Surprise, surprise
A former Connecticut funeral home director attending state Superior Court in Rockville to face 34 charges for embezzlement-linked crimes got a lot more than he bargained for.
While at his arraignment on Tuesday, Vernon Police Department instead escorted Philip Pietras, 51, out of the court before making an arrest and charging him with another 80 counts.
second-degree larceny and intent to defraud a funeral services contract
The VPD charged Pietras on 20 and 60 counts of second-degree larceny and intent to defraud a funeral services contract, respectively.
Authorities accuse the former funeral boss of embezzling thousands of dollars from over 100 people who pre-paid for their burials and services, to bankroll his personal gambling and pleasure vacations.
Death and gambling
According to a VPD warrant, the investigation into Pietras began in April 2025, with detectives examining his business practices dating back to 2009. The payments from clients wired into Pietras’ account reportedly ranged from $100 to tens of thousands.
According to The Middletown Press, police arrested Pietras on September 17 and charged him with the initial 22 counts for which he was being arraigned on Tuesday. These charges stemmed from cases brought by ex-clients against Pietras Funeral Home in Coventry.
Tuesday’s new charges, however, are linked to Pietras’ former Burke-Fortin Funeral Home business in Vernon.
According to the arrest warrants, Pietras’ personal trips were mostly casino and gambling-based. He allegedly frequented nearby properties, including Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mohegan Sun, and MGM Springfield. Police also cited trips to the Bellagio Hotel & Casino and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino (now Virgin Hotels Las Vegas) in Las Vegas, as well as Harrah’s Resort and the Borgata in Atlantic City.
According to reports, plays credited to Pietras’ Foxwoods account totalled over $8.1m, while his wife’s play was worth over $2m.
accumulated over $1.2m in losses
A paper trail out of the Mohegan Sun revealed Pietras accumulated over $1.2m in losses from 2010 to 2024, mostly through playing slots.
Playing with victims’ money
According to the warrants, Pietras also spent his illicit proceeds through DraftKings and FanDuel. While the warrant didn’t specify if Pietras used the iGaming brands to bet on sports or casino, that both FanDuel and DraftKings compete in the real money slots market may have been more to the suspect’s preference.
Detectives said in a warrant that Pietras also incurred “innumerable” expenses on restaurants, shopping sprees, a Norwegian cruise, and sundry “frivolous” purchases.
