Bristol woman arrested for filing false complaint against husband nearly four years ago

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BRISTOL - A city woman was arrested Wednesday for allegedly making up a false complaint in 2013 about her husband, claiming he had a gun and was on the hunt for her.

Melissa Gargiulo, 45, is facing charges of first-degree falsely reporting an incident and second-degree breach of peace.

According to the arrest warrant, Gargiulo showed up late for work on Oct. 10, 2013, at her then-job at The Pines at Bristol Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation, on Bellevue Avenue.

She allegedly told a colleague she had been escorted to work by police, as her husband was armed and looking to shoot her and “gun down the place,” referring to The Pines. The colleague, who later noted to police that Gargiulo appeared to be under the influence of something, looked outside and could not see any officers or cruisers. Police later confirmed that there had been no escort.

The staff member at The Pines then contacted police and told them about the allegations. Investigators were able to track down Gargiulo’s husband, who was bedridden from a recent surgery and was not allowed to contact his wife because of a domestic violence arrest.

Police said they found no evidence to suggest he contacted his wife or threatened her.

Police then spoke over the phone to Gargiulo, who had left The Pines and said she was at a shelter in New Britain. She corroborated the allegations detailed in the complaint made by the staff member at The Pines and added that her husband had been at her place of work looking for her, according to the warrant. Shortly thereafter, Gargiulo said her husband wasn’t there that day looking for her and that it had been another day, adding that she hadn’t talked to him the day she made the allegations.

Police said Gargiulo began rambling incoherently about a number of different things, all of which were irrelevant to the investigation. Officers went to the shelter in New Britain, but could not locate her.

Because of the alarm the incident caused the staff at The Pines at Bristol, the facility went into lockdown for some time and a supervisor there decided to hire an off-duty police officer to monitor the facility overnight.

The warrant for Gargiulo’s arrest was signed the day of the incident. It was not immediately clear Thursday why it took nearly four years for her arrest.

Gargiulo, who is free on a promise to appear, is scheduled to appear in Bristol Superior Court on Oct. 11.

Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or at [email protected]