Greenwich police officer charged with Medicaid fraud

Aug. 10--A Greenwich police officer has been arrested on theft and fraud charges, accused of billing Medicaid for work as a personal care assistant he never performed, according to a Chief State's Attorney's spokesman.

Officer Michael Mastronardi, 45, of Shelton was arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, conspiracy to commit first-degree larceny by defrauding a public community, health insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit health insurance fraud, Mark Dupuis said Friday. He was released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in Hartford on Aug. 21.

Dupuis said Mastronardi was paid more than $57,000 for the claims. He was working for the Greenwich Police Department during the time he claimed he was a personal care assistant, he said.

According to the warrant for his arrest, he was an enrolled provider in the Personal Care Assistance program, a federal and state-funded Medicaid program that allows participants to hire people to help them with their daily care. He billed Medicaid, and was paid, for helping his uncle between August 2014 and April 2019.

Some of his uncle's other caregivers told investigators that they never saw Mastronardi, and the uncle himself told a caregiver his family members "don't want to help him with nothing," according to the warrant.

Investigators examined Mastronardi's hours with the police department and his hours working private-duty jobs, for which officers are paid by entities outside of the department. "Out of twenty-nine (29) private duty jobs reviewed between 2/23/2016 and 1/6/2017, the hours paid by Medicaid overlapped the private duty hours twenty-four (24) times," the warrant said.

Fraud investigators also conducted surveillance of his uncle's house and never saw any of the three vehicles registered to Mastronardi at the home when he was supposed to be there, it said.

When interviewed, the uncle at first told investigators that his nephew worked all of the hours for which he was paid, but later said he falsified his work hours when submitting his nephew's hours to the program.

"There were days that he didn't work, but I put down that he worked," the uncle said, adding that he lied about it to Mastronardi.

Mastronardi, an 18-year veteran of the Greenwich Police Department, has been placed on paid administrative leave, Greenwich Lt. John Slusarz said.

"The police administration recognizes that the officer is entitled to all established due process rights afforded him and, while ensuring the community's continued public trust in the department, will reserve judgment until such time that a thorough Internal Affairs investigation has been completed," he said.

The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are expected, Dupuis said.

Christine Dempsey can be reached at [email protected].

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