This from Chief State’s Attorney Kevin Kane:
“A Bloomfield woman who served as campaign treasurer for a Hartford State Representative was arrested today and charged with embezzling more than $4,000 in campaign funds.
TANZANIA M. COOPER, age 43, of 155 Terry Plains Road, Bloomfield, was charged with one count of Larceny in the First Degree, a felony carrying a maximum term of 20 years in prison, and one count of Larceny in the Sixth Degree, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum term of imprisonment of three months.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, Cooper is charged with making 21 unauthorized withdrawals between July 2010 and July 2012 from the re-election campaign account for State Representative Douglas McGrory.
Cooper told investigators that McGrory had no knowledge of the embezzlement of campaign funds and was not involved, the warrant states.
The unauthorized withdrawals were detected in an audit of the campaign’s finances conducted by the State Elections Enforcement Commission in the Office of Governmental Accountability, the warrant states. When questioned by authorities, Ms. Cooper was unable to provide a legitimate reason for withdrawing the money, the warrant states.
She is accused of embezzling approximately $3,854 from the public funds provided to the campaign under the state’s Citizens Election Fund campaign finance grant program and another $300 from private donations to the campaign, the warrant states.
The matter was initially investigated by the Elections Enforcement Commission, which referred the case to the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney.
Cooper was arrested this morning by inspectors from the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office. She was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond and be arraigned in Hartford Superior Court, G.A. No. 14, on November 1, 2013.
The charges are merely accusations and she is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane acknowledged the Statewide Elections Enforcement Commission and its investigators for their significant contributions in this investigation.”