Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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One of the attorneys for the lunch ladies charged with first-degree larceny, Stamford-based Darnell Crosland, told reporters Monday that he and his client have agreed to be filmed by A&E as part of the TV network’s planned show, “The Accused.” The show “tells the dramatic stories of people at the most vital and most terrifying moment of their lives,” according to A&E. “This gripping series reveals the true inside story of what happens when someone is accused of a crime they believe they did not commit. Featuring the defendant, their family and their legal teams, ‘The Accused (working title)’ reveals the personal cost of every charge, watching each case unfold from the defendant’s point of view. It shares every twist and turn of this traumatic experience from their first meeting with their lawyers right up to the verdict allowing viewers to judge the subject’s innocence for themselves.”

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A new business is “popping up” next Wednesday at 4 South Ave. (formerly Funky Monkey) in New Canaan.

News

Lunch Lady’s Attorney: Former Food Services Director ‘May Have Been Involved in a Fraud’

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An attorney for one of the former New Canaan lunch ladies accused of stealing a total of nearly $500,000 in cash from school cafeterias said Monday that he’s “optimistic” regarding his client’s case and also interested to find out what role was played by a man who used to oversee food services for the district. Stamford-based attorney Darnell Crosland told reporters that he has made an official request for discovery, in part to find out whether there’s evidence exonerating his client, Joanne Pascarelli, and also made an inquiry into Bruce Gluck, former head of food services for New Canaan Public Schools. “There is evidence that he may have been involved in a fraud, but it’s outside of the statute of limitations,” Crosland said at Stamford Courthouse after Pascarelli appeared before Judge Gary White. She and her sister, Marie Wilson, were arrested last month by New Canaan Police and charged with first-degree larceny following a monthslong investigation prompted by a complaint from the school district. 

“The idea here is that there’s $500,000 that’s alleged they have taken,” Crosland said. “And there’s an old adage, ‘Follow the money.’ And when you look at these individuals, there’s no cookie crumbs leading us to any money here, at all.

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Attorney for Lunch Lady: Schools’ Losses the Result of ‘Systemic Negligence’

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The cafeteria at Saxe Middle School had “complicated revenue streams” and income that “went beyond traditional lunch lines,” according to an attorney for one of the women charged last month with felony larceny in connection with what authorities call the theft of nearly $500,000 from New Canaan Public Schools. Snack lines at the school “generated significant amounts of income” and Joanne Pascarelli, though she oversaw the food program at Saxe, “wasn’t in charge of any of those revenue streams,” Stamford-based attorney Darnell Crosland told reporters following her first court appearance Tuesday morning. In researching the case, Crosland said, his firm has learned that the school district had “systemic negligence.”

“The school as a result of its systemic negligence lost money, of which they made a negligence claim to the insurance company and the insurance company to our understanding reimbursed them every dime of that loss,” Crosland said. His comments came minutes after Pascarelli, 61, of Norwalk, appeared before Judge Stephanie McLaughlin in state Superior Court in Norwalk. She and her sister, 67-year-old Marie Wilson of Wilton, formerly the assistant food director at New Canaan High School, were arrested by New Canaan Police on Aug.