretary/bookkeeper could accurately record the deposit. On May 2dh , Mr. Mella gave $4,000 in cash to his secretary, Mrs. Landino, who deposited the money into the activity account and confirmed to me that he had placed $4,000 in cash into the high school account."

When I interviewed Mella and obtained his written statement, Mella indicated to me that he had been in possession of the balance of the monies (four thousand dollars) all along. He stated that he provided the other explanation to the assistant coaches due to the way he felt he was being treated by his assistant coaches. I did contact Ryan Hankard (08-15-1973). Hankard told me that sometime in October 2008 he received payment in the form of one thousand dollars in cash monies from Bill Mella. In review of the records and documents that I have obtained, I can not find any documentation of these monies being deposited into either of his accounts nor can I find any documentation of monies being withdrawn from either of his accounts during the time period that he most likely would have needed the monies to make the account whole, had he stole the monies.

That based upon facts reviewed by me with regard to the five thousand dollars and absent Mella telling me that he used the remaining funds (four thousand dollars) and replaced them with other monies, there is no probable cause that any crime was committed with regard to these monies.

Investigation of check # 340. That with regard to Blue Knight Football Account check # 340, it was found that this .check was dated March 31, 2008 in the amount of one thousand dollars and it was issued to Bill Mella. In his statement, Mella stated the following with regard to this check, "This check was issued to me by Tony Jr. The money from this check was used for different incidentals that I purchased for the football team both prior to this check being issued as well as purchases that were made after the check was issued. Among the things this money was used for were the Winter 7 on 7 league, Winter 7 on 7 tournament, t-shirts, gloves, office supplies, quarterback T and

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trips to different col/eges. I had asked Tony for a check in the round figure of a thousand dollars knowing that I had spent a certain amount of monies and that I would be spending more aI/ towards or for the SHS football program." That based upon the poor management of this account fund, the lack of receipts, the fact that receipts were not required when monies were spent and absent Mella telling me he spent these monies on items outside of the SHS football program, there is no probable cause that any crime was committed with regard to these monies.

Investigation of check # 346. That with regard to Blue Knight Football Account check # 346, it was found that this check was dated May 2, 2008 in the amount of three hundred fifty dollars and it was issued to Bill Mella. In his statement, Mella stated the following with regard to this check, "This check was for reimbursement of my expenses for a trip I made to Philadelphia in the spring of 2008. Tony Jr. was supposed to make this trip with me but last minute he backed out due to him hurting his back. I went alone. I went to the University of Pennsylvania. The reimbursement was for my mileage, tolls, gas and food. I know that round trip this was well over four hundred miles.

Where I stayed was about thirty miles from the school and I went back and forth a couple of times.

The food also included taking a member of their coaching staff out to dinner." With regard to this reimbursement, Tony Mazzarella Jr. stated the following in his statement, "In the Spring of 2008 I was scheduled to go to Philadelphia with Bill Mella. We were going to attend college spring practice at the University of Pennsylvania and Temple. Right before we were supposed to go, my back was bothering me and I was unable to attend this trip. Bill Mella ended up going on this trip by himself." That I went to Mapquest to find the driving distance from Southington High School to the University of Pennsylvania. In doing so I learned this trip would be four hundred twenty (420) miles round trip. In Mella's statement he stated that he stayed about thirty (30) miles from the college and made the trip back and forth a couple of times. If he had made this trip twice (thirty miles each way) that would have been about one hundred twenty (120) miles. I then searched the IRS website and found their "standard mileage rates" document. According to the IRS document, from January 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008 the optional standard mileage rates for employees (reimbursement) was fifty cents a mile. That based upon this formula, reimbursement for five hundred forty (540) miles would have been two hundred seventy dollars ($270.00). This would leave a balance of eighty dollars that certainly could have been used for food, gas and tolls. I find n6 criminal element with regard to this check.

Investigation of check # 380. That with regard to Blue Knight Football Account check # 380, it was found that this check was dated August 21, 200.8 in the amount of four hundred dollars and it was made out to cash. In Tony Mazzarella's written statement, he provided the following information regarding this check, "From what I remember about this check was that Bill called me shortly before we were going to camp and he stated that he was going to need monies for incidentals. Either I or my wife made the check out, cashed it and gave the monies to Bill." I did address this check with Mella after he had provided his statement. He stated the 2008 Football Camp was held in Stowe, Vermont. There were about seventy six (76) players that attended as well as the coaches and some support staff. Mella reported that several of the coaches and or support staff drove up in their own vehicles. He stated that he used this money to pay for some of their gas. He stated that the camp they stayed at provided a cafeteria style food setting. He stated that some of the players requested other food and or beverages. He stated that money was used to purchase sandwiches, sodas, Gatorade and snacks. I find no criminal element with regard to this check.

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Conclusion:

Based upon the facts and circumstances uncovered during this investigation and contained within this report, and absent further information or a confession from William Mella that he (Mella) misused the funds, there is not enough probable cause to make an arrest. Therefore, this case is closed with no criminal charges being filed,

Date :__1<-'0",,-,_'--=.();.....;([,,-'_'.'->("::")-1.7_

COPy

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