Jacobson Pleads Not Guilty, For Now

by Laura Glesby

As the state continues to investigate the scope of former Police Chief Karl Jacobson’s alleged theft of public funds, Jacobson on Friday entered a pro forma not-guilty plea — which could change as his case proceeds through court.

The city’s former police chief appeared before Superior Court Judge Tracy Dayton in Courtroom 6A of the 235 Church St. courthouse at around 11 a.m.

Jacobson retired on Jan. 5 immediately after the New Haven Police Department’s three assistant police chiefs at the time confronted him about the alleged theft. Jacobson was arrested in February for two counts of Larceny in the First Degree by Defrauding a Public Community.

A state police affidavit claims that Jacobson stole $81,500 from a police confidential informants (CI) fund as well as from the $4,000 from the Police Activity League (PAL).

According to the affidavit, Jacobson lost a net of at least $214,000 after gambling over $4.4 million on the sports-betting apps DraftKings and FanDuel during his final year as police chief due to a professed gambling problem.

Those preliminary numbers may not reflect the final findings of the state’s investigation.

New Britain State’s Attorney Christian Watson, the prosecutor assigned to the case, stated in court on Friday, “There is still some additional investigation going on regarding the total amount.”

Judge Dayton agreed to continue the case, scheduling the next hearing for June 2, to “allow some more time for the audit.”

In the meantime, Jacobson — who has been released from state custody on a $150,000 bond — was asked to enter a pro forma plea.

“Would you like to enter a ‘not guilty, jury election’” plea? Dayton asked Jacobson and his attorney, Gregory Cerritelli.

“Yes, your honor,” Cerritelli replied.

While the plea was technically a request for a trial by jury, it was in practice a formality enabling the pretrial process to move forward, according to Cerritelli.

Once the state’s investigation concludes, the findings of the investigation will be made available to the defense team as part of the discovery process. Jacobson’s plea may or may not change based on what discovery reveals.

“No one is above the law and that includes the chief of police,” Mayor Justin Elicker told the Independent in a statement. “It is important that former Chief Karl Jacobson is held accountable for his actions and that the criminal justice process takes its course.”

Five years into a new era of legalized sports betting in Connecticut, Jacobson is not the only police department member in the area to have allegedly stolen funds to gamble on an online sports betting app. As the Valley Independent Sentinel reported Tuesday, a Seymour police officer was charged with stealing about $32,000 from the town’s police union, at least some of which he allegedly used to gamble on DraftKings.