On Monday, May 22, 2023, Trumbull police arrested a former Town of Trumbull Administrative Assistant for larceny charges after a lengthy investigation related to her actions while she was employed by the Mary J. Sherlach Counseling Center on Old Mine Road. Laura Shiel, age 42, of Trumbull, turned herself in to police to face the charges filed against her regarding these matters.
Trumbull Town officials became suspicious when they found revenues for the Counseling Center were lower than projected by thousands of dollars. An audit was then conducted by an Internal Auditor through the Trumbull Board of Finance which discovered that the Administrative Assistant, Shiel, had misappropriated over $14,000 from the Town of Trumbull's Mary J. Sherlach Counseling Center. The loss was discovered after a significant amount of cash receipts were found, that had not been deposited, dating back since 2020. Trumbull detectives began the investigation based on the findings of the audit, which identified Shiel’s involvement.
Shiel, who was hired by the Town as an Administrative Assistant in 2019, was to handle the revenue coming in to the center, and was responsible to take cash and check payments that came in from clients. Shiel was then to make bank deposits of The Center’s revenue. These funds were to be deposited based on town policy, however, many deposits were never made.
Shiel was charged with Larceny in the First Degree, and Larceny in the Second degree. She was released on a Promise to Appear in Bridgeport Superior Court on May 30, 2023.
The Mary J. Sherlach Counseling Center provides a therapeutic clinical setting for individual and family therapy, group therapy, and crisis intervention. The Center is owned by the Town of Trumbull, and is operated by Town of Trumbull employees.