Charles Della Rocco, the Democrat who lost his race for first selectman Nov. 3, turned himself in at state police barracks in Westbrook Nov. 5 after learning that a warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Della Rocco, 41, of 6 Bartkiewicz Road, was charged with one count of larceny in the third degree involving theft of a motor vehicle and fraud by computer and/or phone and one count of forgery in the second degree.

According to police reports, Della Rocco

arrived at Troop F barracks in Westbrook to turn himself in. He was processed and released after posting a $1,000 non-surety bond. He was released pending a court appearance in Middletown Superior Court on Nov. 11.

Reportedly, an investigation was opened in late July after Peter D. Lynch of Turkey Hill Road, described as a neighbor of Della Rocco,

contacted the police. The allegation is that Della Rocco "borrowed" a motor vehicle from Lynch and later sold it. Lynch contacted the police just a few days

after Della Rocco was nominated by the Democrats as their candidate for first selectman.

Della Rocco, a former Old Saybrook police

officer, is now a police officer at the state Judicial Branch. He works at the state Supreme Court Building, which also houses the state library. On Friday, one day after being arrested, he requested and was granted a furlough day, which is an unpaid day.

According to Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, spokesperson for the Judicial Branch, Della Rocco will be assigned desk duty when he returns to work. While on desk duty, she explained, "he will not have any police powers." She added, "This situation is very preliminary for us. We are still gathering information."

In the recent campaign, Della Rocco lost to Thomas Marsh by a vote of 758 to 465. Marsh and the Republicans contend that rumors concerning an investigation of Della Rocco had been circulating throughout Chester over the past three months.

"His campaign materials and appearances talked about bringing honesty and integrity to Town Hall, but he was the subject of a criminal investigation. We had to bite our tongue through all of this," Marsh said.

The Republican first selectman, who is about to begin his third term in office, was critical of a

Democratic campaign and party "that chose to not realize the

obvious."

Peter Zanardi, one of two

coordinators for the Della Rocco campaign, said he knew nothing of any investigation at the time of Della Rocco's nomination at the party's nominating caucus in late July and added, "I am not going to assume now that Chuck Della Rocco is guilty. There is a presumption of innocence and we still do not know all the facts."

The Republicans, however, have carried their concerns to state elected officials, specifically Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Mario Gioco, chair of the Republican Town Committee, sent a letter to Democrat Blumenthal dated Nov. 3, saying, in part, "It was with great surprise that we read of your endorsement of Chuck Della Rocco…[as] first selectman…We never expected that you, as the chief legal officer of the State of Connecticut, would publicly endorse the candidacy of a man currently under investigation for criminal misconduct."

Blumenthal and a number of other state elected officials, all Democrats, endorsed the local Democratic party slate led by Della Rocco.