Recently elected Brookfiend First Selectman William Tinsley says he will move forward with plans to take office Dec. 2 despite the charge of embezzlement he faces in Vermont.
"I thought it would have been resolved more than a year ago," said Tinsley, a Republican. "I'm hopefui it'll be done soon and out of the way."
Tinsley won the election this month by a 90-vote margin. The Democrats he beat want him to give up his victory and so do some voters who say Tinsley should have made his predicament clear.
"I didn't know everything I needed to know," said Brookfield resident Mary Ruggiero. "I think it was extremely deceptive. He should now step down."
Tinsley, on the other hand, denies the charges and says he's done nothing wrong.
"The charges up there are false," said Tinsley. "I have a long record of public service and a clear record."
Over the last three and a half years, he said, he's lost a business, a brother and a son. Deeply in debt and protected from creditors under the bankruptcy law, Tinsley said he thought he would be exonerated of the March 2012 charges in Vermont before Election Day.
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"As every month went by, I would go back to get it resolved. I'm on somebody else's calendar," Tinsley said. "I'm thinking it's gonna get resolved, it's gonna get resolved, and it just never did. For example, I'm thinking it's gonna get resolved on the 26th of this month. I'm gonna show up. They have to show up."
