Two men have pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a scheme that prosecutors say embezzled millions of dollars from Success Village Apartments, a 924-unit residential cooperative spanning Bridgeport and Stratford.
Charles A. Pitcher, 58, of Trumbull, the cooperative’s former general manager, and Carmine Gentile, 37, of Freehold, New Jersey, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Hartford to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut.
The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Federal prosecutors said Pitcher, Gentile and others participated in a scheme from approximately June 2022 through September 2024 in which vendors submitted fraudulent or inflated invoices to Success Village Apartments Inc. (SVA).
Pitcher became SVA’s general manager in May 2022 for an annual fee of $250,000. He also owned and controlled Real Estate Company of New England LLC and Pitcher Enterprises LLC.
Gentile is a part owner of Umbrella Mechanical LLC, a New Jersey-based plumbing, heating and air conditioning contractor that began working at Success Village in June 2022, including on pipes and boilers supplying heat and hot water to the facilities.
Prosecutors said vendors, including Umbrella, submitted invoices containing excessive markups or charges for work and services that were not provided. In exchange for receiving SVA work and payments, vendors diverted approximately 10% to 30% of the money they received to Pitcher and another person identified in court documents only as “Person-1,” prosecutors said.
Umbrella received about $2.63 million from SVA, more than $526,000 of which was diverted to Pitcher and Person-1, prosecutors said.
Overall, Pitcher received more than $403,150 in diverted SVA funds associated with more than $3.66 million in payments to Umbrella and other vendors. Prosecutors said he also received at least $232,479 in purported consulting fees from SVA despite providing no services\
Gentile pleaded guilty Sept. 14 and agreed to forfeit at least $750,000 and pay at least $1.5 million in restitution. He remains free in lieu of $100,000 bond pending sentencing.
Pitcher pleaded guilty Sept. 15, and agreed to forfeit at least $635,629 and pay at least $2.5 million in restitution. He remains free in lieu of $250,000 bond pending sentencing.
The investigation by the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and U.S. Postal Inspection Service remains open.
