WESTPORT, Conn. (AP) — A former official with a youth baseball group whose team lost in the U.S. title game of the Little League World Series was arrested Wednesday in connection with $40,000 worth of missing equipment and funds.
Bridgeport resident Kevin Hlavac was charged with felony larceny for stealing from the Westport Little League, police said.
Authorities said an audit revealed the equipment and funds were missing.
Hlavac, a former league vice president, acknowledged falsifying invoices, billing the league for clinics never held and keeping money that was supposed to be used to reimburse parents for expenses, police said.
Hlavac posted $5,000 bail and is to appear June 5 in Norwalk Superior Court. He didn’t return a message left Wednesday seeking comment.
The Connecticut Post reported that Jeff White, board chairman of the Little League’s parent group, Westport Baseball & Softball, said in a statement it began investigating the allegations last fall, then turned the matter over to police. White said the accused person, whom he didn’t name, resigned. He said the organization now has stricter financial controls.
White said the financial loss wouldn’t hinder the organization’s “operations and commitment in any way” though it is monitoring expenses to cover maintenance obligations for its use of town-owned playing fields.
The Westport 12- and 13-year-olds’ Little League team lost the championship last year to a team from Chula Vista, California. Westport’s 11-and-under girls’ softball team won the Connecticut championship.
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