Guite Resigns

by Julie Weisberg - December, 11, 2002

Denise Guite, Berlin Housing Authority Executive Director, resigned from her post last week amid allegations she misused thousands of dollars of the authority’s funds.

Guite, of 28 Whispering Brook Drive, is accused of taking more than $50,000 through questionable expenditures made directly from a money market account, used for investing cash not needed for day-to-day operations, through debit card purchases.

Executive director since November 2000, Guite served as the authority’s chief financial officer and was in control of how and when the debit card was used.

The state Department of Economic and Community Development, which directly oversees the operations of housing authorities across the state, alerted the town to the suspicious financial activity in a letter from DECD Deputy Commissioner Timothy Coppage last month.

“There are expenditures that tally multiple thousands of dollars,” Coppage said. “They purportedly represent expenditures by the housing authority elderly accounts that were made outside of your normal checkbook/bill paying process.”

According to Coppage, the questionable expenditures made with the debit card include purchases at Filene’s, Mickey Finn’s, Discount Stereo, the Quality, Value and Convenience shopping channel (QVC) and thousands of dollars in air fares, hotel charges and automatic teller machine withdrawals.

“The internal control structure to ensure the safeguarding of the elderly property administration funds money appears to have a serious breach in it,” Coppage said.

Also in question are two paychecks, both made out to Guite, for the same pay period. Coppage said Guite’s explanations for the anomaly “did not stand the test” of an account’s review.

“I conclude from this that there may be problems in payroll accounts that well need to receive scrutiny,” he said.

Guite, 36, had been suspended with pay by the authority pending the outcome of a special meeting on Dec. 2. But the meeting was adjourned after the housing authority’s attorney notified members Guite intended to resign.

Housing Authority Chairman Mary Wilcox said the commission will “not immediately” name an interim director, instead she said the authority’s priority is to assess the organization’s current financial state.

“We are going to get our house in order first,” she said. “And we will be working with the (DECD) and other housing authorities to work on our policies and procedures.”

Wilcox said once the authority achieves these goals, it will begin the process of searching for an interim executive director.

Once notified of the questionable account activity, the housing authority immediately began an extensive internal audit.

According to Coppage, the last audit commissioned by the Berlin Housing Authority was conducted for the fiscal years of 1998-2000. The DECD requires Connecticut housing authorities to audit their books every two years.

Also, the Berlin Police Department is currently conducting an investigation into Guite’s financial activity during her tenure as director.

BPD Sgt. Larry Schubert said it would be up to the housing authority to decide whether or not to pursue a criminal investigation regarding the matter.