The case of an Avon resident and former Waterbury fire captain charged with workers' compensation fraud and first-degree larceny will not be transferred to the high court in Waterbury, the State's Attorneys Office confirmed Thursday.
Michael Farrell, 48, appeared in court Monday and his case has been continued to Dec. 3, according to a clerk at Waterbury Superior Court.
Farrell has not entered a plea yet. He is charged with accepting nearly $20,000 in workers' compensation from the city of Waterbury as fire captain while on injury leave. Police say Farrell responded to at least two calls as a volunteer firefighter in Avon and taught Connecticut Fire Academy classes when he was out of the office on doctor's orders to rest.
Farrell was terminated from the Waterbury Fire Department in October.
Separately, he was expelled from the Avon Volunteer Fire Department in October after being suspended twice in a five-year period, including once in June for responding to a call while also on medical leave from the Avon department. He was approved for retirement status at an early October fire department board meeting.
His Waterbury case will stay in the Part B division of the superior court instead of being moved to the higher court for more serious crimes. A judge was screening the case for possible transfer to the high court because Farrell faces two felony charges.
