The counsel for Connecticut Senate Republicans was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with stealing almost $250,000 from the Senate Republican Leadership Committee.

West Hartford resident Michael Cronin, 56, was arrested by inspectors from the Division of Criminal Justice for his role in allegedly dipping into the SRLC coffers over a five-year period. Cronin, who was treasurer of the political action committee since 2003, called investigators with the Chief State's Attorney's Office to report that he had stolen from the PAC, according to a police affidavit.

Cronin is charged with one count of first-degree larceny, which is a class B felony punishable for between one and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Cronin was released on a $50,000 nonsurety bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Feb. 22.

Cronin, according to the 11-page affidavit dated Feb. 7, called the Chief State's Attorney's Office Dec. 3 to report that he had taken money from the PAC. Cronin was told to consult with a lawyer and, the next day, Cronin gave a statement to investigators with one attorney present and another attorney available via telephone.

As treasurer, Cronin, according to the affidavit, told investigators he was responsible for the collection of money from donors, which could be from individuals or PACs.

“Mr. Cronin admitted that it was possible that sometimes he took the cash donations for his own personal use and that money never made it back to the SRLC's bank account,” according to the affidavit. Cronin denied ever having forged checks.

The affidavit does not state why Cronin came forward to self-report his apparent thefts, but members of the SRLC had noticed a month before that “some bills owed by the SRLC had not been paid.”

The affidavit said that Cronin “stole this money from the SRLC in order to maintain his lifestyle and pay his personal bills, including his living expenses.” Cronin, who is divorced. said he also used the money to support a son in college and two teenage daughters.

Cronin said he stole upward of $100,000, although investigators reported the actual amount to be $248,671.

During the interview with investigators, according to the affidavit, Cronin noted he was the sole signatory of the PAC. Cronin said most of the unauthorized withdrawals he made were over-the-counter withdrawals at Webster Bank or whichever bank the SRLC was using at the time. In most cases, Cronin said, the amount taken was between $6,000 and $7,000 for each withdrawal.

Cronin, the affidavit said, also admitted to falsifying state Elections Enforcement Commission quarterly filings for the SRLC in order to conceal his theft of funds.

Representing Cronin are Shipman & Goodwin's Michael Chase and Ross Garber of The Garber Group. Neither Chase nor Garber responded to a request for comment Wednesday.

Mark Dupuis, communications officer for the Division of Criminal Justice, said the “police affidavit speaks for itself.”

The case is being prosecuted by the Statewide Prosecution Bureau of the Chief State's Attorney's Office.