Pretrial Hearing for Cheshire Bank Teller

A pretrial hearing for a former teller at  will be held July 31, according to court documents.

Sarah Ann Kwasinskas, 30, of Naugatuck, is charged with larceny in the first degree for allegedly embezzling nearly $254,000 from Cheshire bank customers from Nov. 2010 until October 2011.

obtained from Meriden Superior Court shows that an internal audit by the bank identified 17 victims, one being the defendant's grandmother. There were 77 instances, the warrant states, in which Kwasinskas transferred money illegally from Certificate of Deposit accounts into her teller drawer "to cover the thefts and balance her drawer." 

The larceny charges against Kwasinskas were filed on Jan. 10 by Cheshire police after a nearly three-month investigation into the embezzlement at the bank at 1699 Highland Ave. First-degree larceny is a Class B felony, which carries a sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $15,000.

Kwasinskas pleaded not guilty on April 11 and has hired attorney Christopher Duby of North Haven to represent her. Court documents show the State's Attorney's office on April 24 moved for disclosure from Kwasinskas' attorney of "Defense of mental disease or defect" documents.

The warrant shows that Kwasinskas told Cheshire police Detective Kerry Nastri on Dec. 28 that she had begun buying Percocet pain reliever pills on the streets of Waterbury after was prescribed the narcotic following childbirth in July 2010.