BETHEL – Town office intrigue was stepped up a notch over the past two weeks thanks to an unusual burglary. The break-in would be laughable were it not for the security breach it caused, said Selectmen Chairman Harry Dresser Jr.

Sometime prior to the Bethel Board of Selectmen’s May 5 meeting, confidential material was stolen from a selectman’s mailbox, Dresser said in a Monday press release.

“The material was related to our professional development work with the town manager,” he said.

Though the police station is located inside the town office building, the thief or thieves brazenly opened an envelope addressed to a selectman that was clearly marked “confidential.”

The contents were then photocopied and the copies distributed to The Bethel Citizen and reportedly, to the Sun Journal, Dresser said.

“The original material was then returned to an envelope, which was distinctly different from the original envelope, and the selectman’s name and the word ‘confidential’ were written on the envelope with ink color and handwriting quite different from the original,” Dresser said.

While it’s unknown just what the town office mole hoped to accomplish, Dresser said it must be assumed that the thief or thieves intended to somehow hurt Town Manager Scott Cole.

But “since the feedback worksheet summary stolen and distributed actually contained generally quite favorable reactions to the town manager’s work, the matter would be laughable were it not such a serious breach of common trust. I appreciate the decency and responsibility of those who chose not to publish the material,” said Dresser.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com