New report: Erin Stewart improperly sought $205,000 ‘separation payout’
The findings came from Crumbie Law Firm, hired by Stewart's successor Democrat Bobby Sanchez to investigate spending questions.
Jun 4, 2026, 1:04 PM
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Former New Britain Mayor and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Erin Stewart improperly sought $205,479 in severance for working "24/7 for 12 years," according to a new report from an outside law firm.
That's nearly 20 times what she was owed, the report concluded.
The new revelations came one day after Attorney General William Tong launched an investigation into Stewart's handling of a charitable fund, and three weeks after Connecticut State Police began investigating more than $200,000 of personal expenses charged to the former mayor's taxpayer-funded credit card.
The findings came from Crumbie Law Firm, hired by Stewart's successor Democrat Bobby Sanchez to investigate spending questions.
Stewart initially claimed she was owed compensation for 240 unused vacation days, 78 unused personal days, 126 unused holidays and 192 unused sick days dating back to 2013, investigators allege. Despite Stewart's claims, the report noted that the mayor "had taken two separate maternity leaves for the birth of her children and medical leave to have surgery, and that there was other documented leave time taken by Ms. Stewart."
When New Britain's human resources director Linda Guard questioned the payouts, the report stated that "Ms. Stewart angrily responded that she 'worked 24/7 for 12 years'; she then asked, 'Don't you think I'm due this?' In essence, Ms. Stewart's reasoning for the shocking amount she demanded was based on the claim that over her 12-year term as mayor, she did not take a single day off for vacation, illness, or any other reason."
Guard told investigators that Stewart pressured her to sign a letter approving a lower "separation payout" of $150,949. Stewart received $121,978 before Sanchez halted the payments.
"Ms. Guard reported that she signed the Letter reluctantly because she feared that refusing to do so would jeopardize her employment," the report said. "The evidence suggests the Letter was an attempt to manufacture a paper trail to support a claim of entitlement to benefits to which Ms. Stewart was not entitled."
Crumbie investigators also allege that Stewart improperly received $31,561 in tuition reimbursement for her Master's degree, a violation of city and state law. The report claimed that then-Common Council President Kristian Rosado approved the payment without the full council's approval.
"Her actions may constitute fraud, larceny, embezzlement, false statements and official misconduct," the report concluded.
Sanchez said the city will fight to get taxpayers' money back.
"The taxpayers of New Britain deserve answers, they deserve restitution where appropriate, and they deserve confidence that no individual, regardless of position or title, is above the law," Sanchez said in a statement.
