Longtime City Employee Admits Stealing $177K to Feed FanDuel Addiction

A longtime city employee with almost three decades on the job has admitted to stealing more than $177,000 to fuel his online gambling addiction.

David Bruce Johnson, 62, is facing felony charges of first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery after Stamford police arrested him April 21 on a warrant alleging he stole money from the city over several years, according to Connecticut court records.

The Stamford Advocate reports that Johnson worked for the City of Stamford for the past 28 years, most recently at the city’s recycling and sanitation center on Harbor View Drive. Johnson’s job involved operating the scale house at the residential dump, where the warrant detailed financial discrepancies involving receipts collected during his shifts.

Johnson Admits Scheme

While residents can bring up to 200 pounds of materials per day in a passenger vehicle for free, the dump charges $6.75 per 100 pounds of additional weight. For non-passenger vehicles, the dump charges $135 per ton, with $12 added for each item with freon.

When city officials began noticing that certain deposits were not made for overweight vehicles, Johnson was pressed and allegedly admitted to pocketing cash payments. Police say Johnson was stealing about $500 per day.

Upon initial questioning, Johnson reportedly told law enforcement that he had “f***ed up” but planned to repay the money. He claimed he was suffering from a brain tumor and intended to receive treatment in Mexico. Johnson asserted he was going to pay back the city by retiring and cashing in his unused sick days.

Johnson later admitted, according to charging documents, that much of the money, totaling $177,256, went to fund his online casino gambling account. He conceded that his gambling “snowballed” on FanDuel, an iGaming platform that operates in Connecticut through a partnership with Mohegan Sun.

Johnson is expected to plead guilty during his next court appearance on Aug. 26 at 9 a.m. at the Stamford Courthouse. Johnson faces up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $20,000, plus restitution.

Connecticut iGaming

FanDuel and DraftKings maintain a duopoly on online casino gambling in Connecticut. Connecticut’s two tribes, the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot, secured iGaming privileges through a renegotiation of their Class III gaming compacts with the state in 2021.

The state receives 18% of the DraftKings and FanDuel iGaming revenue.

City Gig Paid Six Digits

Because of his tenure and living in Stamford, an affluent Connecticut town where the average cost of living is considerably higher than the national average, Johnson was paid more than $100,000 a year.

According to government records reviewed by Casino.org, Johnson’s compensation, inclusive of salary, bonuses, benefits, and retirement contributions, totaled $106,804 for 2023.