New Canaan Pension Committee votes to forfeit three employees' benefits

Other Committee · Meeting of February 10, 2026

New Canaan Pension Committee votes to forfeit three employees' retirement benefits over fraud finding. Meeting behind closed doors on a personnel matter, the committee emerged to unanimously approve a motion citing "acts of fraud or dishonesty toward the employer" against Board of Education food services employees Bruce Gluck, Joanne Pasarelli and Marie Wilson under section 16.5 of the retirement plan. The same session approved new pension benefits for four retiring or terminating members, including a police officer with 25.75 years of service earning a $5,634.71 monthly benefit, and signed off on $39,885 and $6,700 in plan administration and actuarial expenses.

Plan administrator Cheryl Jones reported the fund's market value has climbed to roughly $195 million, up about $3 million since the last meeting.

In the full story:

• The complete report — 829 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

The Full Article

NEW CANAAN — February 10, 2026 — The New Canaan Pension Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to forfeit the retirement benefits of three Board of Education food services employees after finding they committed acts of fraud or dishonesty toward their employer.

The committee, which oversees the town's funded retirement plan, took the action against Bruce Gluck, Joanne Pasarelli and Marie Wilson under section 16.5 of the retirement plan following a closed-door executive session. The same meeting also saw the committee approve new pension benefits for four retiring or terminating employees and sign off on more than $46,000 in plan administration and actuarial expenses.

The Full Story

The committee opened its 11 a.m. meeting with a roll call that included the committee chair, an officer identified as Sebastian representing the Police Department, Joe Diorio representing the Fire Department, attorney Chris Hudson serving as legal counsel, and a Board of Education representative referred to as Dr. Lutzy. Committee member Bob Hamill was not yet present when the meeting began; the chair said she hoped he would arrive shortly. Members first approved, without changes, the minutes of the committee's November 19, 2025 meeting.

The committee then moved to its most consequential item: a discussion of benefits for three Board of Education food services employees, Gluck, Pasarelli and Wilson. Members voted unanimously to move into executive session, citing the need to discuss a personnel matter. Those invited into the closed session included staff identified as Ann Kelly Lent, Cheryl Jones and others, along with Dr. Lutzy, Officer Sebastian, Diorio and Hudson.

Emerging from executive session, the chair brought a motion to the floor.

"If I could get a motion to forfeit the retirement benefits for Bruce Gluck, Joanne Pasarelli and Marie Wilson under section 16.5 of the retirement plan on the grounds that the participants committed acts of fraud or dishonesty toward the employer." — Committee chair

The motion passed unanimously by all members in attendance. The transcript does not detail the underlying allegations beyond the fraud or dishonesty finding cited in the motion.

After the personnel item concluded, several staff members who had been present for the executive session stepped out, while one attendee asked to remain.

"This is my first pension committee. I'd like to stay." — Sean, a first-time attendee

The committee then turned to routine business. Plan administrator Cheryl Jones presented four new pension benefit approvals for retiring or terminating members: a police officer, identified as Thomas Patton, with 25.75 years of service and a monthly vested benefit of $5,634.71; a Board of Education employee whose name was rendered unclearly in the recording, with roughly 10.16 years of service and a monthly benefit of $1,172.71; Board of Education employee Sue Ingram Keller, with 1.75 years of service, who will take a return of contributions with interest totaling $8,285.61; and a Board of Education employee with 25.25 years of service and a monthly benefit of $2,720.77. The committee approved all four unanimously.

Jones also reported the plan gained several new members through the Board of Education this month, and reported two deceased members: Thomas Gilroy, whose beneficiary Judy Gilroy will receive $230.98 monthly, and a former Board of Education employee, Daryl Denzo, who died November 27, 2025, with no beneficiary on file.

Members then approved two sets of plan expenses without discussion: $39,885 covering benefit calculations, negotiation cost estimates, service center costs, new pay setups, termination and death notices, benefit payments, and actuarial valuations, and $6,700 to actuarial consultant USI for three months of services. Jones reported the plan's market value had risen to approximately $195 million, up roughly $3 million since the committee's last meeting. The committee adjourned unanimously shortly after.

Why It Matters

The forfeiture vote is the most significant action the committee has taken in recent memory, stripping three current or former Board of Education food services employees of retirement benefits they would otherwise have been entitled to under the town's pension plan. Because the vote followed a closed personnel session, residents and even the employees' former colleagues have limited public detail on what specifically triggered the fraud or dishonesty finding. The committee's broader business, including new benefit approvals and a plan now valued near $195 million, continues on its normal quarterly cycle, with the next scheduled review of terminating and retiring members expected at a future meeting.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approve minutes of the November 19, 2025 meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Move into executive session to discuss a personnel matter Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Forfeit retirement benefits of Bruce Gluck, Joanne Pasarelli and Marie Wilson under section 16.5 of the retirement plan Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve new pension benefits for terminating and retiring members Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approve plan expenses of $39,885 and $6,700 Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Adjourn the meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

Source

Town Of New Canaan: Pension Committee meeting, February 10, 2026