#Norwalk CT–Municipal Employee Arrested On Thursday, February 25, 2021, William Howard, age 70, of 29 Bonnybrook Rd Norwalk, CT turned himself in to the Norwalk Police Department on an arrest warrant, charging him with 32 counts of Forgery in the Second Degree. The arrest warrant was the result of a three month long investigation conducted by the Norwalk Police Department Detective Bureau at the request of the City of Norwalk’s Recreation and Parks Department, regarding submitted vendor bids. William Howard was a seasonal employee with the City of Norwalk with no access to City accounts or funds.

As a result of the investigators’ findings, William Howard was processed and released on a court set bond of $100,000 with an arraignment date of April 23rd 2021. The bids in question date back to at least 2007. They were discovered in late 2020 following changes in personnel and reporting structure within the Recreation and Parks Department. As soon as City staff noticed discrepancies in documents and receipts, they immediately contacted the Norwalk Police Department for investigation.

Due to statute of limitations, investigators were able to proceed with charges for incidents that occurred within the last five years. “These allegations represent a severe breach of the public’s trust and are in no way indicative of the overall workforce of the City of Norwalk. Professionalized restructuring of City Hall helped bring these alleged actions to light. I applaud the efforts of our staff in Recreation and Parks for taking immediate action and contacting the Norwalk Police Department as soon as they noticed something wasn’t right,” Mayor Harry Rilling said. Due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no further information can be released at this time. Norwalk Police Tip Line: 203-854-3111 Anonymous Internet tips can be sent to Norwalk Police website at: www.norwalkpd.com