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Former Whiting Nurse Found Guilty on 8 Counts in Patient Abuse Case

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A jury has found a former forensic nurse at Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown guilty on eight of 16 counts after two days of deliberations in a high-profile abuse case.

A jury has found Mark Cusson guilty of three counts of cruelty to persons and five counts of disorderly conduct. The sentencing date has not yet been set.

NBC Connecticut Investigates broke the story about the patient abuse at Connecticut’s maximum-security mental hospital two years ago.

Cusson took a calculated risk electing a jury trial in a patient abuse case that already has some of his former co-workers behind bars.

The conviction comes after a judge decided to release surveillance footage at the center of the case to the public.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, these videos are worth a million. You are able to see the violence and see how Bill Shehadi was treated by Mr. Cusson. All these strung together, show the tormenting behavior that Mr. Shehadi was subjected to by Mr. Cusson,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Jeff Doskos during closing arguments Tuesday.

Most of the four hours of surveillance video, which the prosecution says shows Cusson putting a mop on Shehadi’s head, kicking him off his bed, and throwing a cup of liquid in his face, among other things, is in the dark, other than one very short clip when the lights were turned on in his room.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Teen Charged in Waterbury Shooting

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Waterbury police have arrested a 16-year-old accused of shooting a man on Welles Street earlier this week.

Police responded to a call for shots fired on Welles Street around 9:54 p.m. Monday. Around the same time, another call reported a gunshot victim on Porter Street.

Investigators determined the victim, who had multiple gunshot wounds, was shot on Welles Street then taken to Porter Street by car. He was taken to the hospital for further treatment. As of Thursday he remains hospitalized, police said.

Police identified a juvenile victim and arrested him Tuesday. He was charged as an adult with criminal attempted murder and first-degree assault.

The investigation is ongoing.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Number of Connecticut Flu-Related Deaths Rises to 64

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Influenza remains widespread in Connecticut and another seven flu-associated deaths have been reported. 

As of March 30, there have been 64 flu-associated deaths in Connecticut this season, according to statistics the state Department of Health released Thursday. Seven people died during the week that ended on March 30. 

One of the people who died this flu season, one was between 5 and 17 years old, four people were between 25 and 49, 17 were 50 to 64 years old and 42 were 65 years old or older.

More information is posted on the state Department of Health website. 



Photo Credit: CDC

Has Missing Boy Been Found After 7 Years? Here’s What We Know

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News that a missing Aurora, Illinois, boy may have been found more than seven years after he disappeared at the age of 6 sent shockwaves throughout the country.

Timmothy Pitzen's case has been a mystery since 2011, when police found the boy's mother dead of an apparent suicide along with a note saying her son was safe and in someone's care, but that he would never be found.

Many questions still remain as the latest break in the case brings family members closer than ever to solving the years-long puzzle of what happened to the child. 

Here's what we know about the case so far.

IS IT HIM? 
A 14-year-old appeared in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area on Wednesday, claiming to be missing child Timmothy Pitzen. 

A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed that authorities administered a DNA test on the boy and were awaiting results Thursday, hoping to have answers later in the day. 

Timmothy's aunt had confirmed on Wednesday that the DNA test was performed on the young boy who said he is her nephew and had escaped two kidnappers. 

"They are running a DNA test. They have DNA samples of Tim. They will be able to verify a hundred percent whether it is him, and they will have those results by tomorrow afternoon," Kara Jacobs said in an interview Wednesday. Jacobs is the sister of Amy Fry-Pitzen, Timmothy's late mother.

HOW WAS HE FOUND?
The 14-year-old boy claiming to be Timmothy was spotted standing near an intersection in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. He told witnesses that he was the boy missing from Illinois. 

The boy said he had slipped away from two kidnappers who had held him for the past seven years, the police report on the incident states. He told investigators he had escaped an unknown Red Roof Inn, according to the police report, and "kept running across a bridge" into Kentucky.

"Timothy [sic] described the two kidnappers as two male, whites, body-builder type build," the police report states. "One had black curly hair, Mt. Dew shirt and jeans & has a spider web tattoo on his neck. The other was short in stature and had a snake tattoo on his arms."

The kidnappers' vehicle, according to the report, was described by Timmothy to officers as a newer model Ford SUV with unknown Wisconsin plates and a second row. The Ford is white with yellow transfer paint and a dent on the left back bumper, the report states.

All surrounding police agencies with Red Roof Inns in their jursidictions were contacted and nothing was found, according to the report. The FBI confirmed he was in safe custody but did not give an update on his condition. 

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN TIMMOTHY WENT MISSING?
Originally from Aurora, Illinois, Timmothy's disappearance has remained a mystery since Amy Fry-Pitzen took her son out of school and traveled to multiple Midwest water parks before she was found dead of an apparent suicide in a Rockford motel room on May 14, 2011. A note left behind in the motel room said that Timmothy was safe and in someone's care, but that he would never be found.

The pair went missing on May 11 when the mother checked her son out of his elementary school. Over the next two days, the pair visited the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, the Key Lime Cove Resort in Gurnee, and the Kalahari Resort.

The last time the pair were seen together was at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. 

The 43-year-old mother's body was found a motel room on May 14. Authorities said she took her own life.

New information from authorities indicates that in the hours before her death, Amy Fry-Pitzen visited a Family Dollar store, in Winnebago, Illinois, and purchased a pen, paper and envelopes. When she checked into the Rockford Inn at 11:15 p.m., her son was not with her, authorities said.

A note left behind in the hotel room indicated that her son was in someone's care, but it did not identify who that was.

A 2004 Ford Expedition SUV Fry-Pitzen was driving the day she took Timmothy out of school was found in a parking lot on May 14. Police said the vehicle was "visibly dirty" and had tall grass or weeds underneath the body.

Police evidence technicians found a "concerning amount of blood" in the backseat belonging to Timmothy, but family members told officers it could be from a bloody nose the boy suffered in the past year or so. Also, the knife with which Fry-Pitzen took her life only had her blood on it, according to police.

Based on a cellphone call Fry-Pitzen made May 13, police concluded that the last place Timmothy and his mother were together was in the I-88 and I-39 corridors in the Dixon/Rock Falls/Sterling area. The call was made about 5 miles northwest of Sterling, Illinois, near Route 40, police said.

Police also discovered via I-Pass records that Fry-Pitzen took two trips to the Dixon/Rock Falls/Sterling area in the winter that family members "cannot explain." One trip was Feb. 18, 2011, the other on March 20.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Pitzen is the only child missing from west suburban Aurora.

Fry-Pitzen's cell phone, I-Pass and the clothing she was seen wearing on other surveillance videos, as well as Timmothy’s Spider-Man backpack and his toys from the SUV, remained missing years after the boy disappeared, according to police.

WHAT DOES THE FAMILY SAY?
Alana Anderson, Pitzen’s grandmother, said Wednesday she has heard that a boy claiming to be her grandson was in a children’s hospital in Kentucky after escaping his captors.

“We never forgot, never stopped thinking about him everyday, stayed in touch with the police,” she said. “It just went cold, and I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us — that was kind of the best I could hope for for a long time.”

The last time she saw her grandson he was just over 6 years old. Asked if Pitzen would recognize her, Anderson responded, "I hope so."

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE CASE BEFORE NOW? 
The last boost in the case came in 2014, when a woman in the northern Illinois town of Rockton contacted police saying she saw a boy that resembled Timmothy at her garage sale, according to the Chicago Tribune. The tip came after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an age-progression image showing what Timmothy would have looked like at the age of 9. It remained unclear if the boy the woman saw was in fact Timmothy.

In August of 2011, officials uncovered a secret email account Amy Fry-Pitzen apparently set up. Officers said they retrieved 34 emails from the account, which was separate from a Yahoo email both she and her husband had access to. Police later revealed the account was "mostly spam" but were unable to recover deleted emails because Yahoo did not maintain those records.

Six months after the child disappeared, detectives released new surveillance video and forensic information from the vehicle they discovered the day Fry-Pitzen was found dead.

A series of surveillance video that was released months after his disappearance showed Fry-Pitzen at the Kalahari Resort with Timmothy standing at a checkout counter; another from Key Lime Cove showed the two walking down a hallway, and another showed Fry-Pitzen entering and leaving a convenience store alone. 

New forensic evidence indicated the SUV they were in was parked near "a grassy meadow or field to a spot that is nearly treeless," authorities said, citing tests on plants and dirt taken from her SUV. 

"There are birch and oak trees in the general area but not directly over or at the spot where the SUV stopped," police said in a statement. "Both Queen Anne’s lace and black mustard plants grow in a row along the border of the field or the shoulder of the road."

Man's DNA Not a Match for Long-Missing Illinois Boy, FBI Says

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DNA test results showed a person claiming to be missing Aurora boy Timmothy Pitzen is not actually the missing child, according to the FBI.

Investigators ran a DNA test on the man who appeared in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area on Wednesday, claiming to be a child who disappeared from Aurora, Illinois, more than seven years ago. Authorities confirmed the results indicated "the person in question is not Timmothy Pitzen."

"A local investigation continues into this person's true identity," police said in a release. 

Newport, Kentucky, police told an NBC affiliate station in the area that the person claiming to be Pitzen is actually 23-year-old Brian Michael Rini of Medina, Ohio. Further information on him was not immediately available. 

"Although we are disappointed that this turned out to be a hoax, we remain diligent in our search for Timmothy, as our missing person's case remains unsolved," Aurora Sgt. Bill Rowley said in a statement. 

Timmothy's disappearance has remained a mystery since Amy Fry-Pitzen took her son out of school and traveled to multiple Midwest water parks before she was found dead of an apparent suicide in a Rockford motel room on May 14, 2011. A note left behind in the motel room said that Timmothy was safe and in someone's care, but that he would never be found.

"To be clear, law enforcement has not and will not forget Timmothy, and we hope to one day reunite him with his family. Unfortunately, that day will not be today," police said in their release. 

Pitzen's family urged the public to "reserve all judgement and pray" for the man who falsely claimed he was the child.

"Unfortunately this child is not our beloved Timmothy. We know that you are out there somewhere, Tim, and we will never stop looking for you, praying for you and loving you," Kara Jacobs, Pitzen's aunt, said. "We hope that everyone will join us in praying for the young man who claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen."

The man claiming to be 14 years old and Timmothy Pitzen was spotted standing near an intersection in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and told witnesses that he was the child missing from Illinois.

He said he had slipped away from two kidnappers who had held him for the past seven years, the police report on the incident states. He told investigators he had escaped an unknown Red Roof Inn, according to the police report, and "kept running across a bridge" into Kentucky.

"Timothy [sic] described the two kidnappers as two male, whites, body-builder type build," the police report states. "One had black curly hair, Mt. Dew shirt and jeans & has a spider web tattoo on his neck. The other was short in stature and had a snake tattoo on his arms."

The kidnappers' vehicle, according to the report, was described by Timmothy to officers as a newer model Ford SUV with unknown Wisconsin plates and a second row. The Ford is white with yellow transfer paint and a dent on the left back bumper, the report states.

All surrounding police agencies with Red Roof Inns in their jursidictions were contacted and nothing was found, according to the report. The FBI confirmed he was in safe custody but did not give an update on his condition. 

Earlier Wednesday, two Aurora detectives had traveled to the area of Cincinnati for an investigation into a missing child, the Aurora Police Department said, but could not confirm the investigation was related to Timmothy's disappearance.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Pitzen is the only child missing from west suburban Aurora.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Louisville tweeted Wednesday afternoon that it was coordinating, alongside the FBI in Cincinnati, with police in Aurora, Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky, as well as the Hamilton County sheriff's office, on a missing child investigation. The FBI also declined to confirm that the investigation was related to Pitzen's case.

Alana Anderson, Pitzen’s grandmother, said Wednesday she heard that a boy claiming to be her grandson was in a children’s hospital in Kentucky after escaping his captors.

“We never forgot, never stopped thinking about him everyday, stayed in touch with the police,” she said. “It just went cold, and I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us — that was kind of the best I could hope for for a long time.”

The last time she saw her grandson he was just over 6 years old. 

The last boost in the case came in 2014, when a woman in the northern Illinois town of Rockton contacted police saying she saw a boy that resembled Timmothy at her garage sale, according to the Chicago Tribune. The tip came after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an age-progression image showing what Timmothy would have looked like at the age of 9. It remained unclear if the boy the woman saw was in fact Timmothy.

Fry Pitzen's cell phone, I-Pass and the clothing she was seen wearing on other surveillance videos, as well as Timmothy’s Spider Man backpack and his toys from the SUV, remained missing years after the boy disappeared, according to police.

Anyone with information about the case is being asked to call Aurora police at (630) 256-5000 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.



Photo Credit: FBI

Trump Considering Herman Cain for Federal Reserve Board

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President Donald Trump is considering naming Herman Cain, a former pizza company executive and 2012 Republican presidential candidate, to the Federal Reserve Board, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The possible nomination comes as Trump's most recent Federal Reserve pick, Stephen Moore, has come under fire for reports about his back taxes and failing to make alimony payments to his ex-wife. Trump has repeatedly criticized the Fed for its monetary policies and its stewardship of the economy under Chairman Jerome Powell, who was confirmed in January 2018.

A spokesperson for Cain declined to comment when contacted by NBC News.



Photo Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Crews in Colchester Battle 2 Brush Fires

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Fire crews in Colchester responded to two brush fires Thursday and officials say one appears suspicious.

Fire officials said crews responded to a fire off Prospect Hill Road where several spot fires burned about four acres. No one was hurt.

The fire appears suspicious, according to the fire chief, and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was called in.

The second fire happened on Shadbush Drive. Fire officials said that fire started near a garage and spread into leaves behind two homes. It burned around a quarter acre and caused some damage to the garage siding. No one was hurt.

Firefighters said wind helped spread the flames in the fires and crews were stretched thin.

Fire danger was considered high Thursday due to dry and windy conditions.



Photo Credit: Contributed Photo

Trump Threatens Auto Tariffs on Cars from Mexico

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President Donald Trump backed off his initial push to close down the southern border between U.S. and Mexico Thursday and instead tariffs on cars manufactured there.


Yale Lacrosse Player Sacrifices Playing Time To Donate Bone Marrow

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As a freshman, Brian Tevlin won a national championship with the Yale men’s lacrosse team.

This year he missed time with his teammates in order to donate bone marrow to a man in need.

“It’s definitely something that surpasses one or two lacrosse games when you start talking about saving a live,” Tevlin told NBC Connecticut before practice Thursday afternoon.

During high school, Tevlin signed up for the Be The Match national donor registry in honor of his best friend’s mom.

“She was diagnosed I believe with leukemia and then she got her life saved through the Be The Match registry,” Tevlin said, “so it kind of became their mission to get as many people to sign up for it as possible.”

Right before the start of his second season with the Yale men’s lacrosse team, Tevlin learned he was the perfect match for a man in his 50s needing a bone marrow transplant.

“In my mind,” he said, “I was kind of thinking that’s like my parents age so definitely struck home a little bit.”

Tevlin said both his coach and teammates have been supportive of his decision.

“My initial reaction was it’s a no brainer, I think you have to do it,” Yale head coach Andy Shay said.

Tevlin had surgery on March 20 in his home state of New Jersey.

“They do two holes on each side and they go in right with a needle and go right into your pelvis and take the bone marrow,” he said.

The expected recovery was 21 days, but the midfielder only missed two games in the week after the procedure. The Bulldogs won at Princeton and back home against Air Force.

“We kind of have that next man up mentality,” Tevlin said, “so it wasn’t as big a deal me taking off knowing that we have so many guys and great depth.”

In his first game back this past Saturday, Tevlin had two assists in a tough triple overtime loss at Penn.

“It’s impressive that he did it,” Coach Shay said. “It’s impressive that he came back as fast as he did.”

Tevlin hopes his story inspires others.

“It’s something that everyone should be on, something that everyone should strive to sign up for and it’s been a blessing that I was chosen,” he said.

Yale students get the chance to sign up soon. The annual Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration Drive is on April 18th. It is in memory of a Yale women’s hockey player who inspired people to register during her courageous battle with leukemia.



Photo Credit: Yale Athletics

Mansfield Drive-In Set to Open For the Season

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The Mansfield Drive-In Theatre is a little piece of Connecticut nostalgia that’s celebrating a big anniversary.

This year marks 45 years in business under the same family, introducing a new general to fun at the drive-in.

“You get to be outside. You get to be with your friends and family and interact with them in the movie… which you don’t get to do indoors,” owner Michael Jungden explained.

This time of year, on weekends in Mansfield an annual tradition with a long history is starting its season once again.

“A lot of people are sitting outside in lawn chairs and stuff like that… eating their snacks and stuff together,” Jungden explained.

For nearly a half-century, Jungden has been keeping the theatre going. He came to work there in 1974, eventually leasing the land from its previous owner and saving up enough to purchase it in 1991. After 45 years one might think he’d be ready to retire, but he said retirement will be relative in his life.

“It all depends on my children. I don’t think I’ll be around for another 45 years. Hopefully they will,” he said.

His daughter Naomi works as the general manager. She’s had a big part in modernizing the theatre, which holds more than 900 cars on busy nights.

Gone are the days of film rolls – the projection room is all digital now.

“Everybody who comes here is like oh, I remember coming here as a kid. It’s such a good family thing,” Naomi said. “It’s just so much fun, honestly, it’s just so much fun.”

They kick off the new season Friday, following the flea market they run at the same location that’s been going for a few weeks.

Every movie is a double feature, and they hope double the fun to keep the place going for years.

“It’s so much more of a social experience. If you have kids, we have a playground you can come to. It’s not just go to a movie theater and sit in a seat,” Naomi said.

The theatre will be open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until mid-June, when they open every night all summer long. 



Photo Credit: Mansfield Drive-In Theatre

Serve and Protect: New London Police Swear in New Officers

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Three new additions to the New London Police Department promised to serve and protect the community Thursday.

The department swore in Officers Gus Salas and Christopher Rood, and Police Trainee Jose Pansini.

“I want to give back to society and I want to serve the people of New London,” Pansini said.

He’s proud to wear his Connecticut Police Academy uniform and even prouder to know he’ll soon don the New London Police one.

“It always caught my attention because it’s such a diverse city, interesting place to come,” Pansini said of New London, adding ferry rides first attracted him to the city.

After meeting the officers at the department, and feeling the confidence they gave him, he knew he wanted to be part of the police force.

Pansini was born in Venezuela and has lived in Spain, Puerto Rico and the United States. His ability to speak Spanish and Italian will help him serve a diverse metropolis like New London.

Newly sworn in Officer Gus Salas is also fluent in Spanish having even assisted the department with translations in the past.

“I want to see that little young kid that’s like, you know what, I want to be like him because of the uniform,” Salas said about the impact he hopes to have on the community.

His community. Salas has lived in New London for about 20 years.

Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, Salas grew up in Norwalk. He got his bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a masters from University of New Haven.

Salas served the U.S. Marine Corps as a scout sniper. He also was part of the Manchester Police Department before spending 10 years with the Connecticut State Police as part of the Statewide Narcotics Task Force as a Detective and Narcotics K9 handler to black lab Albert.

He was most recently with Mashantucket Tribal Police.

Salas has earned 14 awards as an active duty Marine and a State Police officer.

“With a diverse force you are able to communicate and the community is able to kind of understand – they feel that connection with you. We can’t do our job unless the community supports us,” Salas said.

Numbers from New London Police Chief Peter Reichard show 15 percent of New London Police officers speak more than one language including Spanish, Russian, Italian, Cantonese and Arabic.

Reichard touts the experience of his officers.

Newly sworn in Officer Christopher Rood was born and raised in Winham. Among his experience, he worked for Pratt & Whitney as a tool and die maker. Then he served 21 years with the Willimantic Police Department earning the ranks of corporal and detective.

“I was a field training officer as well so I figure I could be a mentor to the younger guys coming on,” Rood said.

In his tenure, Rood was recognized three times by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for his enforcement of drunk driving laws as well earning police merit awards and a distinguished service award.

He spend a year and a half with Mashantucket Tribal Police before taking the job in New London.

Salas and Rood started their police careers together at the police academy back in 1996.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Southern Border Shutdown Would Impact Local Mexican Restaurants

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Mexican restaurants in Connecticut would feel the impact of a U.S.-Mexico border shutdown.

Economists are warning of price hikes and product shortages if President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to close the southern border.

“I think it would hurt you know the Mexican restaurants and everybody who likes Mexican food,” Stephany Uriostegui form New Haven said.

For lunch Thursday at Mezcal restaurant near East Rock, she ordered a traditional fried tortilla Mexican dish called chilaquiles.

“It actually doesn’t come with avocado,” she said, “I always choose to add avocado because I just love avocados.”

Avocado prices have already gone up since the president made the border shutdown threat on Twitter.

“Avocado and lime are the main products that we import from Mexico and they get to be very expensive sometimes,” Mezcal’s owner Ricardo Trejo told NBC Connecticut.

Trejo also serves Mexican tomatoes, jalapenos and chipotle and his bar is stocked with tequila and mescal from his home country.

“A border shutdown for business, well it will mean that I will have to raise the prices a lot and I don’t know if the people are going to be willing to pay for it,” Trejo said. “I mean people are going to complain.”

Trejo said the quality of food on his menu could suffer without fresh ingredients.

“If they close the border we are going to have to buy the dried avocado that we just add water and make guacamole,” he said.

The president Thursday offered an alternative to a complete border shutdown as he puts pressure on Mexico to stop the flow of drugs.

"The only thing, frankly better but less drastic, than closing the borders is to tariff the cars coming in,” President Trump said. “And I will do it. Just like you know I will do it. I don't play games. I will do it."

Trejo said he worries how a shutdown would hurt communities along the U.S.-Mexico Border.

“And a lot of Mexican Americans, a lot of people who live near the border are into business with Mexico, relatives over there, family members over there, they import/export all the time so they are going to be in more trouble,” Trejo said.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Eddie Perez Formally Announces Mayoral Run

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Former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez announced a new run for mayor at the Arch Street Tavern Thursday, the same place where he celebrated his last election win more than a decade ago.

He announced his intention to run in an interview with NBC Connecticut's Keisha Grant Wednesday.

Perez said that during his time as mayor, he invested in jobs, educations and neighborhoods. He became the city’s first Latino mayor, serving from 2001 through 2010.

He also told a crowd of supporters that he made some serious mistakes, hurt the image of the city, and let people down.

He resigned in 2010 after being convicted on felony corruption charges. That conviction was eventually overturned, and he pleaded guilty to bribery and larceny by extortion charges.

At Thursday’s announcement, he said he’s truly sorry.

“The people of Hartford have every right to hold me accountable for those actions… I only ask to each and every resident of our city that they measure me by the total path that I have taken in this city. A path to make the city better for all our families,” he said. “I ask for your forgiveness. I ask the city to give me a second chance.”

Current Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s campaign released a statement, saying:

"As Mayor, Eddie Perez raised property taxes year after year, crippling small businesses, and hurting homeowners and renters, and still left the city with a budget mess. If Eddie Perez plans to run on his record, we look forward to reminding people what that record looked like."

There are four other Democrats running for mayor in Hartford – incumbent Mayor Luke Bronin, Craig Stallings, Stan McCauley and Aaron Lewis. There are no Republican candidates.

Wintry Mix Possible Friday Afternoon

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The NBC Connecticut meteorologists are tracking showers and some wintry weather expected to move through Friday afternoon and evening.

Clouds roll in Friday afternoon and parts of the state will see some mixing with snow and sleet. No accumulation is expected, but some slick spots are possible in the northwest hills. We’re expecting highs in the 40s with a chilly, rainy evening. Temperatures will drop to the 30s or high 20s overnight.

For more on the forecast, click here.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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Families of Undocumented Workers Seek Answers After Raid

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A day after federal agents detained 284 undocumented workers at a North Texas tech company, the families of those workers began searching for answers about what to do next.

"I had too many years here, I had my life," said Erica Salvador.

Salvador said she was among the workers taken into custody at CVE Technology Group in Allen on Wednesday. She was released late Wednesday night, she was told, because she doesn't have a criminal record and is the only caretaker for her 11-year-old daughter.

"Right now, I'm the only support for my family," Salvador explained.

She carried a bundle of paperwork into the VividLife Church in Plano where volunteers set up a space to review workers' cases and offer advice.

Gloria Granados, executive director of the nonprofit Light of Hope, said most of the families who came in for help have been in the country for years.

Salvador says she came to the U.S. 27 years ago and had three daughters. Her fear is she'll be deported and separated from her youngest.

"My little one is 11 and it's not fair we change her life because this is her country," she said.

Three years ago, Salvador said she was hired to repair broken cell phones for $8 an hour at CVE.

ICE said it investigated complaints CVE knowingly hired undocumented workers with false ID's. Homeland Security said it reviewed the company's I-9 forms and found irregularities.

According to ICE: the arrested workers were citizens from 15 countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa, South Korea and Venezuela.

HSI Dallas said there were 125 additional CVE employees who were determined to be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or with legal status to work in the United States.

Of the 284 illegal workers arrested, 110 were ordered detained; 174 were issued a notice to appear before a federal immigration judge and released on their own recognizance for humanitarian reasons pending an immigration court hearing.

Of those who were ordered detained, nine had illegally re-entered the United States after having been previously deported; eight had already received final orders of removal – according to ICE.

It is not clear if any enforcement action will be taken against the company or management. Wednesday, ICE said the raid was part of a larger investigation.

"Businesses that knowingly hire illegal aliens create an unfair advantage over their competing businesses," said Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger, HSI Dallas. "In addition, they take jobs away from U.S. citizens and legal residents, and they create an atmosphere poised for exploiting their illegal workforce."

The raid in Allen demonstrates a shift in immigration enforcement policy in the U.S. Two years ago, immigration lawyers say workplace raids were less common under the Obama administration's Priority Enforcement Program – which focused on undocumented immigrants with criminal records, threats to national security and recent arrivals.

"At this point, those three priorities are now 11 million priorities," said Dallas Immigration Attorney Paul Zoltan. "Every single undocumented immigrant is subject to removal with very little in the way of discretion, very little in the way of clemency."

He said the shift from priority enforcement means undocumented workers who have broken no other laws are viewed the same as those who accused of violent crimes.

"The arrests are no longer distinguished between those who have violated laws since their arrival and those who have not," explained Zoltan.

He said he's concerned about the possible ripple effects of a raid on the undocumented community.

"This is not going to create a fear that causes thousands of immigrants to self-deport. The fear that this generates will cause immigrants to hesitate before dialing 911, will cause immigrants to feel that they are in danger at all times, will make them more vulnerable to unscrupulous employers and criminals who would prey upon them," said Zoltan. "It will ultimately make us more unsafe."

In a statement, HSI said it is upholding the laws that protect jobs for lawful U.S. residents and citizens.

ICE said the workers arrested April 3 would be interviewed by ICE staff to document any medical or other humanitarian situations. Based on those interviews, ICE said it would determine who would remain in custody.

In all cases, the undocumented workers will be fingerprinted and processed for removal from the United States.

A 24-hour toll-free detainee locator hotline is available for family members at 1-888-351-4024.

Catholic Charities of Dallas also has volunteers at the United Methodist Church on South Greenville Avenue in Allen to assist families impacted by the raid.

RAICES is also taking applications for bond payments.



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News

Family of Timmothy Pitzen: 'We Will Never Stop Looking'

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The family of missing Aurora boy Timmothy Pitzen urged the public to "reserve all judgment and pray" for a man who falsely claimed he was the child who disappeared from the Illinois town more than seven years ago. 

"Unfortunately this child is not our beloved Timmothy," Kara Jacobs, Timmothy's aunt, said. "We know you are out there somewhere Tim and we will never stop looking for you." 

A person claiming to be Pitzen, who would now be 14 years old after he disappeared in 2011 at the age of 6, was actually a 23-year-old man from Ohio, police said Thursday. 

"I feel so sorry for the young man who's obviously had a horrible time and felt the need to say he was someone else," Timmothy's grandmother Alana Anderson said. "And hope that they can find his family."

Investigators ran a DNA test on the person who appeared in the Cincinnati, Ohio, area on Wednesday. Authorities confirmed Thursday that results indicated "the person in question is not Timmothy Pitzen."

Newport, Kentucky police told an NBC affiliate station in the area that the person claiming to be Pitzen is actually 23-year-old Brian Michael Rini of Medina, Ohio. 

NBC 5 Investigates has learned Rini was just released from an Ohio prison less than a month ago after serving time for burglary and vandalism. Rinni’s criminal record also includes an arrest and guilty verdict for passing bad checks, a probation violation, and a conviction for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

His estranged brother, Jonathan Rini, said Brian stopped getting treatment for his mental health issues. 

"I'm not surprised, I mean, he's nuts," he said. Jonathan Rini added that he'd "tell the family I’m sorry for what he’s done."

Kara Jacobs said the development that Pitzen hadn't been found was "devastating."

"It's like reliving that day all over again," she said. "And Timmothy's father is devastated once again."

Police said an investigation into Timmothy's case remains ongoing.

"Although we are disappointed that this turned out to be a hoax, we remain diligent in our search for Timmothy, as our missing person's case remains unsolved," Aurora Sgt. Bill Rowley said in a statement. 

Timmothy's disappearance has remained a mystery since Amy Fry Pitzen took her son out of school and traveled to multiple Midwest water parks before she was found dead of an apparent suicide in a Rockford motel room on May 14, 2011. A note left behind in the motel room said that Timmothy was safe and in someone's care, but that he would never be found.

"To be clear, law enforcement has not and will not forget Timmothy, and we hope to one day reunite him with his family. Unfortunately, that day will not be today," police said in their release. 

The man claiming to be 14 years old was spotted standing near an intersection in Newport, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and told witnesses that he was the child missing from Illinois.

He said he had slipped away from two kidnappers who had held him for the past seven years, the police report on the incident states. He told investigators he had escaped an unknown Red Roof Inn, according to the police report, and "kept running across a bridge" into Kentucky.

"Timothy [sic] described the two kidnappers as two male, whites, body-builder type build," the police report states. "One had black curly hair, Mt. Dew shirt and jeans & has a spider web tattoo on his neck. The other was short in stature and had a snake tattoo on his arms."

The kidnappers' vehicle, according to the report, was described by Timmothy to officers as a newer model Ford SUV with unknown Wisconsin plates and a second row. The Ford is white with yellow transfer paint and a dent on the left back bumper, the report states.

All surrounding police agencies with Red Roof Inns in their jurisdictions were contacted and nothing was found, according to the report. The FBI confirmed he was in safe custody but did not give an update on his condition. 

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Pitzen is the only child missing from west suburban Aurora.

Anderson said Wednesday she heard that a boy claiming to be her grandson was in a children’s hospital in Kentucky after escaping his captors.

“We never forgot, never stopped thinking about him everyday, stayed in touch with the police,” she said. “It just went cold, and I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us — that was kind of the best I could hope for for a long time.”

The last time she saw her grandson he was just over 6 years old.

The last boost in the case came in 2014, when a woman in the northern Illinois town of Rockton contacted police saying she saw a boy that resembled Timmothy at her garage sale, according to the Chicago Tribune. The tip came after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an age-progression image showing what Timmothy would have looked like at the age of 9. It remained unclear if the boy the woman saw was in fact Timmothy.

Fry Pitzen's cell phone, I-Pass and the clothing she was seen wearing on other surveillance videos, as well as Timmothy’s Spider Man backpack and his toys from the SUV, remained missing years after the boy disappeared, according to police.

In a press conference, Rowley said, despite the fact Pitzen was not found, the department is optimistic that the case is now so prominently back in public discussion.

“It created a renewed awareness in the case,” So I think that’s probably good, it’s good that it’s got people thinking about the case again, and perhaps has people looking at the case with new eyes.” 

Rowley said he does not believe anyone has ever claimed to be Pitzen before. 

“Over the years we’ve had, I would say, thousands of tips on where Timmothy may have been, or what may have happened to him and of course we diligently followed up on all of those,” he said. 

Rowley also spoke briefly on the man authorities say claimed to be the missing boy.

“Folks who do things like this typically don’t get away with their actions,” he said. “I’m sure that if we follow this further we’re gonna see that the person down there is probably going to have some consequences for his actions down there—although I wouldn’t speak to that personally.”

Anyone with information about the case is being asked to call Aurora police at (630) 256-5000 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.

Fairfield Road in Greenwich Closed After Crash, Water Main Break

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Part of Fairfield Road in Greenwich is closed after a crash and a water main break. Police said Fairfield Road is closed between Old Church Road and Hillside Road.

A vehicle hit a utility pole around 7:45 p.m. Thursday and knocked it down, police said.

During work to replace the pole, a water main was broken and utility crews are working to repair the water main and replace the pole.

Police said the road is expected to be closed throughout the day.

Drivers should expect delays and are encouraged to use alternate routes.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Naval Air Station Oceana Shooter 'Contained,' 1 Hospitalized

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An "active shooter" at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach has been "contained" and one victim transported to the hospital, the base said Friday morning on Twitter. 

NBC News reported, citing an anonymous military official, that the shooting happened in a base parking lot and was the result of a domestic disturbance. The official said one person was dead and the victim hospitalized. More details on the situation were unclear.

The base tweeted at 7:18 a.m. that it was on lockdown, saying "this is not a drill." The lockdown was lifted an hour later. 

A separate post by the Virginia Beach Fire Department said "all gates are closed" over the security situation.  

Naval Air Station Oceana is home to 18 F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet squadrons. The base has about 10,500 active Navy personnel, 10,000 family members and 4,500 civilian personnel, according to its website.



Photo Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images
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How Cherry Blossoms Are Impacted by Climate Change

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Each spring, the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., draw in hundreds of thousands of visitors trying to catch the pink petals at peak bloom. 

Climate change could have an impact on future visitors' plans.

Over the last century, temperatures have shifted peak bloom — defined as when 70 percent of Yoshino cherry blossoms are open — approximately five days later since 1921, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

A National Park Service climate change scientist determined that climate change has increased the temperatures around the tidal basin at a rate of about 1.1 degrees Celsius per century (a rate of about 2 degrees Fahrenheit), park service spokesman Mike Litterst said.

“That’s a statistically significant rate,” Litterst said.

Higher daily temperatures make peak blooms arrive sooner, and the long-term trend shows earlier and earlier blooming, he said.

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When people plan their visits months in advance to see the trees in bloom, they look at climate data for when they would typically see peak bloom, NBC Washington meteorologist Amelia Draper noted. But day-to-day temperatures ultimately determine when peak bloom happens on a given year, she said.

 “The cherry blossoms are a great example of the difference between weather and climate,” Draper said.

Freezes are also detrimental to the cherry blossoms and climate trends are a factor there as well, Draper said.

A cold snap killed off half the blossoms that were set to bloom in March 2017. One of the concerns about the shift to earlier bloom dates is that it puts the cherry blossoms at more of a risk to a late season frost or snow, as happened in 2017, Litterst said.

Peak bloom arrived April 1 this year, the park service said. 

“It’s the unofficial arrival of spring when they reach peak bloom,” Litterst said. “The excitement, the murmur starts to build when we make the peak bloom announcement, usually in the first couple of days of March. Especially now with social media, the way people can follow along as they go through the stages and as we get closer to it.”

Warming temperatures are not the only problem the Tidal Basin area faces, with more frequent high tide flooding and a sea wall that’s dropping by about an inch or so each year, Litterst said. The wall is sinking because its original timber pilings were not placed on bedrock when installed in the 1930s, according to the park service. Tides undermine that infrastructure, too, Litterst said.

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There are places where, at high tide, it’s almost guaranteed that water is up over the wall, covering a segment of the park’s sidewalk and roots of some trees.

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Over the long term, the District could see sea level rise of about 2 feet by 2100, according to Climate Central, which analyzed projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This puts the area at a 60 percent risk of seeing at least one flood over 8 feet in the next 50 years, according to Climate Central.

Cherry blossoms arrived in Washington as a gift from Japan in 1912 as a symbol of friendship between the United States and Japan, according to the park service. First lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Iwa Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees along the Tidal Basin on March 27, 1912.

In Kyoto, Japan, which is about the same distance from the equator as Washington, D.C., cherry blossoms have also seen a shift toward earlier blooming due to warmer temperatures over time, according to research by Yasuyuki Aono, a professor of environmental sciences at Osaka Prefecture University. Aono was able to estimate peak blooms for about the past 1,200 years.

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The National Cherry Blossom Festival, which brings some 1.5 million visitors each year is now underway and will run until April 14.

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“It’s an enormous economic engine and has a tremendous impact on the local economies,” Litterst said. “It’s one of those things that brings the whole city together. I like to say this time of year, there’s no blue, there’s no red, it’s just all pink as far as everybody in town is concerned.” 

The festival is a “launching pad” for tourism season, when it’s also peak convention season and Congress is in session, said Elliot Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, which handles tourism outreach and programming for the area.

"I think people would still want to come to D.C. during the peak blooming season,” Ferguson said of unpredictable bloom periods. “There are a lot of things to do in the region. The goal for us is to influence potential travelers coming to Washington to come for four days instead of one or two." 

Beyond blooming season, the festival itself, which lasts three to four weeks, also influences travelers’ decisions, he said.



Photo Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP
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Crash, Power Outage Lead to School Delays in Wallingford

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Three Wallingford schools operated on a three-hour delay Friday after a vehicle crashed into a pole and knocked out power, according to officials.

Highland Elementary School, Mary G. Fritz Elementary School and James H. Moran Middle School all had a three-hour delay. Later Friday morning, Wallingford Superintendent Sal Menzo Tweeted that power was back on and school would be in session after the three-hour delay.

Police were called around 6 a.m. after a driver hit a pole Route 68 and Main Street, sparking a minor fire. One person was transported from the scene.

Power was restored by 7 a.m. to most people, but power remains out at United Concrete.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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