Robert Cappelletti, 60, of Middlebury, the former executive director of both the Meriden and Groton Housing Authorities, has been charged with federal fraud and money laundering offenses. Prosecutors allege that Cappelletti secured a $16.2 million loan in 2022 on behalf of Maynard Road Corp., a nonprofit affiliated with the Meriden Housing Authority, without obtaining proper authorization from either organization's board. He is accused of providing the lender with fraudulent board resolutions to substantiate the unauthorized transaction.
Following the transfer of nearly $14 million in loan proceeds into a Maynard Road bank account in July 2022, Cappelletti allegedly diverted a portion of these funds for his personal benefit. This included approximately $450,000 deposited into his personal investment account and nearly $375,000 used to pay down the mortgage on his home. The indictment details that Cappelletti's tenure as executive director spanned from approximately 2009 to May 2025 for Meriden and from 2016 to January 2025 for Groton.
Further allegations state that Cappelletti used funds from the Groton Housing Authority to make payments on this unauthorized loan, even though neither the GHA nor its nonprofit affiliate, Greater Groton Realty Corp., were borrowers or guarantors. He reportedly misled Groton organizations by claiming these payments were linked to a forthcoming bond for a local development project and would be reimbursed, supporting these claims with forged invoices to conceal his scheme.
Cappelletti faces nine counts, including five counts of wire fraud, each carrying a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, and four counts of making illegal monetary transactions, each with a maximum of 10 years. He was arrested on September 24, 2026, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $500,000 bond pending trial. The investigation is being conducted by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General.
