Southington Woman Charged After Looting Client Fund of $1 Million

A Southington resident and former longtime employee at the law firm of Grady & Riley, LLP, in Waterbury is facing a host of charges after police said an investigation revealed she had stolen more than $1 million from a client fund and forged multiple checks and documents in an attempt to cover her trail.

If not for a medical leave that led other employees to discover her indiscretions, the nearly five-year effort that allowed her to take so much may have continued, Waterbury police said.

Officers on Wednesday arrested Barbara N. Kalpin after she turned herself in on two active warrants for her arrest. Kalpin, of 43 Princess Pine Path in Southington, was booked on various charges including two counts of first-degree larceny and 112 counts of second-degree forgery.

The investigation into Kalpin, a 29-year-employee of the Waterbury-based law firm Grady & Riley, began in May when she was out on an extended medical leave and other employees were attempting to help fill in her role in her absence, according to police reports.

Francis Grady, principal at the law firm, told the Waterbury Republican-American Wednesday that she was fired immediately following the discovery and a complaint was filed with the Waterbury Police Department on May 29.

“The partners of the law firm have made sure that no client lost any money,” Grady told the Waterbury Republican-American. “We were sad that a longtime employee took money. We’ll let the courts deal with her.”

The firm specializes in personal injury law and Grady said in the interview with the Waterbury Republican-American that no client would be affected.

According to the court documents, the theft took place over an extended period, beginning in 2008. Kalpin was assigned to balance an account used to transfer money between clients and although she was not permitted to write checks, did so on 93 occasions in the names of clients and attorneys to pay off credit card debts, mortgage and take out cash.

The documents state that Kalpin also forged bank documents to obtain seven loans on her home totaling more than $700,000 in debt. She also had numerous credit card charges showing more than $500,000 in debt at the Sports Haven racing establishment in New Haven, as well as another $142,000 from casino trips in the northeast.

Kalpin was released Wednesday after posting a $125,000 bond and is due in Waterbury Superior Court for arraignment later this month.

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