A former West Haven city employee who was arrested amid a probe into the misuse of COVID-19 relief funds has been sentenced to 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to a conspiracy charge, according to the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
John Bernardo, 66, of West Haven, worked for the city of West Haven as a housing specialist in the office of Community Development Administration, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Federal prosecutors said Bernardo, who was a housing specialist in West Haven's Office of Community Development Administration, formed Compass Investment Group, LLC in January 2021 with former state representative Michael DiMassa and in February 2021, the company fraudulently billed the City of West Haven and its “COVID-19 Grant Department” for services that were not performed.
Between February 2021 and September 2021, the City of West Haven paid Compass Investment Group more than $636,000 and federal officials said Bernardo received a portion of these funds.
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Bernardo was arrested on Nov. 4, 2021 and pleaded guilty on June 14, 2022 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The judge ordered him to pay $58,927.25 in restitution.
Bernardo was sentenced Wednesday to 13 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.
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On Nov. 1, 2022, DiMassa pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and agreed to pay $1.2 million in restitution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He is awaiting sentencing.
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