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Clues Scarce in Case of Missing Connecticut Lawyer
Last seen in early July, confessed embezzler has 'dropped off grid,' police say
The Connecticut Law Tribune
October 15, 2007
Police say the trail has gone cold in the case of missing Clinton, Conn., lawyer Jonathan Hoyt.
The 58-year-old business law attorney was last seen in early July before he left behind his tan 1999 Lexus and cryptic letters in which he confessed to embezzling funds from clients.
Police said they received tips from acquaintances and colleagues in July and August, but leads in the case have since come to a halt.
"There hasn't been anything for a while," said William F. Tate, a public information officer with the state police. "Nothing has come from [tips we received this summer]. We're still looking."
The state police Criminal Intelligence Unit has taken over the case, which is standard protocol after 30 days. The unit is working with local police in Westbrook, where Hoyt lived, and in Clinton, where he based his practice.
Clinton Sgt. Joseph Flynn said Hoyt has "totally dropped off the grid" with no credit card or cell phone activity. Flynn, who led the Clinton Police Department's investigation of Hoyt, estimates that the missing lawyer embezzled close to $700,000 from about a dozen clients. Flynn added that he doesn't know if Hoyt is alive or dead.
"I wouldn't be surprised either way, at this point," he said. "There's a good chance he's offed himself, but I don't know how or where. It's pretty baffling."
FAMILY IN SHOCK
In one letter sent to grievance officials in July, Hoyt cleared his assistants and his son Christopher by taking sole responsibility for "the thefts that have happened concerning The Hoyt Law Group, LLC Connecticut's office."
Hoyt wrote a letter to his son, dated July 7: " have embezzled funds from my clients … . Like most lawyers who fall into this trap I always did it with the idea that I would repay the funds, but of course once I started down this slippery slope there was nothing but failure for me at the end."
Hoyt's confessions and disappearance come "as a shock to the family," Christopher said in an interview. Christopher Hoyt practices intellectual property, business and criminal law out of the firm's New York office.
"I'm not at liberty to make a statement that might jeopardize the investigation," he added. "The family is very concerned. Nobody knows where he is."
Flynn said he believes Christopher Hoyt is telling the truth.
The elder Hoyt was last seen on July 6 at his Clinton office, according to police. His Lexus 300, four-door sedan was found by police on July 17 in a parking lot near the Intermodal Transportation Center in Bridgeport.
On July 20, Middletown Superior Court Judge Julia L. Aurigemma accepted the state disciplinary counsel's application to immediately suspend the elder Hoyt's law license.
