The ex-police chief and city administrator for Velda City is going to federal prison for more than two years for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his former employer.
U.S. District Judge Cristian Stevens issued the 27-month sentence Thursday to 52-year-old Daniel Paulino. It was on the low end of the punishment prosecutors had requested, while Paulino had asked for probation. He will also have to pay restitution.
The town of about 1,200 in north St. Louis County made Paulino its city administrator in 2021. The move put him in charge of payroll and gave him access to the city's bank accounts. At the time, he was already the city's police chief.
Paulino admitted in November that he used the city administrator position to steal more than $300,000 from the city between 2021 and 2024. The scheme included using the city's credit card for personal expenses. He also directed city funds to support businesses owned by him and his spouse.
The current city budget is about $845,000.
"Instead of serving the public interest, [Paulino] systematically exploited his unique position for personal gain," Velda City Mayor Derrick Gill wrote in a victim impact statement. "He stole from the City while simultaneously being responsible for preventing and detecting such theft. The people of Velda City trusted their government to manage public funds responsibly and keep them safe. That trust was shattered."
In asking for probation, Paulino's attorneys pointed to a number of serious health conditions that would be difficult and expensive to manage while in prison. They also noted that as a gay man and a former police officer, Paulino would be at "a heightened risk of abuse or other victimization by other inmates or prison staff during any term of incarceration."
The city of Hillsdale, Missouri hired Paulino in an administrative role after he left Velda City. In a sentencing letter, Paulino's husband claimed his work brought in more than $100,000 in grants, an assertion backed up by Hillsdale's chief in other court documents.
Hillsdale did not immediately respond to questions about Paulino's employment there. A local pay database put together by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch showed him earning about $33,000 in 2024.
Paulino is not the first Velda City employee to steal from the town. Its former treasurer, Venita Sedodo, pleaded guilty in 2020 to wire and mail fraud totalling about $400,000. That scheme stretched from 2015 to 2018.
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