The Hearst Connecticut Media Group has thus far only dedicated one 152-word story, dropped into one of its small community newspapers, to a scoop about a scandal within a local institution. The teensiness of the story might have something to do with the fact that the institution is the Hearst Connecticut Media Group (which also publishes the daily Connecticut Post and Stamford Advocate). The community paper in question, the New Canaan News, is stating that Paresh Jha, who was until recently its sole reporter, admitted to fabricating quotes and sources for at least 25 stories over his 22-month tenure there. Jha had covered everything from crime to municipal government to teen marijuana use. According to his Linked In profile, he graduated from UConn in 2009 and received a first-place award from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists this year for a series on underage drinking.
Dan Roberti, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District, announced his support for campaign finance reform to lessen the influence of lobbyists in politics. The website CT News Junkie speculated that Roberti may be trying to "capitalize" on the arrest of a staffer of his opponent, state House Speaker Christopher Donovan, for allegedly taking a donation in exchange for Donovan's help squashing a bill, especially given that Roberti's father, Vin, is a prominent D.C. lobbyist who was ranked number two on a GQ list of the most powerful behind-the-scenes players in Washington. Roberti admitted some of his donors "got to know me because of my father," but defended himself on the grounds that he completes his own menial office tasks, stating, "At the end of the day, I'm the one who's picking up the phones, raising lots of money."
Lynne Ward was apparently under the impression that when a police officer issues you a ticket you can just sorta decline to accept it. An animal control officer allegedly spotted Ward, 61, with an unleashed dog in a Darien park. When the officer, in full uniform, approached Ward, she "stated she would not be receiving a ticket" and drove off, according to the Darien News. Police traced her name and phone number via her license plate, but she reportedly hung up on them. Ward's reaction added an interfering with an officer arrest for what could have been a simple citation.
A neighbor of Jane Belanger claimed in a police complaint that the 35-year-old Monroe woman attempted to distract men installing a fence between their yards by lounging around in a lawn chair while wearing only a towel. In a later incident, he says Belanger, again wearing only the towel, jumped up and down while grabbing her breasts in plain view of his children, according to the Connecticut Post.
Mill River may be one of New Haven's seedier neighborhoods but it is apparently not an open-air drug market, as 40-year-old Muhammed Mahfoz Shaban discovered after he was arrested for allegedly stopping random cars and offering cocaine, The New Haven Register reports.
Police semi-regularly find drunk people asleep behind the wheels of their cars, which counts as DUI if the keys are in the ignition. In an extreme example of this, Westport officers allegedly found 22-year-old Robert Reeder slumped over in his driver's seat so intoxicated he could not respond to them, forcing them to break a window to unlock Reed's vehicle. Frighteningly, he not only had the engine on but the car in drive with his foot on the brake pedal, police told The Hour.
Another DUI suspect, this one in Middletown, made his arrest much easier. Police had stopped another vehicle on a routine traffic stop, when a minivan pulled up to the scene. Its driver, 55-year-old Sebastiano Rizzo (a previous arrestee), allegedly heckled officers, exited the minivan and then stumbled towards them, according to the Middletown Patch website.
A former employee went back to the Buffalo Wild Wings in New Haven to interview for his old job and may have botched it when he allegedly stole money from a safe in the manger's office. Police told the Register that the 43-year-old man (who has not yet been identified) abruptly abandoned the interview and dashed for the three bundles of bills but sloppily dropped most of the stash as he ran out.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, another New Haven man showed a ridiculous dedication to employment when, after being stabbed in a robbery, he drove to work to tell his employers he wouldn't be able to do his job that day because "he had to get to the hospital right away," according to the Hartford Courant.
Post Your Comment Below
