New Britain’s tax collector spent years backdating tax payments to benefit herself and favored taxpayers at the direction of then-Mayor Erin Stewart’s office, according to a city-commissioned investigation.
Stewart’s chief of staff personally delivered checks from a well-connected tax delinquent to the tax collector, some late. A note in city records described the arrangement as a “1 time courtesy per mayor,” according to the Crumbie Law Group report.
When confronted about the scandal, Stewart claimed on television that she had been offered bribes “all the time” as mayor and never reported them, as state law requires, according to the CT Mirror
New Britain’s Republican mayor ran a tax collector’s office where favored taxpayers got their bills quietly manipulated, according to a city-commissioned investigation, and where New Britain’s own cleaning staff refused to set foot inside, afraid they’d be blamed when money went missing.
‘Per Mayor’
The Crumbie Law Group, hired by Democratic Mayor Bobby Sanchez, found that tax collector Cheryl Blogoslawski had spent a decade manipulating city tax records to backdate late payments, wiping out the 18% annual interest Connecticut law requires, according to the report published by FOX 61.
The beneficiaries included the tax collector, favored constituents, and at least one well-connected property owner who owed the city substantial back taxes, the report said.
That property owner, identified only as “Taxpayer 1,” received special treatment with the direct involvement of Stewart’s office, according to the report. Stewart’s chief of staff personally delivered Taxpayer 1’s checks to Blogoslawski, the report said. Some of those checks were undated while others were past due. A note left in the city’s tax system after one transaction captured the arrangement plainly: “1 time courtesy per mayor,” the report said.
It was not a one-time courtesy, the report concluded. According to the report, the chief of staff told investigators that anything he did regarding Taxpayer 1 “was either at the mayor’s direction or with her knowledge.”
Two city employees reported the scheme to Stewart’s office, according to the report. They were told it would be looked into. It never was. In January 2024, investigators found that more than $246,000 had been left sitting on top of the safe and that cleaning staff refused to enter the office, not wanting to be blamed if any of it went missing.
‘All the Time’
Attempting damage control on television, Stewart instead made things worse. Asked by WTNH anchor Dennis House whether anyone had ever offered her something in exchange for a favor, Stewart said “a hundred percent” and described being offered bribes “all the time” as mayor, none of which she reported, according to the CT Mirror. Connecticut law requires elected officials to report bribe offers.
Stewart later told the CT Mirror she had been referring to constituents asking for help paying their taxes, not actual bribes. Sanchez was not impressed.
“Apparently she knew about this,” Sanchez told the CT Mirror. “What did she do about it?”
Connecticut State Police have opened a criminal investigation, the Hartford Courant reported. The matter has been referred to state prosecutors, according to the CT Mirror.
By Kevin Coughlin
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