By Guy Page

UVMMC anesthesiologist Dr. Christopher Manfred, 43, of Underhill pleaded innocent in Vermont criminal court yesterday to charges of lewd and lascivious conduct with a young girl he had known over an extended period of time.

On January 13, the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations at the Berlin Barracks began an investigation into allegations of unlawful sexual conduct by Christopher Manfred, 43, of Underhill. The investigation revealed that Manfred had engaged in lewd and lascivious acts with a female child who was known to him, state police said. 

At 9 AM on March 11, Manfred surrendered himself at the Berlin Barracks. He was processed and cited to appear in Washington Superior Court Tuesday, March 12 at 12: 30 PM to answer to the charge of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct with a Child. Manfred was subsequently released.

WCAX reports that Manfred left employment at Dartmouth-Hitchcock in 2018 after having his license suspended for directing prescription medication for his own use. His license was reinstated.

Another theft charge for state trooper – Giancarlo DiGenova, 45, of Essex, a former trooper with the Vermont State Police, has been cited on an additional charge related to the theft of personal property from a secure storage room at the Williston Barracks.

The state police investigation into this additional incident began in late January as troopers were moving into the new VSP Barracks in Williston. As part of the move, troopers were transferring items of personal property that had been taken from individuals upon their arrest and were being kept in secure storage at the barracks. Troopers discovered that a gold necklace with a diamond-dust pendant was missing. The estimated value of the necklace was $375.

Subsequent investigation by a VSP detective assigned to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations – Troop B West in Rutland determined that DiGenova had sold the necklace in December 2022 on eBay for about $297. Records reviewed by VSP showed that DiGenova used his ID to enter the secure storage room on multiple occasions between the time the necklace was stored on Sept. 7, 2022, and when it was sold by DiGenova that December. The buyer, who was unaware the necklace had been stolen, later re-sold the item, and it has not been recovered.

VSP has issued a citation to DiGenova via his attorney on misdemeanor counts of petit larceny and sale of stolen property related to this additional incident.

Snowmobiler dies in Town of Washington – A 25-year-old Nashua, NH man died in a snowmobile crash in the town of Washington Monday, March 11.

At about 10:30 PM, state troopers responded to Town Highway 33 to investigate a report of a missing person.  Over the course of the investigation Patrick Ryan’s snowmobile was found crashed on TH33 and he was found near the scene, deceased.  The Vermont State Police were assisted by the Barre Town Fire Department in recovering Ryan.

More ‘paycheck protection’ fraud – Jennifer Stocker, 46, of New Haven was sentenced Friday, March 8 in United States District Court in Burlington for making false statements to a credit union on an application for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, and for violating conditions of probation related to Stocker’s 2018 false statements conviction, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. 

Chief U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford sentenced Stocker to a four-month term of imprisonment for the PPP loan offense, and a consecutive 30-day term of imprisonment for the violation of conditions of probation. After she is released from custody, Stocker will be subject to a three-year term of supervised release.

According to court records, in 2018, Stocker pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Burlington to making false statements in applications for benefits funded by federal agencies. For that 2018 offense, Stocker was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $140,000 in restitution. 

Then, while on probation in May 2020, Stocker falsely stated on a PPP loan application for Twelve Acres LLC, an entity that she co-owned, that she had not been convicted of a felony in the past five years and was not on probation. Stocker submitted a second PPP loan application in February 2021 and again included a false statement about her criminal history. 

Both PPP loan applications were approved, and Stocker received approximately $86,000 in loan proceeds. Stocker submitted loan forgiveness applications for both PPP loans, and both forgiveness applications were granted for the full loan amounts plus interest.

In addition to committing this new offense while on probation, Stocker also violated her conditions of probation by failing to pay restitution, and by opening auto loans without obtaining approval from the probation officer.