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 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
New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN >> A pilot who was injured during a 2012 encounter with a city police officer is trying to clear his name, through a lawsuit and by releasing surveillance video of the incident.

Timur Andiric of Berlin, Conn., sued Officer Josh Kyle in U.S. District Court last year. The litigation claims Andiric was subjected to unreasonable force and falsely accused of interfering with a police officer.
Andiric 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.

Read the full story and watch videos of the incident here.

By Rich Scinto

Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Police officers are held to a higher standard.
That’s what Judge Maureen Keegan said before she decided to move on with criminal cases for a former New Haven police officer and two current officers on unpaid leave after they allegedly fired shots into the air after a night at a bar.

Read more here. 

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.

 

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.

Kenneth Ireland, left, and his attorney, Bill Bloss. Ireland was wrongly convicted of the murder of Barbara Pelkey and spent 21 years in prison. He is suing the state of Connecticut. Melanie Stengel/Register

By Randall Beach

Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — Kenneth Ireland Jr. still shakes his head when he ponders the murder of Barbara Pelkey 26 years ago and the lasting ripple effects of her death.

“It’s a terrible situation all the way around,” he said. “There are no winners. A family was destroyed, a woman lost her life.”And Ireland lost half of his life. After being wrongfully convicted in 1989 of murdering Pelkey, he served 21 years of a 50-year sentence until new DNA advances finally cleared his name. He walked out of prison in 2009.
Read more here.

An Occupy New Haven protester fills a generator at the encampment on the Green recently./Melanie Stengel/Register

By Mary E. O’Leary

Topics Editor

NEW HAVEN — It is certainly a unique situation.

The New Haven Green, 16 acres of park land in the heart of downtown, is owned and run by a self-perpetuating group of five private citizens who hold it in trust for the public good.

Whose idea was that? Apparently, it goes back to the original settlers and investors in New Haven in the 1640s, under the auspices of Charles I, according to historical accounts.

Read more here.

By Mary E. O’Leary
Topics Editor
moleary@nhregister.com / Twitter: @nhrmoleary
NEW HAVEN — Every year they roll out, scaring away businesses and visitors and putting officials on the defensive.
They are the City Crime Rankings published yearly by CQ Press, and, according to the experts, they are not accurate and should not be trusted.
They are based on the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, which specifically warns that rankings “lead to simplistic and/or incomplete analyses that often create misleading perceptions adversely affecting cities and counties, along with their residents,” said FBI spokesman Stephen G. Fischer Jr.
He said they fail to provide an understanding of the many variables that contribute to crime in any geographic district, while others say they are useless in helping the public make good decisions about their own personal safety.


Read more here.

Franklyn Cruz of Meriden holds a picture of his brother, Jose Ortiz, who disappeared in 2005 in New Haven. Peter Casolino/ Register

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

NEW HAVEN — The family of Jose Ortiz, who was 19 when he was abducted six years ago, knows he was likely murdered.

They are hoping his remains will be found, and they’ll finally learn who is responsible. His relatives have issued a plea to those who know what happened to Ortiz to come forward.

His mother, Carmen Colon of Meriden, said, “I want to know what happened to my son. Please, find it in your heart to say something.

Read more here.

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

Investigations Editor

mtuccitto@nhregister.com

NEW HAVEN — Residents and staff at the Bella Vista complex had grown accustomed to seeing the friendly man who always rode his bicycle.

Then one day, he vanished.

Read more here.

Janet Frisco of New Haven holds a photo of her daughter, Evelyn Ann Frisco, who has been missing since 2004./ Peter Casolino/ Register

By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
Investigations Editor
NEW HAVEN — When Janet Frisco talks about her daughter, she starts to cry.
City resident Evelyn Ann Frisco vanished in June 2004. Her mother still has some hope she is alive, but fears she was murdered.
“For a while, if I heard a knock on the door at night, I’d think maybe…,” Janet Frisco said. “You can’t give up hope. Any time I get talking about her, I start crying. It is just so sad. In the winter, when it is cold, I wonder if she is out there. Even if I knew what happened to her, it is better than having to wonder.”

Read more here.