ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut prosecutors say they won’t pursue criminal charges against state employees and others who fraudulently obtained emergency food stamp benefits designated for people affected by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Leonard Boyle told the New Haven Register (http://bit.ly/1tqoUa5 ) that prosecutors’ offices don’t have enough resources to handle dozens of criminal cases involving the fraud, all of which involved less than $1,000 of aid.

More than 1,000 state employees and thousands of other citizens applied for benefits from the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program after Irene.

State officials say 170 state employees were disciplined for receiving benefits to which they were not entitled, including 97 workers who were fired. All but four of the firings, however, were later overturned in arbitration.

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Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.com

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