Affidavit: CT Police Chief Stole Informant Money and Toy Drive Funds to Gamble
Posted on: February 23, 2026, 12:37h.
Last updated on: February 23, 2026, 12:37h.
- A former police chief is accused of stealing $81,500 to cover gambling debts
- The allegedly stolen money was to pay informants to help police arrest drug dealers
- Connecticut is home to online casinos and sports betting
A former police chief in Connecticut is facing two first-degree felony charges after a signed affidavit by his former subordinates alleged he stole tens of thousands of dollars to cover his online gambling debts.
Last month, Karl Jacobson, 55, abruptly resigned as chief of the New Haven Police Department. An affidavit suggests Jacobson’s resignation came as an investigation by the Connecticut State Police’s Eastern District Major Crimes Unit inched closer to bringing charges against him.
Last Friday, Feb. 20, Jacobson turned himself in at the state police’s Troop E Barracks in Montville after he was charged with the two felony larceny counts.
Police Chief Sought Favor
Beginning in early 2025, law enforcement officers at the New Haven PD detailed in an affidavit that they noticed a significant amount of money disappearing from a fund used to pay informants.
New Haven Assistant Police Chiefs David Zannelli, Bertram Ettienne, and Manmeet Bhagtana reported difficulties in receiving typical disbursements from the New Haven Police Department Narcotic Enforcement Program (NEP), a fund used to help lead to the arrests of drug dealers throughout the state’s second-largest city. Like so many other major cities, New Haven continues to battle the drug and opioid epidemic.
Jacobson had sole control of the NEP funds.
In the affidavit, Zannelli detailed one incident in which Jacobson provided him with $2,000 to pay informants. However, Jacobson later took $1,000 back and “left an IOU note on his desk.”
Jacobson’s subordinates met privately on several occasions to discuss their worries. After confronting Jacobson on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, the police chief reportedly confessed that he had been dipping his hand in the NEP fund to cover his FanDuel and DraftKings online gambling debts.
The affidavit alleges that Jacobson asked the three assistant police chiefs for a grace period to repay the money.
I have you in a bad situation, and, um, I just ask that you allow me to replace the money. I’ll retire, and we’ll fix the books,” Jacobson allegedly pleaded. “I’m just asking for an opportunity to save myself. I won’t get a pension. I’ll go to jail.”
Ettienne, along with the two other assistant police chiefs, who secretly recorded the conversation in fear of retaliation, told Jacobson that the assistant police chiefs aren’t the judge nor the jury.
“I know. I’m just saying it is not that I’m a bad person,” Jacobson responded. “I have a problem. I fixed my alcohol problem. I turned to gambling. I don’t know why it just got worse recently.”
Gambling Money
The affidavit suggests that Jacobson stole $81,500 from the NEP. The second felony larceny charge is for the alleged embezzlement of $4,000 from the New Haven Police Activity League.
Jacobson is accused of cashing two checks, one for $1,000 and a second for $3,000, that were supposed to go to the New Haven Police Department’s Annual Toy Drive.
Between Jan. 1, 2025, and Jan. 5, 2026, DraftKings said Jacobson bet $1,346,359.17 and won $1,290,789 for a net loss of $55,560.64. During that same time, FanDuel said Jacobson bet $3,118,53.45 and won $2,959,729.35 for a net loss of $158,805.10. In total, Jacobson’s net online gambling loss was $214,365.74.
DraftKings is the online casino and sportsbook partner of Foxwoods Resort Casino. Mohegan Sun is partnered with FanDuel.
Jacobson’s annual salary as police chief was $180,000.
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