Bradway enters court plea, admits embezzlement


CORNWALL — Michael Bradway, the Cornwall man whose long list of charges include embezzlement and claiming his son has a fatal illness, has admitted his guilt in a plea bargain reached in court last week. The deal means that two cases —embezzlement from a Hartford non-profit and the sensational case involving the young boy — will not go to trial.

Bradway, 40, pleaded guilty to risk of injury to a minor, first-degree larceny and second-degree forgery in court in Litchfield, Sept. 18. He could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and 10 years of parole.

Bradway was director of finance at Love Makes a Family in Hartford. He was accused of taking $18,000 in his first three months there, using the funds to pay bills and buy luxury items.

The other case, which made headlines last year, was even more disturbing.

Bradway was arrested on a warrant stemming from a complaint filed last year by his ex-wife and her parents and a lengthy investigation by Connecticut State Police. The Salisbury residents were concerned about the then 9-year-old boy.

His mother, Ericka Hollander, was seeking custody. His grandparents were suspicious about the $38,500 they had reimbursed Bradway for medical bills.

They suspected that Bradway was raising his son to believe he was dying.

The investigation uncovered forged bills from Sharon Pediatrics and an oxygen supplier. Two medical centers, where Bradway claims his son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 2001, have no records for the boy. He duped a homeopathic physician into believing the boy was very ill, and also claimed he suffered from asthma.

When the boy was taken from his father by the Department of Children and Families, he was examined by a doctor. Tests were performed. He was healthy in all respects except for malnutrition and a lack of exercise that were the result of his father’s manipulations. Bradway also denied his son childhood immunizations.

It appears his asthma claims were made up to keep the boy out of school – he was enrolled at Salisbury Central – where staff might suspect the boy was not really sick. Although immunizations are necessary for enrollment, a family can claim religious beliefs to avoid the requirement.

After 10 months in foster care, the boy was sent this past January to live with his mother, where he is reportedly thriving.

Bradway accepted a deal that cut the prison time sought by the state prosecutor’s office. The complainants agreed. Bradway has remained incarcerated, and will likely spend his days into the foreseeable future traveling from prison to various courtrooms.

Once Bradway’s deceptions became public last spring, suspicions were raised at the Sheffield-based non-profit Landmark Volunteers, where Bradway worked in a financial position. He was arrested for embezzlement.

He has other court dealings in Massachusetts, where he went to jail for a year for embezzling funds he was supposedly investing for three women. Charges there included larceny, forgery and illegally acting as a broker. After his release, he was put on probation until 2015. Simply by moving out-of-state, he violated the terms of his probation.

How did this one person manage to deceive so many people? Those who know him, even the state troopers who interviewed him, say he has a rare gift for charming people right from the start. Whether it is a natural talent or a honed skill, he is hypnotically convincing. He even managed to land high-paying jobs with phony resumes that were apparently never checked before he was hired.

Bradway is due back in Litchfield court Oct. 10 for a sentencing hearing. He is represented by attorney Damien Tucker.

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