By Shahid Abdul-Karim

Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo met with James Hillhouse High School Principal Kermit Carolina Wednesday afternoon and issued a three-day unpaid suspension for Carolina’s alleged involvement in grade and credit tampering, but Carolina and his attorney refuse to accept the discipline and stand ready to go to the mat for full vindication.
Carolina and his attorney, Michael Jefferson, called a press conference on the steps of City Hall to repudiate the suspension, and continued their efforts for transparency and to clear Carolina of wrong-doing.

Read more here.

By Jennifer Swift

Register Staff

EAST HAVEN — More charges are pending against one of four police officers charged with conspiring to violate and violating civil rights, and more “overt acts” of three of the four officers originally charged are included in a superseding indictment that came down Tuesday.
The new charges came days after Sgt. John Miller pleaded guilty Friday to depriving an individual of his right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer and agreed to cooperate with the FBI. Miller could avoid jail time. The original indictment said the other three officers, Jason Zullo, David Cari and Dennis Spaulding, were known as “Miller’s Boys.”

Read more here.

New Haven's Hillhouse principal suspended for 3 days without pay in grade tampering case - read more here.
New Haven superintendent disciplines 4 in Hillhouse grade tampering scandal - read that story here.

Keep checking at www.nhregister.com for the latest.

The story below on gasoline pump inspections was prompted by a tip submitted on the "Investigate This" option on this blog. Tell us if you still see out of date inspection stickers in the months ahead.
Let us know what else you'd like us to investigate! Either submit your idea here, or contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at mtuccitto@nhregister.com or at 203-789-5707.

Gabriel Arvelo, vice president, Fuller Installations of North Haven adjusts pump at Forbes Premium Fuel in New Haven September 18, 2012. / Vern Williams photo

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

Gabriel Arvelo, vice president, Fuller Installations of North Haven adjusts pump at Forbes Premium Fuel in New Haven September 18,2012. vmWilliams

A check of gasoline inspection stickers in Connecticut, which show the last time pumps were checked for accuracy, revealed numerous cases of missing and illegible stickers, even stickers showing a last inspection dating back to 2006.
Pumps are supposed to be checked for accuracy within two years, according to state law, to ensure that when a consumer pays for a gallon of gasoline, they get a gallon.
In recent weeks, Journal Register Co. staff drove to 83 Connecticut gas stations to check the inspection stickers.
Inspectors are supposed to affix a sticker with the month and year of the last inspection to each pump. Of the stickers we checked, 25 stations had stickers on some pumps showing inspections done more than two years ago. We found 12 stations which had pumps with missing stickers or stickers that weren’t legible.

Read more here.

One pump at Forbes Premium Fuel on Forbes Avenue in New Haven was dispensing minus five cubic inches in a five gallon draw, an inspection showed. To be exact, the fuel level in the calibrated cylinder pictured above should be at the zero mark. This pump, which performed the worst at Forbes, was still within an acceptable range, as up to minus 6 cubic inches is allowed.  Regardless, the business called in Fuller Installations of North Haven to fix the pump. / Photo by Michelle Tuccitto Sullo    

On Sept. 19, red tags were on several pumps at the Hamden Hess, 1126 Dixwell Ave., in Hamden. The pumps were tagged, or pulled off-sale so customers couldn't use them, after an inspection by the Department of Consumer Protection showed they weren't dispensing enough fuel.

By Shahid Abdul-Karim
Register Staff

Shirley Love Joyner, who served as assistant principal of guidance at James Hillhouse High School, has filed a defamation lawsuit against embattled Principal Kermit Carolina.
The probe into allegations of grade tampering began last fall, after Joyner, who is on a leave of absence, made allegations of grade tampering and improper granting of credits for student-athletes at the school, according to a report.
Joyner’s attorney, Joseph D. Garrison, of Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Richardson, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, PC, said regarding his client, “During the course of this lengthy investigation Mrs. Joyner has not been able to say her side because she though it was best to let the investigation run its course and not be influenced by comments she would make.”

Read more here.

Attorney Michael Jefferson, left, listens to his client, Hillhouse High School Principal Kermit Carolina, right, speak at a meeting concerning a grade tampering investigation at the Hillhouse High School cafeteria in New Haven. Photo by Arnold Gold/New Haven Register

By Shahid Abdul-Karim
Register Staff
NEW HAVEN — A power point presentation regarding the recently released findings stemming from an investigation into alleged grade tampering was shown in the cafeteria of James Hillhouse High School and proved to be eye-opening and beneficial to concerned supporters of Principal Kermit Carolina.
Carolina’s attorney, Michael Jefferson, has repeatedly stated that the investigation was a politically motivated witch hunt, which also turned into a fishing expedition.

Read more here.

 

Hamden-- Hamden residents stand near the Woodin Street Cemetery gate, part of the fence that divides New Haven and Hamden along Woodin Ave. (Left to right, front two women) Marilyn Hutsell and Vera Craven. (left to right men in back) Michael Hutsell, Bill Welch, John Craven, Mike Colaiacovo and Tom Bagenski. They are all residents in the neighborhood who have concerns about New Haven's development plans. Peter Casolino/New Haven Register 8/31/12

By Ann DeMatteo and William Kaempffer
Register Staff
For Hamden resident Garland Patton, the fence that divides his suburban neighborhood from public housing developments in New Haven symbolizes “peace of mind. You’ve got security.”
But for Cliff McClean, who is 80 and lives in the Ribicoff Cottages on the New Haven side of the fence, the barrier evokes a Cold War image.
“What is this? West Germany?” he asked. “Where we’ve got to have a passport to get from one side to the other?”

Read more here.