Updated at 1 p.m. Monday
Dressed in a two-piece gray suit, with a black blouse and matching designer glasses and patent leather shoes, Karen Guillet sat stoic behind her attorney during her first court appearance Monday morning.
Guillet, 61, did not enter a plea and did not say anything when Derby Superior Court Judge Burton Kaplan told her the case would be moved to Part A – where the most serious cases are heard – at Milford Superior Court. Guillet will appear in Milford on Monday morning.
The former tax collector in Oxford for 24 years, Guillet, who is accused of stealing more than $670,000 from the town's tax office, sat in the second row of the courthouse next to two reporters and in front of two others. She stared straight ahead and didn’t show much emotion. When she left the courthouse, her attorney, Dominick Thomas, told print and television reporters that his client had no comment.
Guillet quickly got into a Ford Sport Trac truck driven by an unidentified man, who quickly drove off.
Guillet, who resigned amid allegations that she stole money, was recently charged with seven felonies following a . The most serious charge, first-degree larceny, is a Class B felony punishable by between 1 and 20 years in prison or up to a $15,000 fine. She was also charged with six counts of first-degree forgery, a Class C felony punishable by between 1 and 10 years in prison or up to a $10,000 fine. She is currently free after posting 10 percent of a $100,000 bond.
The town has also filed a in which Oxford looks to recoup the money that is alleged to be stolen. That suit is pending.
It did not appear that Guillet had family members or friends in court with her.
With shoulder length and poker straight dirty blonde hair, the embattled former town official slowly walked into the courtroom and looked around at the audience while her attorney explained to her that news cameras are now allowed inside the courtroom. One camerawoman and another photographer took images of Guillet and her attorney (see the media pool photos attached).
A woman who claimed to be a title searcher and said she knew Guillet through that business was in the courtroom and sat in the row behind Guillet. The woman did not want to comment or give her name for the record, but quipped that she showed up because she "wanted to see what (Guillet) was wearing."
Another woman on the street outside of the courthouse was told who Guillet was and then yelled a profanity at her as she walked past reporters and got into the truck.
Original article:
Former Oxford tax collector did not enter a plea and her case was moved to Part A, where the more serious cases in Superior Court are heard, on Monday.
Flanked by her attorney, Guillet appeared briefly at Derby Superior Court on Monday. She did not say anything and Judge Burton Kaplan ordered the case moved to Part A at Milford Superior Court. She is scheduled to appear in Milford on Monday, Dec. 19.
Guillet, , has been chared with six counts of forgery and one count of first-degree larceny. She is release on a $100,000 bond.
She declined to comment to the press outside of the courthouse on Monday and has not spoken since the investigation into missing money from the tax office was made public in January 2010.
Oxford Patch will update this story soon.
