Bridgeport man rejects offer in alleged Stamford condo scam

STAMFORD — A 68year-old Bridgeport man accused of trying to scam his mother out of her condo in 2016 rejected an offer Thursday to plead guilty to a reduced charge in return for a charity donation and pretrial probation program.

Marcos Robalino, 68, continues to face charges of criminal attempt at firstdegree and second-degree larceny related to an alleged scam involving his then-84year-old mother, who was dealing with dementia, and her $220,000 Shippan Avenue condo.

Earlier this year, a judge offered Robalino a deal: If he would enter a conditional guilty plea to criminal attempt at first-degree larceny and pay a $10,000 charitable donation, he would then be granted entry into accelerated rehabilitation, a pretrial probation program that, if successfully completed, would have resulted in charges being dropped.

If he failed to meet the terms of the agreement, his conditional guilty plea would stick and he would face up to 20 years in prison.

On Thursday, Robalino appeared at Stamford Superior Court to give his answer to the offer.

“It’s now or never,” Judge Gary White told Robalino and his attorney, Dennis Bradley.

Robalino ultimately rejected the offer, choosing instead to bring the case to trial.

According to his arrest warrant, Robalino was living at his mother’s condo after going through a divorce. At the time, his mother was living at another of her son’s homes because her mental health had waned.

In 2015, the family filed a notice to evict Robalino because, they said, he had not fulfilled the financial and maintenance obligations he agreed to when he moved in, according to the affidavit.

In November, while the family was going through the eviction process, Robalino presented a quitclaim deed apparently signed by his mother giving him possession of the condo for $1, the affidavit said.

A number of family members told police investigator Paul DeRiu that Robalino’s mother had slipped so far mentally that her signature could not have been legally obtained.

A judge at the Housing Session at the Norwalk Courthouse would not recognize the document and Robalino’s eviction proceeded.

Police called the notary whose signature was on the quitclaim deed, but the man could not remember signing it and after looking at the deed, said his signature had been forged, the affidavit said.

Police also obtained a letter from a doctor saying Robalino’s mother had mild dementia and “cannot manage personal affairs like money, paying bills etc.,” the affidavit said.

Robalino, however, claimed at the time that his siblings were conspiring against him, according to the affidavit.

Robalino is next scheduled to appear in court on June 22.