By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
In two recent cases, area residents have collected dead parents’ Social Security benefits for decades before getting caught, raising questions about how they were able to get away with it for so long, and how investigators can catch other fraudsters more quickly.
William Chase, 69, of Milford, who was sentenced to six months in prison, stole about $300,000 in Social Security benefits meant for his deceased mother over the course of 25 years. Chase mostly used the money to pay his mortgage and for his family’s college expenses.
A Hamden woman, Sandra Kimbro, 66, was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by six months of home confinement, for stealing about $160,457 of her dead mother’s Social Security benefits for nearly three decades. Kimbro chatted to a bank teller about caring for her elderly mother as if she were alive to cover her deception when she made bank withdrawals, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly urged others who are taking a dead relative’s benefits, known as “deceased payee fraud,” to turn themselves in.

Read more here. 

By Kate Ramunni
Register Staff
HAMDEN >> A report on the rate at which police officers conduct traffic stops on minority drivers that suggests some Hamden officers have a propensity to stop African-Americans will lead to more sensitivity training, the department’s chief said Friday.

Read more here. 

By Mary E. O'Leary
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN >> The city, upon further review, has found fines levied by the Commission on Equal Opportunities over the past two years and determined that they were deposited in the city’s general fund.
Last week, Commission on Equal Opportunities Executive Director Nichole Jefferson was put on paid administrative leave so officials could look into allegations that she had failed to properly collect fines against companies that violated rules for contractors using public funds.
The city said they were also looking into the relationship between the CEO and the Construction Workforce Initiative 2 to see if city resources or personnel were used to benefit CWI 2, a training program that holds sessions several times a year to teach construction skills.

Read more here. 

By Esteban Hernandez
Register Staff
BRANFORD >> An incident involving a 41-year-old local man who died after being stunned with a Taser  by a town police officer has at least one state lawmaker seeking a more unified standard for use of the devices.
State Sen. Ted Kennedy Jr., D-Branford, said in a statement that he would like to explore Taser policies in the state’s law enforcement agencies. David Werblow, 41, died Sunday after an officer deployed his Taser after police responded to a reported disturbance. His death is being investigated by Connecticut State Police, per standard procedure after a use of force death.

Read more here.

Read prior coverage:

Branford witnesses: Man hit 3 times with Taser before death

State police: Man dies after Taser use by Branford police

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
NEW HAVEN >> Police have launched an internal affairs investigation into an incident during the St. Patrick’s Day parade Sunday in which a 15-year-old girl was injured when an officer took her to the ground while arresting her.
The incident was caught on video by bystanders.
In the videos, the officer can be seen standing behind the girl, identified by her family as Teandrea Cornelius. Both are standing behind a parked vehicle.
In the moments that follow, the officer appears to pull the girl by her arm onto the ground, which she hits with her right shoulder and the right side of her face.

Read more here. 

By Jennifer Swift
Register Staff
NEW LONDON >> A former Ledyard High School teacher and short-term instructor at Southern Connecticut State University was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison, suspended after he serves two years, as part of a plea deal in which he admitted to having an illegal sexual relationship with a 17-year-old Ledyard student.
William Friskey must serve at least 9 months of the 2-year sentence and will then be placed on probation for 15 years. He will be placed on the sex offender registry for 10 years, according to a clerk at Superior Court in New London.

Read more here.

Read the December story on the Register's investigation here. 

(Catherine Avalone - New Haven Register) A Ford F250 4x4 Off-Road pickup truck that the West Haven Board of Education bought with Carl D. Perkins technology grant funds was parked Friday behind a locked gate at West Haven High School's Ken Strong Stadium following the retirement of longtime shop teacher Garrett "Gary" Grant. Grant retired as the state Department of Education was conducting an audit of the district's Perkins grant administration. The audit reportedly includes the use of the pickup.

By Mark Zaretsky
Register Staff
WEST HAVEN >> Recently retired West Haven High School shop teacher Garrett “Garry” Grant didn’t just ride in style at taxpayer expense in a 2009 Ford F-250 “4X4 Supercab” pickup truck funded by a Carl D. Perkins technology grant and fueled with a city gas card -

Read the full story here. Read prior coverage here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
NEW HAVEN >> The city has settled a lawsuit filed by a Berlin man who was injured during a 2012 encounter with a city police officer for $130,000.
Timur Andiric sued Officer Josh Kyle in U.S. District Court, claiming he was subjected to unreasonable force and falsely accused of interfering with a police officer.
Andiric, a pilot, said he suffered a head wound requiring eight stitches and a broken nose after police slammed him to the ground and used a Taser on him, because he left a New Haven bar with a beer in his hand.

Advertisement

“It is a very large settlement amount for a police brutality case,” said Andiric’s attorney, John Williams of New Haven. “It was unconscionable misconduct. The settlement amount takes into consideration my client’s physical injuries and lost wages.”

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
An art dealer convicted of mail fraud for selling fraudulent artwork was re-arrested Wednesday and charged with violating the conditions of his release for allegedly continuing to sell misrepresented art — this time on eBay.
Following his latest arrest, David Crespo, 59, of Guilford, appeared before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Janet C. Hall Wednesday. Hall remanded Crespo into custody pending his sentencing, now scheduled for Jan. 16.
Hall told Crespo he is accused of engaging in mail and wire fraud within the last few days, by offering art for sale on eBay that is not what it is said to be in the listing descriptions.

Advertisement

“Under the conditions of your release, you shouldn’t commit another crime,” Hall said. “I have evidence in front of me of the fraudulent sale of artwork that is not what it purports to be.”

Read more of this Dec. 31 story here. 

Read the New Haven Register's prior coverage, regarding Crespo's eBay sales and the FBI inquiry here.

By Jennifer Swift
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN >> A man accused of an illegal sexual relationship with a high school student was permitted to teach at Southern Connecticut State University for several weeks this fall before the university’s completion of a mandated background check flagged the allegations, records show.
The university must complete a background check on all employees, as per university and state policy, but documents show William Friskey was allowed to teach before his screenings were completed. The information, contained in memos and emails, was obtained through a Freedom of Information request submitted by the New Haven Register.
The emails and memos show that even after a department head was told Friskey was not allowed in a classroom before the background check was completed, he was allowed to continue teaching.

Read the full story here. 

By Keldy Ortiz

HAMDEN >> The Legislative Council unanimously approved 39 body cameras for the police department Monday night, suiting every uniformed officer on the street.
The council approved 39 Axon Wearable Body Cameras for $59,135.35, paid for by the town’s capital improvement budget. This will bring the total to 75 policer officers with body cameras, said Police Chief Thomas Wydra.
“This is the national conversation of today,” Wydra said. “I’m glad the council supports this.”

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
HAMDEN -The town recently reached settlement agreements in three cases in which individuals claimed they were subjected to excessive force by local police officers.
Meanwhile, two other people who had filed notices of intent to sue over alleged police brutality have formally filed lawsuits in recent weeks.
The three settlements were for a combined total of $70,500.

Advertisement

A 2013 New Haven Register investigation found police in Hamden, New Haven, West Haven and East Haven had the most excessive force litigation against them in the Greater New Haven region.

Read more here. 

By Jean Falbo-Sosnovich

DERBY >> The executive assistant for Terry Bradshaw said she is hoping the city didn’t shell out money thinking the football legend would be narrating a show touting Derby as one of the best places in the United States to live, work and play because that is not going to happen.
Connie Mason said Bradshaw severed ties earlier this year with the Florida production company that produces “Communities of Distinction” because it was using Bradshaw’s name to draw in communities to pay for infomercials promoting their cities.
“Terry is in no way shape or form associated with this company and will not be hosting any more of their shows,” Mason said in a statement to the New Haven Register. “They are fraudulent in using Terry to sell their product. Terry’s contract with this company ended in May and they are illegally still using his name to sell these spots. I hope this city hasn’t sent them their money yet.”

Read more here. 

UPDATE: DERBY TO GET REFUND FOR INFOMERCIAL: Read the update here.

By Evan Lips
Register Staff
EAST HAVEN >> A New Haven man, who in April 2011 sued the East Haven and New Haven Police departments alleging officers broke his collarbone during a 2009 arrest at Trolley Square Plaza, recently reached a $15,000 settlement with East Haven, although the amount of the settlement reached with New Haven is still unclear.
East Haven Town Attorney Joseph Zullo recently confirmed the $15,000 settlement.

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

NEW HAVEN >> Investigators have determined the skeletal remains of a woman found in Vernon do not belong to either Evelyn Frisco or Lisa Calvo, two women who have been missing for years from New Haven.
Police recently collected DNA from family members of both Calvo and Frisco to compare to the Vernon remains.
Police spokesman Officer David Hartman announced Tuesday there was no match.

Advertisement

The Police Department’s investigations into the disappearances of Frisco and Calvo remain open, he said in a press release.

Read the full Sept. 30 story HERE and check out prior coverage

here and here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
The state is doubling the money it allocates for Project Longevity, which works to curb gun violence in the state’s largest cities, in this fiscal year.
The state budgeted $475,000 for fiscal 2012-13 and $475,000 for 2013-14, but it has increased the amount to $1 million for 2014-15, according to Michael Lawlor, state undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning.
“This year, it is fully up and running in all three cities,” Lawlor said. “We expect the cost to remain at about $1 million a year with it operating in Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven.”

Read the full story here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
HARTFORD >> The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of missing Waterbury man William “Billy” Smolinski Jr.’s family members, who hope to overturn a civil ruling that ordered them to pay a $52,666 judgment to Smolinski’s former girlfriend.
In March, the state Appellate Court upheld the ruling of Superior Court Judge Thomas Corradino, who awarded the amount to Madeleine Gleason of Woodbridge, for intentional infliction of emotional distress, defamation and punitive damages.
Gleason, who dated Smolinski until they broke up just prior to his 2004 disappearance, sued his mother, Janice Smolinski of Cheshire, and his sister, Paula Bell, in 2006, claiming they harassed, defamed and falsely accused her of involvement in his disappearance.

Read more here. 

By Evan Lips
Register Staff

While protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, are demanding that a police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager be prosecuted, in Connecticut since 2001, there has only been one case out of 38 completed investigations of police use of deadly force in which an officer faced prosecution.
A Hartford police officer was acquitted in that case.

Michael Dearington, state’s attorney for the judicial district of New Haven, has served in his current role since 1987. In 27 years, he’s never elected to prosecute an officer who was found to have used deadly force in the line of duty in his district.
“All I can say is that the state gives a fair amount of latitude with respect to the use of deadly force,” Dearington said.
“I’ve investigated a lot of cases,” said Dearington, who is the longest-serving state’s attorney in Connecticut. “But I’ve never had enough to prosecute a guy.”

Read more here.

Read the sidebar: ACLU: 14 deaths in Connecticut since 2005 after Taser use.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
The Office of the Chief State’s Attorney has decided against pursuing criminal charges against any state employees or private citizens who received D-SNAP benefits they weren’t entitled to following Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Len Boyle said, “It ultimately came down to the allocation of resources.”
Boyle noted there were administrative and other remedies applied in the cases, such as disciplinary action against the state employees.
“All of these cases involved dollar amounts under $1,000,” Boyle said.
Dozens of state employees were terminated amid allegations of food stamp fraud following the August 2011 storm. However, all but four of 97 terminations were later overturned in arbitration.

Read the full story here. 

Read more reactions from lawmakers here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor 

CHESHIRE >> The white shell of an old nursing home, the former Greenery Extended Care Center, has stood empty and crumbling for years behind gates with barbed wire and “No Trespassing” signs to keep people out.
But clearly people aren’t staying out. During a recent visit, the old nursing home building was accessible through an unlocked door and low, unblocked windows. The interior was filled with broken glass and graffiti. People have written their initials and messages like “Craze” and “Turn Around.”
The dilapidated property at 50 Hazel Drive is just one of the long-vacant properties in town that have become an eyesore. Many haven’t been properly secured from entry.

Read more here.

Check out the full slideshow here. 

By Evan Lips
Register Staff
EAST HAVEN >> Robert Salatto of New Haven, whose accusation that former Police Officer Jason Zullo purposely rammed his motorcycle as he sped away from an attempted traffic stop resulted in the officer entering a guilty plea, recently settled a $330,000 civil suit he filed against the Police Department.
New Haven attorney Hugh Keefe, who represented the town in the matter, confirmed Friday that the parties reached a settlement but refused to confirm the dollar amount and declined to make any further comment.

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor

The litigation that pushed for intellectually disabled students to spend more time with their non-disabled peers in schools statewide is over.
The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit known as the “P.J. case” have decided against taking their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, said attorney David Shaw of Bloomfield, who represented “P.J.,” or Patrick Jordan of West Hartford, and the other plaintiffs.
“A lot of it is due to the expense,” Shaw said. “It is expensive for parents to try to fight a case like this.”
The P.J. plaintiffs had claimed the state wasn’t doing enough to meet the five goals for intellectually disabled students that both sides agreed upon when the parties reached a settlement, which was approved in 2002.
In December 2013, the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny.
The only remaining legal remedy for the plaintiffs would have been to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read the full story here.  

Check out our special education blog here, and our Facebook page here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor

It has been more than 10 weeks since two dogs trained to detect cadavers alerted searchers to a location of interest in the case of missing Waterbury man William “Billy” Smolinski Jr.
However, police have not yet done a search of the property, public land in Beacon Falls, to see if Smolinski’s remains are there.
Smolinski’s family members, who have been waiting almost a decade for his body to be found, said this week the delay is “frustrating.”

Read the full story here.

Driving while texting (photo illustration). Catherine Avalone — The Middletown Press


By Viktoria Sundqvist
Middletown Press
More than 32,000 tickets for driving while using a cellphone were issued across Connecticut in 2013, generating more than $2 million in revenue for the state. The violation represented about 8 percent of the 414,837 total traffic tickets written last year.
Connecticut has about 2.5 million active driver’s licenses, so cellphone infractions were issued on average to about 1 in 77 drivers in 2013.
An analysis of the 16,000 tickets issued by local police departments (the rest were issued by state police or departments that did not provide information), using data obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, shows that enforcement can differ wildly from town to town, and time of year. Men are ticketed slightly more than women, and the racial breakdown of tickets closely matches Connecticut’s statewide Census demographics, with 84.6 percent going to white drivers compared to a state population that is 84 percent white.
The majority of distracted driving tickets were issued in spring and summer, according to the data collected from each individual department.

Read the full story here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
and Patricia Villers
SHELTON >> Franga Ndoj, whose grandson Kristjan was fatally shot in March, took a framed color photograph of him down from a shelf in the home they shared and kissed it, with tears in her eyes.
“I’m not doing well; the past few months have been hard,” she said. “I think they know who did it, but they aren’t saying anything. It would be better if they knew what actually happened.”
She remembered how Kristjan would leave for school and give her hugs and kisses, then do it again when he returned.
“He was my life,” she said, speaking in Albanian.
After almost four months with no arrest in the fatal shooting of the popular Shelton High School sophomore, his grieving loved ones are frustrated and hoping anyone with information will come forward and tell police.

Read more here. 

By Isaac Avilucea
The Register Citizen 
TORRINGTON >> Twenty-five years later, pain has given way to forgiveness, but sisters Susan Suhanovsky and Honoria Williams still haven’t forgotten the day their father, Herman Marine, died in a horrific two-car accident in Torrington.
About 5 feet 11 inches tall with salt-and-pepper hair, an imposing beard and “smiling eyes,” Marine was set to retire from the Burrville Fire Department July 1 and had purchased a home with his wife, Margaret, in Venice, Florida, in the same retirement community as the couple’s friends, when he was killed by a drunk driver on June 21, 1989.

Read more here. 

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
Connecticut police use money forfeited by convicted criminals such as drug dealers to buy new police dogs, undercover vehicles, technology, fitness equipment — and to pay for travel to events around the country.
About $1,400 of retiring state police Col. Danny Stebbins’s expenses on trips to conferences in Virginia, California, South Carolina, and Louisiana were paid for with asset forfeiture funds.
These included a trip to New Orleans that became controversial when Stebbins discussed details of the Sandy Hook shootings at a March 2013 conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police while police had yet to share many of those details with officials in Connecticut.
Overall, state police spent about $39,000 on travel.
While using asset forfeiture funds for travel expenses is allowed when it is for a law enforcement-related purpose, some, like attorney Jonathan J. Einhorn of New Haven, say the practice is inappropriate.

Read the full story here.

Look up how much police agencies got in asset forfeiture funds, and how they are using the money here.

This is Trent, a purebred Labrador, a narcotics detection K-9, a first for the Orange Police Department. He was trained to detect numerous illegal drugs including marijuana, heroin, ecstasy, opiates, and more. Trent was purchased through Guiding Eyes in New York through a Connecticut State Police Program that takes dogs not suited for guide work and sends them to police departments as bomb, arson and narcotic dogs. Trent was funded through asset forfeiture monies the Orange police department received through past narcotic investigations. / Contributed photo

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor
Bristol police Officers Eric Wethered and Jason Kasparian took aim at a threatening male suspect on a screen in the Police Department’s new shooting decision simulator, and shouted at him to drop his weapon.
They decided to shoot when the suspect went for a weapon — and when the simulation was over, a training officer, Eric Ouellette, evaluated how they did.
The simulator is designed to help police prepare for potential deadly force situations, and it is just one of many purchases that police around the state made after getting funds through federal and state criminal asset forfeiture programs.
Police agencies reported using the funds for a variety of purchases, including police dogs, pistols, computer equipment and shooting simulators.

Read the full story here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
and Viktoria Sundqvist

Seven out of the eight Connecticut police departments that received poor grades on a recent public information compliance test have improved their access to arrest information, a follow-up check shows. The exception was Hamden.
The New Haven Register, The Middletown Press and The Register Citizen in March tested all of the 92 municipal police departments and 11 state police troops for compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

Read more here. 

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register) Janice Smolinski, of Cheshire searches areas of a wooded Valley area Sunday following up tips received her and his husband Bill Smolinski, Sr., about the location of their missing son Bill Smolinski, Jr.'s body. Two volunteer certified search and rescue cadaver dog teams were involved in the search. 

 

By Pamela McLoughlin
Register Staff
A key piece in the puzzle of finding Billy Smolinski — who disappeared nearly 10 years ago — may have fallen into place Sunday.
A cadaver dog, K-9 Murphy, and his handler, Debbie Monde, animal control officer in Newington and Wethersfield, provided the clue at a spot in the Valley that cannot be disclosed. A second, unidentified dog involved in similar work reinforced the possible find.
For Bill and Janice Smolinski, who have never given up the search for their son’s body — working on the case daily — it’s a glimmer of hope, but they’ve been disappointed many times before.

Read more here. 

CHECK OUT THIS JULY UPDATE here.