Date: June
18, 2019
Incident: Darien Police Detective receives U.S. Attorney Award
Issued by: Captain
Jeremiah P. Marron Jr.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
L to R: Special Agent Thomas Lipp, Det.
Elizabeth DiIorio, Senior Special Agent Michael Sweeney
New
Haven, CT - The United
States Attorney's Office has selected Darien Police Detective Elizabeth DiIorio
to receive the 2019 US Attorney's Award for her outstanding contributions to
United States v. Vanessa Vence-Small. The investigation in to Vence-Small
began in the Summer of 2017 when BMW of Darien provided information to Det. DiIorio
that indicated that an employee was embezzling funds from the company. While working as BMW’s financial controller,
it was discovered that Vence-Small had embezzled $1.1 million from the
dealership in just 3 years.
Due
to the significant amount involved, the investigation reached the federal level
and the United States Secret Service and the CT Financial Crimes Task Force
were brought on board. Over the next
several months it was determined that Vence-Small had used company funds to pay
off personal credit card bills, take luxury vacations, purchase a sports car,
and to perform home remodeling and landscaping work.
The
case that Det. DiIorio and her co-investigators built was so strong, that in
February of 2018 Vence-Small had no choice but to plead guilty to the
charges. Vence-Small was sentenced to 30
months in prison and will have to make full restitution as part of her plea
agreement.
Det.
DiIorio and her co-investigators were presented with the U.S. Attorney Award
for this investigation in a ceremony in the Aldermanic Chambers at New Haven
City Hall June 14, 2019. The U.S.
Attorney Award is designed to recognize federal, state, and local law
enforcement partners for extraordinary contributions to the Department of
Justice mission. Assistant U.S. Attorneys nominated the awardees to
acknowledge either their significant efforts on a significant case and/or an
overall body of work. The U.S. Attorney personally selected the award
recipients.
The men and
women of the Darien Police Department would like to congratulate Det. DiIorio
for her diligence and perseverance while she and her co-investigators navigated
the complexities of this investigation.
Job well done!!
###