ALLEGED STEALING AT MICROTEL INN

Hotel Employee Accused Of Embezzlement
Published on 6/23/2009

A former employee of the Microtel Inn & Suites in Montville is accused of embezzling $39,363 by stealing from the hotel's weekly deposits.

Matthew Morton, 41, of 9 Alscot Drive, East Lyme, former assistant general manager of the hotel, was fired in January after admitting to the hotel's general manager that he had stolen money from the deposits to support a $150 a day pain killer habit. He said he had been drinking a six-pack of beer at lunch every day and was “in a daze all the time,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit prepared by Montville police officer David Radford.

Morton, who is charged with first-degree larceny and embezzlement, posted a $1,000 cash bond following his arraignment Friday. He is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Norwich on July 9. Defense attorney Gregg W. Wagman said his client became addicted to pain killers after taking them for a back injury and that Morton has been through rehabilitation and is now employed elsewhere.

Morton told a superior who interviewed him that he began stealing from the hotel in the fall of 2008. He said he was responsible for making deposits and would sometimes wait a week before going to the bank. He said he would open all the deposit bags and take money, then use funds from the current week's deposits to cover the amount stolen.

Morton said he started taking $50 to $60 “here and there” from the hotel's deposits. He said he began having “liquid lunches” every day then take a couple of Oxycodone pills.

Morton's superior, general manager Ty Coleman, was suspended and then fired following the discovery of the thefts, according to the warrant affidavit.

- Karen Florin
"Regional"


EDITORIAL FOOTNOTE: The accused person, is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The purpose of the story is Uncasville, Connecticut, is not the sleepy country town that it used to be. With progress, development, and the casinos, etc. has brought crime to the area. In my opinion, my readers, from around the country, need to know what is going on around here, so they can become more informed. This is not utopia, that our (the Mohegan Tribe) wants you to believe. What do you think?