Easton zoning commissioner admits falsely reporting car stolen

Ray Martin, a prominent figure in Easton politics and a Stratford real estate agent, was given a suspended sentence Tuesday after pleading guilty to allegations he falsely reported his car stolen to hide he had been in an accident.

Martin, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement under the Alford Doctrine and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo to a one-year suspended term followed by two years of conditional discharge.

“You are to have no new criminal convictions,” the judge warned him.

“Yes, your honor,” Martin responded.

Martin declined comment as he and his lawyer, John R. Gulash, left the Fairfield County Courthouse.

A plea made under the Alford Doctrine means that Martin did not admit his guilt but conceded he could be found guilty of the charges if he went to trial. The judge then found him guilty.

Martin previously served on Easton’s police commission and was a 20-year member of the Republican Town Committee until last year. He currently is a member of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission.

This is not Martin’s first conviction.

In 2017, Martin was sentenced to three years probation and fined $10,000 for his role in an international prescription and steroid ring led by a former Newtown police sergeant.

In this latest incident, on Sept. 7, 2021, Stratford police said Martin came to the Police Department and reported that his 2011 Cadillac sedan had been stolen from property he owns on Main Street.

A short time later police said they received a call from a local tow company that the Cadillac sedan had been found abandoned on Success Avenue. Police said the car was identified as being Martin’s and had front end damage.

Police said they later received information from Bridgeport police that a car, matching the description of Martin’s Cadillac, had been involved in a hit and run crash on Pixlee Place in Bridgeport on Sept. 3.

A witness had taken a photograph of the fleeing Cadillac along with the driver, police said. However, police said the witness later refused to show police the photos.

Police said the owner of the tow company who reported finding the Cadillac later told police that he had earlier gotten a text from Martin telling him where the car was and also that it had been involved in an accident in Bridgeport.

Police said video showed Martin dropping off the car at the towing company on Sept. 3.