LITTLETON — An employee used a town-issued credit card to make personal purchases for several years, police said in announcing an investigation on Friday.
In a statement, police said questions arose when the town Treasurer Steven Venuti found a suspicious charge on April 1 and requested a detailed statement of transactions. Several purchases were discovered to be questionable, police said.
That discovery prompted a larger investigation involving Littleton police and the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.
The police statement did not disclose the total amount embezzled. One official with close knowledge of the investigation told The Sun the amount could exceed $500,000.
The statement comes one day after The Sun filed a public-records request for correspondence among town officials and the Board of Selectmen over the past 60 days involving town finances.
"Due to the seriousness of this investigation and the allegations behind it, the Town has, to this point, been unable to comment publicly on this matter," the press release states.
Town Administrator Nina Nazarian could not provide further comment regarding the investigation Friday afternoon.
The statement did not mention the name of the employee, whom it said died recently.
Littleton's former finance director, Bonnie-Mae Fleck left the town in March for a similar position in Carlisle. Fleck, from Leominster, died on July 3 at age 49.
In a separate statement, Carlisle Selectmen Chairwoman Kate Reid and Carlisle Police Chief John Fisher said the town opened an investigation into that town's finances after learning a former employee, recently employed in Littleton, was under investigation for activities there.
The town's auditing firm has not uncovered any improprieties, and is conducting a full audit, Reid and Fisher said in the statement.
Littleton selectman are expected on Monday night to appoint Cheryl Herrick-Stella, Swampscott's town accountant, as the town's next Director of Finance and Budget, according to the Board of Selectmen agenda.