A public document appears to show that the city agreed to secrecy in the terms of the resignation of the former head of community services under the administration of Republican Mayor Erin Stewart.
The document and another with accounting records were released by city of New Britain in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the New Britain Progressive. The New Britain Progressive newspaper requested the documents after allegations of theft of public funds by a former city administrator.
Zeena Tawfik, former head of community services under the administration of Stewart, according to a report in the New Britain Herald, was arrested for allegedly embezzling $7,141.55 in grant moneys that were given to the city, “to fund substance abuse and bullying prevention programs within the city.”
In an Agreement and General Release document, signed on August 13, 2019 between Tawfik and the city, Tawfik apparently agreed to make repayments to the city of $7,464.69, in a reportedly separate matter from the $7,141.55 in grant moneys that were the subject of the alleged theft. Tawfik and the city apparently agreed in the Agreement and General Release document to resign from her position with the city by August 16, 2019, with her resignation effective August 23, 2019.
The Agreement and General Release document also apparently contained a provision in which the city and Tawfik agreed to keep the Agreement, itself, secret. The document said that,
The Employee, Union and Employer understand and agree that this Agreement and the matters discussed in negotiating its terms, are confidential. It is therefore expressly understood and agreed by the parties that neither party will reveal, discuss, publish or in any way communicate any of the terms of this Agreement to any person, organization or other entity, except to immediate family members and professional representatives, who shall also be informed of and bound by this confidentiality clause. In response to any direct inquiries regarding the resolution of this matter, the Parties agree that they will respond only by stating that they agreed to resolve the matter.
Critics of Stewart had already been quick to note that that details of the theft allegations against the former city administrator remained unknown to the public while Stewart was standing for re-election in the 2019 city elections. While Stewart has sought to distance herself from the alleged scandal, Tawfik has been called a close friend of Stewart who was hired to head community services under Stewart.
The Agreement document, however, also acknowledged that,
The Employee understands and agrees that as the Employer is a public agency under the Connecticut General Statutes, it is subject to the Freedom of information Act and may have to release this Agreement if a request is made under the Freedom of Information Act. The Employer agrees upon complying with such a Freedom of Information Act Request, the Employer will send a copy of the Request and a copy of the Compliance to the Employee.
The Agreement and General Release document, released to the New Britain Progressive under the Freedom of Information Act, has now been published in full by the New Britain Progressive.
The Hartford Courant has reported that Tawfik was given accelerated rehabilitation by the courts, meaning that, “If Zeena Tawfik stays out of legal trouble for the next year, the third-degree larceny charge against her will be dismissed, and records of the case will be erased, New Britain Superior Court Judge Tammy Geathers said.”
The Hartford Courant noted that, “If convicted of third-degree larceny, Tawfik would have faced up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. But John Daikun, a lawyer representing New Britain, said the city wasn’t opposing her request for accelerated rehabilitation because she has made full restitution.”
