CT - Bristol credit union CFO allegedly booby-trapped, forced into heist

A victim of a reported home invasion in Bristol, Connecticut, was found outside of the credit union where he works with what appeared to be an explosive device strapped to his body, authorities said Monday.

The victim, identified as Matthew Yussman, chief financial officer of Achieve Financial Credit Union, told police that multiple attackers broke into his home Monday morning and attached a device -- subsequently believed to be fake, according to a law enforcement source -- to his body. A similar device was also strapped to Yussman's mother...

The suspects then ordered Yussman to go to the credit union in nearby New Britain and clean out its vault, according to the source. On his way, he called the credit union's CEO and reported what was happening, according to police.

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The suspects apparently became suspicious and fled, the source said...

“It’s under investigation,” Wardwell said. “Certainly, we’re considering all possibilities. Whether or not he was coerced, doing something against his will or whether he is a suspect — this is still an active investigation.”

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Calls released by Bristol police late Friday afternoon, hours after Berlin police had released the initial call, indicate that whoever plotted the theft had a knowledge of how banks work. At one point the executive tells police that Yussman instructed him to "provide lists of bait money, so they knew where the bait money was and to have access to the main cash vault"...

Investigators were seeking security tapes from businesses in the area, and also were researching the backgrounds of people connected to Achieve Financial, which is based in Berlin. Yussman has been interviewed extensively by police, who have refused to characterize him as either a victim or a suspect.

Police have said they are looking for two suspects in the home invasion, one described as "white and of medium build." Both suspects spoke fluent English but had distinct accents that didn't sound native to Connecticut. They wore dark clothing, ski masks and goggles, police said. The men might have been driving an older, white four-door Mazda and were believed to be in the Tunxis Mead area of Route 10 in Farmington that Monday morning.

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Police went to Yussman’s home at 133 Lufkin Lane in Bristol and found Valerie Yussman inside the home. She told police that the night before she heard the garage door open late along with voices. When she went to check on her son, she saw him on the garage floor, with his hands tied behind his back...

Valerie Yussman overheard the men asking Matthew Yussman how much money they could get from the credit union, saying they were “doing this because they owed money to someone else and if they do not pay, they would be killed,” the warrant said...

Yussman said the men initially asked for $4.2 million from the two banks, but he told them the most that would be there in cash was $1 million. Yussman said one of the men used a personal cellphone to call “an associate” to relay information, the warrant said.

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