Found Money
By Daniel Tepfer,Staff writer, Hearst Communications
Success Village may have much more money in the bank than previously thought after a court disclosure Tuesday that the housing complex has more than $1 million in a Milford bank. The cooperative had previously been thought to have less than $4,000.
“I want to know how this money got there,” said Barry Knott, who was recently appointed by a judge to take over the 924-unit co-op’s finances. “I’ve never heard of it before.”
According to prior court testimony, Tyreke Bird, as president of the co-op board, had access to the co-op’s bank accounts, and was one of only two people who could access the complex’s accounts. Reached Tuesday afternoon, he declined to comment on the money’s discovery.
“I haven’t looked at those accounts in a long time,” he said. “I can’t comment on finances. Barry Knott is now responsible for finances. You should ask him.”
During an Oct. 2 court hearing, Dennis Bradley, the lawyer representing Bird and the former board members, told Superior Court Judge Dale Radcliffe that the nearly $4,000 located in a Bank of America bank account was all the money the co-op had in the bank.
But in a court filing Tuesday, Richard Buturla, the lawyer representing the city of Bridgeport and the town of Stratford in the case, stated that nearly $1.3 million was recently discovered to have been deposited in five or six Key Bank accounts. Buturla is asking Radcliffe to order Key Bank to give Knott access to the accounts.
“It is imperative that Key Bank provide access to all bank accounts to the receiver,” Buturla said. “The receiver has good reason to be concerned regarding the $1.3 million in checks that were issued to Success Village and deposited into Key Bank accounts.”
Bradley on Tuesday said he had been referring only to the co-op’s operating funds in a bank account. He said he did not know about other funds.
According to the filing, the money came from the complex’s insurance company in September and December 2023, and February and April of this year to pay for the damage caused by a fire at the complex on July 14, 2023 that killed residents Jose Pizarro, 88, and his wife, Rose Pizarro, 91.
Buturla stated in his motion that he found out about the Key Bank accounts from an amended bankruptcy filing on September 18 by attorney Mark Kratter, representing Bird and the co-op’s board, that stated there are five or six bank accounts containing a total of $3,000. It is not clear, and Buturla did not specify, exactly how he learned the true amount in the bank.
Knott said he had been unable to get access to the co-op’s Key Bank accounts.
“I want to know where the $1.3 million is. This is the first I’ve heard of it,” he said on Tuesday. He said through Buturla he is asking Judge Radcliffe to schedule a hearing as soon as possible.
“I just want to know where the money is,” he said.
