A retired state police trooper who supervised the Somers police department is off the job and the termination letter for him accuses him of sexual misconduct on the job.
The termination letter for Lieutenant Jose Claudio sent on Oct. 20 said he was accused of sexual misconduct and other inappropriate conduct while on duty and in uniform, including taking sexually inappropriate videos and photos.
The termination went into effect on Oct. 20.
Route 17 in Glastonbury was closed between Hubbard and Main streets after a two-vehicle crash on Friday morning.
State police said someone involved in the crash suffered life-threatening injuries.
The road since reopened.
There is no word on the condition of any of the victims.
They say time is money, and a vintage Rolex that once belonged to actor Paul Newman has set a new world record for just how much.
The "one and only" Rolex Cosmograph Daytona wristwatch, also known as Paul Newman's Paul Newman, sold for a record $17.8 million at Phillips Auction House in New York on Thursday, the auction house said in a news release.
That is $6 million more expensive than the previous priciest ever sold at auction, according to Phillips. It also breaks the record for the most expensive Rolex ever sold at auction, the auction house said, which was previously held by the Rolex Bao Dai. That sold for $5 million back in May.
The art deco watch was given to Newman by his wife, actress Joanne Woodward, after he made the 1969 auto racing film "Winning" in which he played autoracer Frank Capua, Phillips said in announcing the auction. Newman had also taken up the sport and Woodward, fearful of his need for speed, inscribed on the back of the watch in all caps: "Drive Carefully You."
The movie star made Daytonas fitted with the "exotic" dial popular after he was photographed repeatedly wearing the watch.
"Throughout his career, Mr. Newman was seen wearing many different generations of Daytona models. This is the first Daytona he wore, and is the only "exotic"-dialed Daytona that Mr. Newman owned and wore, making it the ultimate Rolex Daytona wristwatch. It features the most famous dial, fitted in the most famous collectors’ watch, produced by the most famous watch brand," Phillips wrote.
Though the watch is not made of any precious metals or stones, it is worth a lot to collectors because of its story.
The trail of the watch was cold for years and after Newman died in 2008 it was presumed missing. But all along, it was quietly in the hands of James Cox, the one-time boyfriend of Newman’s daughter Elinor "Nell" Newman.
"The tree house was perched in a large oak tree that cantilevered over the Aspetuck River at my childhood home in Westport, Connecticut," Nell recalls in a signed letter accompanying the watch. "We had two family homes, one on each side of the river. That summer Pop was living in one, and James was living in the other. Pop would frequent the river bank to check on James’ progress. During one such encounter, Pop asked James if he knew the time. Apparently Pop forgot to wind his wristwatch that morning. James responded that he didn’t know the time and didn’t own a watch. Pop handed James his Rolex and said, 'if you can remember to wind this each day, it tells pretty good time.'"
Cox has owned the watch since and, together with Nell, who remain close friends, decided to sell the watch to raise money for her foundation.
The Nell Newman Foundation supports her father’s philanthropic values, "while serving Nell’s commitment to organic foods and sustainable agriculture," according to the non-profit. A portion of the sale proceeds will also go to benefit Newman's Own Foundation.
Two men robbed a Plymouth liquor store on Thursday night and police are looking for them.
Police said the robbery was at Plymouth Package Store on South Riverside Avenue in Pequabuck at 8:55 p.m.
The robbers had guns and ran off with cash and several bottles of liquor, police said.
One man is 6-feet-4 and he was wearing a black hooded jacket with two stripes down the arms, black prescription glasses and jeans.
The other was around 5-feet-8.
If anyone has information about the case, call Plymouth Police at 860-589-7779.
Danbury police are searching for a 53-year-old local woman who has been missing for a week.
Laelcira DeLima was last seen around 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20 and she was wearing a black V-neck shirt and blue jeans, police said.
She could be driving a red 2016 Honda Accord with Connecticut plate AC98150.
Anyone with information should call the Danbury Police Department 203-797-4611.
After two weeks of preparations, and hours of labor, the New Haven Department of Parks and Recreation, and Department of Public Works have cut the holiday tree they’ll display this year on the New Haven Green.
The tree was cut from Elizabeth LaPointe’s yard in Branford Friday morning.
The 70-foot-tall tree that weighs about 16,000 pounds has been on her property for more than 50 years.
“Well that’s not my tree anymore,” LaPointe said. “It’s New Haven’s.”
LaPointe’s husband and a neighbor planted the tree and her family decorated it for the holidays for two years, until it became too big.
It’s massive size caught the attention of New Haven Parks and Recreation, according to manager Bill Carone.
“Staff members drove by this tree a couple of months ago, and it was one of our top three, and we decided to go to this one,” he said.
LaPointe was surprised when the department came knocking at her door because she thought someone had made a complaint about the tree.
“I thought, ‘Why are they here?’ Then he said something about, ‘Well, did you call a couple of years ago to have it out as a Christmas tree on the New Haven Green?’ Then it dawned on me, yes I did,” she said.
LaPointe said she’s looking forward to seeing the tree lit for the first time on Nov. 30, but is more excited about the future of her giving tree.
She’s been told that when it comes down after Christmas, it’ll be used to, “make park benches, lumber for Houses for Humanity. So that, that makes me happy,” she said.
A Waterbury man was arrested after driving more than 110 miles per hour in New York and leading troopers on a chase, according to New York State Police.
Troopers monitoring traffic on Interstate 84 in the Town of Southeast, New York saw a Honda sedan going more than 110 miles per hour around 9:15 p.m. Monday and tried to stop the car, but the driver kept going, leading police on a chase that ended on Old Mine Road, police said.
The driver was identified as 21-year-old Jose Rosado, of Waterbury, and police said he resisted arrest.
Rosado was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle in the third degree, obstructing a government official, reckless endangerment of property and driving while intoxicated.
Rosado is due in Town of Southeast Justice Court on Nov. 16.
A New Britain man is accused of breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s Southington home, taking her dog and leading police on a chase into Middletown. This was the third time he was accused of breaking into the woman’s home this month, according to police.
The victim called police Friday when 39-year-old George Degrandis, of New Britain, forced his way into her home, police said. When the victim reached out to authorities, Degrandis took the dog and drove off.
When police officers tried to stop Degrandis’ car, he got onto Interstate 84, Route 72 East and continued on Route 9 in Middletown, where he was taken into custody.
Police said a protective order exists between the victim and Degrandis has broken into her home before. He was accused of forcing his way into the woman’s home on Oct. 1 and fleeing when police were called.
He also entered the home without permission on Oct. 18, police said. When the victim said she was going to call police, Degrandis took her phone to keep her from calling 911 and left with the phone, police said.
Degrandis has been charged with violation of a protective order, second-degree burglary, fifth-degree larceny, first-degree criminal mischief, engaging police in a pursuit operating a motor vehicle under suspension, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, misuse of registration plates, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and reckless driving in the case from today.
He was held on $100,000 bond in the most recent case.
Three men accused of robbing a pizza delivery man in Bridgeport Thursday evening are suspected of committing several robberies, according to police.
The pizza deliveryman was robbed on Brooks Street right after 5 p.m. Thursday and three suspects were taken into custody soon after.
Police identified them as 20-year-old Talik Morris, 20-year-old Johnny Barnes Jr. and 19-year-old Anthony Clemons were arrested and said they believe the three men might be responsible for several recent robberies.
Police said there have been several of these types of robberies throughout the city, especially the eastside.
Storm damage from earlier this week forced the Naugatuck Historical Society to postpone tours of the Hillside Cemetery this weekend.
Tours are rescheduled for Friday, Nov. 3 and Saturday, Nov. 4.
The association that maintains the cemetery notified the historical society of the damage, according to Mary Mazeiko, the society’s vice president.
She said for the safety of spectators and tour guides, they determined it would be best to postpone it. Mazeiko is hoping the impending storm on Sunday does not cause any further damage.
Mazeiko is looking forward to reenacting notable people who are buried in the cemetery who contributed to the history of Naugatuck and Connecticut.
“We resurrect them from the dead. In other words, we play roles, we become those people. When people come in, we tell a little bit about the history of the person, we try to do a little play acting to encourage people to take an interest in what has happened here in Naugatuck,” Mazeiko said.
Jeff Bezos became the richest man in the world Friday morning, after adding nearly $7 billion to his wealth overnight.
With Amazon's share price surging Friday morning after its earnings report, Bezos's wealth shot up to more than $90 billion, according to calculations by CNBC and data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That put Bezos past Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world.
Gates also added to his fortune Friday morning with the rise in Microsoft stock after its earnings. But his gain of around $550 million put his fortune at $88.5 billion — not enough to stay ahead of Bezos.
This isn't Bezos' first time as numero uno. He became the richest man for the first time in July – but his reign only lasted a day. On July 27, Amazon's share price topped $1,050 and Bezos' paper fortune soared past $90 billion.
It’s almost Halloween and you can expect people to throw a costume together last minute. The same can’t be said for Josh Sundquist, who says he is always thinking about what he’ll wear for the spooky holiday.
Sundquist’s unique costumes have brought him admirers on social media
The 33-year-old Virginia native, who lost his leg to a rare form of bone cancer when he was 9 years old, said he's been dressing up consistently for Halloween since college. The costumes over the years have included Lumiere from “Beauty and the Beast,” a flamingo, an IHOP sign and a Dairy Queen "Blizzard."
On Thursday, he revealed on Instagram his latest costume, the popular “Winnie the Pooh” character Tigger, which someone on Reddit suggested he dress up as.
“That is such a perfect idea,” Sundquist recalled about when the idea was presented to him. “It accurately reflects that I hop a lot. I was pretty sure, I wanted to do Tigger.”
The motivational speaker, bestselling author and Paralympic athlete — he competed for the U.S. Paralympic Ski Team in 2006 — loves Halloween. Growing up, he lived in a very conservative and religious household and said his family used to turn off the lights in their home so trick-or-treaters wouldn’t bother them.
Sundquist, who now lives in California, chooses to make fun out of his situation. He said he’s heard from other amputees, who said he’s inspired them.
“It gives me an opportunity to dress as something I am not, but to use what I am in a creative and unexpected way.” he said.
The Justice Department’s new opioid fraud squad, Opioid and Abuse Detection Unit, has gotten its first indictment — a Pittsburgh-area physician who allegedly prescribed heavy-duty painkillers to patients and insisted on being paid in cash.
Andrzej Kazimierz Zielke was indicted this week by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on 14 counts of conspiracy and unlawfully distributing controlled substances, charges that could send the 62-year-old to prison for up to 20 years.
Zielke allegedly wrote prescriptions for oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine sulfate and methadone “not for medical purposes” at least 13 times and charged about $250 cash to patients who traveled for miles to his “holistic pain management practice” in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, according to the Department of Justice.
The Opioid and Abuse Detection Unit was unveiled by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in August. It has dispatched teams of prosecutors to opioid-ravaged states like Pennsylvania and uses data to zero-in on doctors who prescribe large amounts of painkillers.
Police are warning the public of a potential risk after political signs in Montville were tampered with.
Montville police and the residential trooper are investigating after they discovered large pieces of plywood with large metal nails protruding upwards placed at local political road signs on Oct. 26.
The devices were found under signs that were on the soulder of the road and concealed with loose grass to avoid detection, police said.
Police said the devices pose a threat pedestrians and drivers.
Anyone with any information regarding this incident is asked to call Lt. Bunnell at (860) 892-6107 or Resident Trooper Sergeant Mark Juhola at (860) 848-7040. The tip line may also be called at (860) 892-6191.
A Watertown woman’s experience accidentally paying for a subscription service for more than a year can serve as a good lesson.
Jennifer’s oversight led to 15 months of video subscription payments to Amazon, including Amazon Prime.
She said she does not recall authorizing the service and the payments weren’t big enough to get Jennifer’s attention until August. By then, the collective charges cost her $788.
The company offered to credit some of that to her Amazon account, but Jennifer wanted a full refund into her bank account.
Here are some takeaways from her experience:
Amazon did not have to refund Jennifer, but after NBC Connecticut Responds spoke with a company spokesperson, it did. The spokesperson said, as a one-time exception, he initiated a $788 check, which Jennifer received and deposited immediately.
Former Trump campaign adviser on foreign policy Carter Page met with the Senate Intelligence Committee Friday for over five hours, NBC News reported.
Page was subpoenaed by the committee to appear at the session which was closed to the public. NBC News reported that he did not respond to questions about being contacted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Page called the Russia investigation a "witch hunt that was sparked by the dodgy dossier in the months prior to November 2016," NBC News reported.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., said earlier this month that the intelligence committee had already conducted more than 100 interviews in its probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, totaling more than 250 hours.
A man was held at gunpoint in Hartford while trying to purchase a car on a well-known buy-and-sell app.
Police responded to Bellevue Street at 1:13 for a reported armed robbery.
The victim told police he came to Hartford to purchase a vehicle from someone on the "Let It Go" app but when he arrived, the suspect walked up behind him brandishing a small black semi-automatic pistol and demanded money, Hartford police said.
Police said they're looking for the suspect, who was described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall with short black hair, brown eyes and in his mid-20s. He was seen wearing a hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants.
The incident remains under investigation.
Hartford police are reminding people to use the police parking lot as a safe place to meet up and make online transactions.
Three men were arrested after several lewd behavior complaints related to Laurel Marsh in Manchester were reported.
On Thursday, Timothy Sawtelle, 50, and Marcel Hebert, 76, were both charged with indecent exposure and breach of peace. William Dibenedetto, 52, was charged with breach of peace.
Officers said they saw Sawtell and Hebert engaging in a sexual act when they walked the trail on Thursday.
On the same day, Dibenedetto walked by the plainclothes officers several times in the opposite direction, which was similiar to what compalints said.
Dibenedetto came back and walked up behind the officers, before walking down a small side trail and sitting down in the dirt and leaves. Police said he removed his shoes and socks while looking at the officers and pulled his pants down to his ankles, according to the police report.
Dibenedetto then stood, pulled his pants up to his knees and stared at the police while standing in his underwear, the report said.
“Dibenedetto was standing in an area that was completely open and obvious to anyone who could have been walking on the trails at that time,” officers said in the report.
Police then identified themselves as officers and asked Dibenedetto what he was doing. He said he needed to change his shoes because he walked through mud, but police said he did not have another pair of shoes on his perosn.
“Based on Dibenedetto being in an area where men routinely perform lewd acts along with the fact that he removed his pants in the presence of other people,” the police report said.
All men were released on bail.
NBC Connecticut has learned about an unusual victim of the state budget battle.
Boxes of expensive video equipment are collecting dust at the Legislative Office Building. Even though your taxpayer money paid for high definition cameras, they may never be used.
For 18 years, the Connecticut Public Affairs Network has run the Connecticut Television Network (CT-N), bringing coverage of the state’s executive, judicial and legislative branches into your homes.
“Operating at arms-length from the government,” President and CEO Paul Giguere said, “also covering public policy events that happen around the state.”
The 33 person staff had prepared for a 15 percent funding cut, Giguere said, but now the budget that passed in the house and senate this week slashes their funding by 65 percent.
“We are in the process now of evaluating with our board whether we can continue to operate at that reduced level,” Giguere said.
Senator Mae Flexer joined 33 colleagues in voted for the compromise bi-partisan budget, but she called it a “dire concern” that CT-N might shut down after October 31.
“Everything had to be looked at for cuts,” she said, “but at the moments when we’re making these really tough decisions that’s when transparency is more important than ever.”
Not only is the future of CT-N in jeopardy, but the budget also cancels $3.2 million in bonding meant to install new high definition cameras into the legislative hearing rooms. Instead, they have been sitting in boxes in a storage area in one of the hearing rooms for two years.
“They had purchased those as phase one with the expectation that the bonding would be appropriated to continue the installation,” Giguere said.
“That is exactly the image that no taxpayer wants to see,” Flexer said. “That’s exactly the sort of thing that frustrates people about state government is the idea these very expensive pieces of equipment could be sitting there unused, let’s cut through the bureaucracy and get that to work.”
If the Connecticut Public Affairs Network stays on the air, it will likely need to scale back operations to only cover what happens inside the Capitol building.
Each of the Sony HD cameras costs about $9,000, so the total purchase was well over $100 thousand.
Flexer said she would have liked more time to review the final budget documents before the 2 a.m. vote on Thursday.
