A state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services case worker is accused of running a kickback scheme that stole over $35,000 from the agency’s substance abuse treatment program.

According to Connecticut State Police, 45-year-old Nikkita Chesney was a case worker involved in the Access to Recovery substance abuse treatment program. Investigators allege that Chesney promised clients cash in return for requesting daycare services, which is a benefit option through the program. Police said there were forged documents used to make it appear as though clients were eligible for the benefits, when they should not have been eligible.

Investigators said Chesney conspired with others, including ATR clients and two home daycare providers. In total, the scheme siphoned $35,197 from the ATR program.

Chesney turned herself in to police after investigators obtained an arrest warrant. She faces charges of first-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit larceny, second-degree forgery and conspiracy to commit forgery.

Police said they've identified three others, 37-year-old Joyce Walker, 59-year-old Merlisia Bennett, and 69-year-old Rachel Lawrence, as co-conspirators. All three were arrested and face larceny charges. Bennett and Walker also face forgery charges.

Gov. Dannel Malloy has submitted a request for a federal presidential disaster declaration for the tornadoes and severe storms that moved through Connecticut on May 15.

The move comes after state and local officials assessed the damage and calculated estimates. The governor is requesting both FEMA public assistance and individual assistance. If the public assistance is approved, affected towns and agencies will receive 75 percent reimbursement. If the individual assistance is approved, homeowners could receive up to $34,000 in aid for uninsured damage to housing.

The current request includes New Haven and Fairfield counties, which state officials say meet the threshold. Preliminary damage estimates are still underway in Litchfield County.

“As some towns continue with the recovery from the destructive weather, we asking the federal government to provide assistance to those that were devastated by the storms,” Malloy said in a statement. “If granted, this declaration would provide much needed help to the communities that were most affected.”

The storms that ripped through in May caused two deaths, extensive property damage, power outages, and forced some cities and towns to close schools for days.

FEMA urges homeowners to document all the damage and repair costs while officials pursue presidential approval for the aid.

East Windsor police are investigating after a woman was injured by a razor blade in her shopping cart at Walmart on Sunday night.

Kelly Boulay was cut on her finger by the blade that was embedded in the handle of the shopping cart.

She posted photos of the blade and her finger on her Facebook page.

An assistant manager at the Walmart told NBC Connecticut that it was clear that someone put the razor blade there purposely.

The store contacted police after Boulay made them aware of the incident and helped her bandage her finger.

Store employees immediately checked every cart, and did not find anything else, the assistant manager said.

A person was seriously injured after a 30-foot fall at the Groton sewage treatment plant Monday.

Fire officials confirmed there is ongoing construction at the plant and that someone fell approximately 30 feet into the plant Monday. Firefighters used a Stokes basket to rescue the victim, who suffered significant injuries.

The victim was removed from the area by ambulance then airlifted by LifeStar to the hospital for treatment.

It was not clear if the victim was an employee of the plant or a contractor.

More information was not immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A Hartford man faces charges after he called 911 and reported a fake drowning, according to Hartford police.

Hartford police said 34-year-old Jeremiah Grant called 911 to report at drowning child at the Willie Ware Center on Windsor Street Monday. When emergency crews responded, they discovered that there was no child in danger.

According to police, a witness said Grant had been complaining to her that the police did not care about the “poor black community” and dialed 911 to prove his point.

Grant was arrested and faces charges for the false report.

On July Fourth, 16-year-old Jaevon Whyte drowned in a pool at Keney Park in Hartford. His friends called 911, frantic for help trying to find their missing friend, only to learn he had drowned. 

Three of the capital city’s employers say Hartford’s controversial bailout from the State of Connecticut are part of the reason why they are comfortable providing financial assistance to the cash-strapped municipality.

The Hartford, Aetna, and Travelers combined for a $10 million payment aimed at helping the city pay for law enforcement, recreation, and the public library system. The insurers have said they are willing to spend an additional $40 million over the next four years so long as Hartford remains on the right track.

“I think these three companies recognize that it’s in their interest as well to have a strong and vibrant capital city,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin. “As they’re recruiting talent and looking to retain talent, they have a capital city that’s vibrant, strong, that can be that magnet for talent that we all want to see.”

The CEOs of all three companies pointed to the bailout that was negotiated by Bronin with state lawmakers, and was later brokered with Gov. Dannel Malloy.

The deal stipulated that the state will help Hartford pay upwards of $750 million in ongoing debt payments as a way to stabilize the city’s finances.

Republicans and some Democrats have criticized elements of the deal, arguing those were not the terms laid out during negotiations.

To Mark Bertolini, Aetna’s CEO who even tried to move the company to New York City last year, he directly attributed that agreement as part of the reason for Aetna’s confidence in the future of Hartford.

“We appreciate the efforts made by Mayor Bronin, in cooperation with the state government, to stabilize Hartford's finances,” Bertolini said in a statement. “We will monitor and evaluate the progress being made toward a comprehensive and sustainable financial solution on an annual basis, and will continue to work with the mayor to support these efforts."

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, one of the most vocal critics of the bailout, says the deal’s principles were legitimate, but the outcome was not what he or others in the General Assembly envisioned.

Fasano said in a statement, “The deal negotiated by the governor to assist Hartford for an undefined period of time goes above and beyond what lawmakers negotiated and is not what these insurance companies had asked for to secure their commitment to the city.”

However, long-term stability and a comprehensive plan to address the city’s finances were in fact pre-conditions set for the payments to the city from the insurers.

Travelers CEO Alan Schnitzer wrote, “We applaud the efforts made by Mayor Bronin and state leaders to stabilize Hartford's finances for the time being, and we'll continue to work with them towards a long-term, comprehensive, and sustainable financial solution to the city's economic challenges."

Bronin says the city still has more cutting to do and other changes to make, but says the combination the agreement with the state and the help from the insurers, sets up the city well for the first time in a long time.

“This provides stability for the first time in 20 to 30 years,” Bronin said. “This does not mean that the city of Hartford is flush with cash. Our budgets are going to be tough and tight for a number of years.”

Mold, roaches, even mice plagued the federally subsidized Thames River Apartments on Crystal Avenue in New London.

Now the water and the lights are shut off, the doors are padlocked and there are plans to board up the second-floor windows. No one lives in the 124-unit high rises anymore.

“It’s mommy. It’s mommy. See, you’ve calmed down now because you know it’s mommy,” Patricia Liston crooned at her cat Monday.

After 16 years of living in Thames River, Liston moved out. But her three cats didn’t want to.

Work being done on her toilet left a little hole left in her bathroom wall – which was only made bigger by the cats, so they could trap mice in the building.

“We were moving so the cats ran into the hole because they were so scared. There were too many people in the house,” Liston said.

Already she’s recovered two. One more is still missing. Animal control has been involved and housing staff has put out food and water.

Liston will miss the community but admits the building itself had its fair share of problems.

“Sometimes we didn’t have hot water, sometimes in the wintertime we didn’t have heat. It was wild. But we had a whole family that helped each other.”

Now those 117 families are relocated with Section 8 vouchers. Rent will still be around 30 percent of tenants’ incomes.

“Great for the residents to be in a more clean, safe and sanitary home,” said Kolisha Fiore, New London Housing Authority’s executive director.

Fiore said 72 families stayed in New London, a couple dozen went to Norwich, a few even went out of state, including Puerto Rico.

Two families are still in a hotel, however. They were evacuated out of their apartments after a water leak from a vacant apartment on the seventh floor dripped down to the first floor and sparked a fire alarm panel, setting a fire.

“I don’t think we were ever really proud of the quality of life the residents were provided here. They had a good community, some great people but the money was never sufficient,” said Mayor Michael Passero.

The building’s fate is demolition. Passero said the site will be sold to the city for around $180,000. That’s the price after subtracting around $1 million for the demolition and remediation costs.

The property has become valuable for commercial or industrial use associated with the State Pier, Passero said. But it’s too early to tell what it will be used for.

East Windsor Police Officer Dave McNeice had to say goodbye to his faithful K9 partner Mack Monday.

Mack was on the road from July 2005 and participated in dozens of successful tracks, building and narcotics searching and more, until his retirement in July 2014. He spent his later years with McNeice until dysplasia and neuropathy made it impossible for him to walk. McNeice made the tough decision to euthanize Mack.

Mack was 15 years old.

Hartford police say they seized more than 10,000 bags of heroin from inside an apartment on Maple Avenue.

Investigators said they also found an illegal firearm and thousands of dollars in cash.

Numerous arrests were made.

Three other illegal guns were found at a few other locations along with crack cocaine.

More details were not immediately available. 

Connecticut State Police came across a New York homicide suspect during a traffic stop on Interstate 84 in Southbury Monday.

State police said troopers pulled over a vehicle on I-84 east near exit 13 around 2:30 p.m. The driver of the vehicle was identified as 25-year-old Luis Cabrarasantos, a suspect in the homicide of 15-year-old Lesandro “Junior” Guzman-Feliz, who was killed in the Bronx, NY.

Guzman-Feliz was dragged outside a Bronx bodega and set upon by a gang of men who hacked at him as he struggled to defend himself. The boy was slashed in the neck and died after running to a hospital three blocks away.

The owner of a bodega said that he had tried to protect Guzman-Feliz, who attempted to hide behind the counter. He said he called 911 after the gang members dragged him out of the store and stabbed him.

Guzman-Feliz had been part of the NYPD's Explorers program, a group for youths interested in a law enforcement career. The New York City Police Foundation announced it planned to set up a scholarship in his name.

Cabrarasantos, who is the 12th suspect captured in connection with the killing, was detained by troopers and NYPD responded to Connecticut to continue the investigation. Based on his extraditable arrest warrant for murder and other violent crimes issued by the state of New York court system, Cabrarasantos was arrested and charged with fugitive from justice.

He was held on a $1 million bond and transported to New Haven Correction center where he will be help pending a court appearance and transfer for extradition back to New York.

President Trump picked Brett Kavanaugh as his Supreme Court nominee Monday night. If confirmed, Brett Kavanaugh will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Congressional Republicans lauded President Donald Trump’s decision Monday to nominate Brett Kavanaugh as the nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court, while most Democrats fiercely slammed the pick.

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called Kavanaugh “a superb choice” and “extremely qualified” to serve on the high court. Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Kavanaugh was “one of the most qualified Supreme Court nominees to come before the Senate.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., meanwhile, said he will "oppose Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination with everything I have, and I hope a bipartisan majority will do the same."

Former Farmington Town Councilor Jon Landry had no comment for reporters when he walked out of a courtroom on Monday.

Investigators say Landry used a fake name and threatened a woman to try and get her to have sex with him.

In the affidavit, Newington Police say back in 2008, the victim, identified as "Jane Doe," met a man online by the name of "Jason Davis" when she was 12. The paperwork says the relationship became sexual in 2013, when she was above the age of consent.

In 2018, the victim met with Newington Police and told the officer she was being harassed by a woman named Jessica Monroe.

In court documents, the victim told police that Davis took her to a Republican convention and they got into an argument and stopped talking for weeks. The victim told police she received a message from Jessica Monroe about a month later and that she claimed to be friends with Davis. Doe says Monroe encouraged her to have sex with Davis.

Police reported that looking at text messages, it appeared Monroe was constantly pushing and manipulating Doe to sleep with Davis.

Eventually, the victim told police that she and Davis created a contract "to set rules for their 'friend-with-sexual benefits' relationship."

The affidavit says that the contract consisted of how many sexual encounters they would have and that it could be renewed.

Doe told police that in 2017 Monroe told her she had inappropriate pictures of Doe and had copied them from Davis' computer. Court documents show that Doe demanded Monroe delete the pictures, but that Monroe wanted the victim to have sex with Davis in return. Doe told police that she agreed but that she was later told by Monroe that Davis would post the pictures to the internet because Doe was rude to him.

Shortly after, Doe contacted Newington Police and police contacted Davis. Davis told the officer that he never threatened to post the pictures and that Monroe was setting him up.

During the course of the second investigation, started in 2018, police say they learned that Davis was actually Jon Landry, a member of Farmington's Town Council. Landry resigned from his position in January.

Newington police wrote that they believe Doe and Landry were in a physical domestic violence incident in Plainville and Salem, Conn. Investigators say they will forward the information to the law enforcement agencies there.

Court documents also reveal that Landry appeared to threaten Doe to try and get her to have sex with him, saying, "Landry made several references to contacting Doe's school to inform them of a possible relationship between Doe and another student. Landry messaged Doe: 'I won't mention any names I'll just ask her if it's frowned upon,' 'Is a med student supposed to have an undergrad spend the night with him on a subsidized program? And had that been specially addressed with you all?'"

The affidavit shows that police worked to identify Monroe through phone records. During one text message conversation that occurs on Monroe's phone, police say it appears Monroe is selling a speaker system. When officers meet with the buyer after the purchase, he tells police that the seller was a male who drove a black Honda Accord. Police reported that "a check of DMV files showed that Landry has a 2014 black Honda Accord..."

Police report in the arrest warrant that Jessica Monroe's true identity is not known, but write that a phone number identified as using the IP address around the time that Jessica Monroe accessed her TextPlus account traced back to The Simon Konover Company in West Hartford. Police say that the internet site "contains information regarding 'Jon' Landry which includes his employment history, photographs of Johnathan Landry and his family, and a phone number for Landry." And that "Landry is listed as being employed at The Simon Konover Company as Director of Information Technology."

Investigators say they tried to contact Landry in May to see if he would meet for an interview but that Landry's attorney said that "he has nothing to add to my investigation since Landry maintains nothing happened."

Police say they reached out to Landry's wife but that she declined to answer any questions regarding the case and "repeatedly asked for the investigation to be closed."

In the court document, police write that "while some information obtained in this investigation indicates that Johnathan Landry may be using the TextPlus account of the person portraying themselves as Jessica Monroe, additional search warrants need to be applied for to determine the true identity of Jessica Monroe.”

Police wrote in the affidavit that "based on the fact that Doe was beyond the age of consent and she stated the sexual intercourse was consensual no sexual assault charges will be sought" and that "the statute of limitations for Impairing the Morals/Risk of Injury to a child charges for the contact (online messaging) Landry had with Doe prior to her turning 16 years of age would have been exceeded at the time the incident was reported to the Police."

Police charged Landry with harassment and interfering with an officer.

The court document says that continued efforts will be made to positively identify Jessica Monroe which may result in additional arrest warrants/charges for Johnathan Landry or another suspect."

There is heartbreak and frustration for a Hartford family after a teenager drowned in a city pool.

They believe his death could have been prevented. And the city is already acting to hopefully avert another summer tragedy.

In Hartford on Monday, grieving family and friends came together for a vigil for 16-year-old Jaevon Whyte.

“He loved everybody. He loved his friends, his family. There’s not one person that he won’t love,” said Lakeisha Dunn, a cousin of Whyte.

Emotions ran high as they remembered Whyte’s smile, intelligence and hopes of playing basketball and becoming a police officer.

Those dreams were never fulfilled after last week Whyte drowned in a pool at Keney Park just feet from where the group gathered.

“I think all of our hearts have been heavy since we learned what happened on Wednesday morning,” said Mayor Luke Bronin, (D-Hartford).

That’s when police discovered the teenager who they believe had trespassed at the pool with a large group of friends.

Whyte’s family says he shouldn’t have been there.

“I just couldn’t believe that he would be at a pool because he can’t swim,” said Dunn.

At the same time the vigil took place, city councilors voted to move ahead with a review of the public pools and what could be done to make them safer.

The city has already revealed a surveillance system of the pool was not working properly at the time of Whyte’s death.

“Very angry with the city. I feel like it could have been prevented,” said Dunn.

The mayor has already ordered a review of how the cameras are operated and maintained.

Now Monday’s call for a study by the council goes to two committees before coming back to the council for another vote.

President Donald Trump decided on federal appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh for his second nominee to the Supreme Court, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation's highest court further to the right.

Trump chose Kavanaugh, a Yale Law School graduate, to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Connecticut’s Democratic leaders swiftly condemned the pick, criticizing his stance on everything from guns to reproductive rights to civil rights protections.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a statement saying he will vote no on the nomination.

"The Trump litmus test – stated repeatedly and clearly – demands a commitment to overturn Roe v. Wade and eviscerate key healthcare rights including protections for Americans who suffer from preexisting conditions. Also on the chopping block are LGBTQ rights, voting rights, and many civil rights. No other president has set such a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees. No other president has allowed himself to be a puppet of extreme right-wing outside organizations, or outsourced the selection to such fringe groups as the Federalist Society," the statement read in part.

"Judge Kavanaugh is way out of step with Connecticut on every issue that matters to families in our state. He wants to limit women’s access to contraception. He will vote to criminalize abortion. He wants to overturn Connecticut's common sense gun laws. He would likely overturn protections for the thousands of people in our state who have preexisting conditions. On issue after issue, Judge Kavanaugh is a dream for the far right, and a nightmare for hard-working families in Connecticut. President Trump outsourced the biggest decision of his administration to the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society, two political groups that gave him a list of acceptable nominees to the anti-choice, pro-corporate right," Murphy wrote in a statement.

Gov. Dannel Malloy called the choice "disastrous" and warned that "extreme, right-wing Republicans controlling all levers of power in Washington, we face an uphill battle."

"It is not hyperbole to say that everything from marriage equality, to civil rights protections, to workers’ rights, to patient protections barring discrimination for preexisting conditions, to our already woefully inadequate gun safety laws would be in peril if President Trump’s nominee is confirmed. Most alarming however is Judge Kavanaugh’s avowed hostility to Roe v. Wade and women’s reproductive rights. The purportedly pro-choice Republican senators should understand that a vote for Judge Kavanaugh is a vote to repeal Roe v. Wade. It’s that simple," Malloy wrote in a statement.

Other top contenders had included federal appeals judges Raymond Kethledge, Amy Coney Barrett and Thomas Hardiman.

More to come.

Many have voiced concern over the future of legal abortion in the United States following Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement, but the president's nominee to fill Kennedy's seat, Brett Kavanaugh, has a relatively thin record of public comment and legal decisions on abortion rights, NBC News reported. 

Kavanaugh, a federal appeals court judge, is a solidly conservative jurist who is unlikely to side with the court's liberal wing on social issues. But with a limited amount of comment and legal decisions regarding abortion, it's hard to tell whether he would vote to overturn the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in 1973. 

In his confirmation hearing in 2006, however, he said he would follow Roe v. Wade "faithfully and fully" when asked by Sen. Chuck Schumer whether he considered the case to be an "abomination." When pressed by Schumer, he would not directly share his personal opinion on the case. 

Five people, including three children, died in a shooting at a Delaware house Monday night.

The shooting took place at a home on Ferris Road in Prices Corner, New Castle County, shortly before 8 p.m., Delaware State Police said. 

A 42-year-old man, 41-year-old woman and three children under the age of eight were found dead on the second floor of the home, police said.

"With a heavy heart, our thoughts and prayers are with this family," Delaware State Police Sgt. Richard Bratz said.

The identities of the dead would be released once family is notified, investigators said.

Children's toys, including a slide and kiddie pool are on the lawn outside the home. A neighbor told NBC10 his children played with the children who lived in the home.

"There's three kids in there, wife and husband," Brian Covenko told NBC10. "Kind of in shock as we're really friends with them."

Authorities haven't given word on what caused the shooting.

"There is no concern for the safety of the surrounding area," police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. D. Grassi at 302-365-8441.

A top gang prosecutor in San Bernardino County has been put on administrative leave while the District Attorney's Office investigates discriminatory comments he made on social media, District Attorney Mike Ramos said Monday.

San Bernardino County Deputy District Attorney Michael Selyem is accused of making profanity-laced comments about Rep. Maxine Waters, former first lady Michelle Obama and Mexican immigrants.

In one post, Selyem wrote of Waters, saying "being a loud-mouthed (expletive) in the ghetto you would think someone would have shot this (expletive) by now."

In another he speaks of a suspect in an officer-involved shooting, saying "That s-bag got what he deserved" and "had he stopped being a complete (expletive) and listened to the police, he wouldn't have gotten shot."

It's unclear if that's from a current case he was investigating.

Both Selyem's Facebook and Instagram accounts have been deleted.

Ramos said his office received a complaint about the comments on June 28 and immediately launched a personnel investigation.

"The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office does not condone hate, discrimination or incitement of violence," Ramos said during a news conference. "Our community and our entire criminal justice system depends on having a fair, ethical and unbiased prosecutor."

Selyem, who has been a lead attorney in the Central Hardcore Gang Unit for 12 years, faces disciplinary action that could include termination, Ramos said.

Ramos said he was offended by the comments and was especially concerned with comments that involved officer-involved shootings, cases that prosecutors handle on a daily basis.

Selyem has not responded to multiple calls seeking comment. He hung up on a reporter from the Southern California News Group when reached by phone on Friday and did not return calls and emails seeking comment, according to the newspaper. The newspaper posted the social media posts before they were taken down.

Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School criminal law professor, said what's at stake is the credibility of the entire criminal justice system.

"I don't say district attorneys don't have First Amendment rights, but they also have responsibilities and before they say something, they have to realize how it reflects on them and their office," she said. "Your immature and improper actions can affect all of that."

Some in the community were outraged, with multiple groups threatening legal action if the DA doesn't remove Selyem for good.

"We cannot have this type of mentality in our DA's office when we're dealing with lives and lives of people," said Terrance Stone, a Young Visionaries activist.

Added Najee Ali, of Operation Hope: "This man has proven by his words he does not have the integrity or the character or the morals that that job needs working as a DA."

Detectives have seized more than 10,000 bags of heroin after an investigation in Hartford on Monday.

According to police, detectives from Vice & Narcotics initiated an investigation that identified several suspects who were engaged in selling large quantities of heroin and were believed to be armed.

Through the investigation, police obtained a search warrant for an apartment on Maple Avenue. When they conducted the search, officers say they detained 38-year-old Francisco Leon, of Hartford, and 30-year-old Alberto Gonzalez, of Hartford.

Officers say they found a semi-automatic gun, more than 10,000 bags of heroin and approximately $5,000.

Police say Leon and Gonzalez are facing charges including criminal possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell narcotics and drug factory. Leon and Gonzalez are both convicted felons.