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GREENWICH, Conn. Although it may give residents peace of mind to know only six registered sex offenders live in Greenwich, Detective Pierangelo Corticelli of the Greenwich Police Department says people should not be lulled into a false sense of security.
We definitely have an advantage here in Greenwich, having so few registered, so their names and faces are definitely recognized and known by us and the patrol officers, said Corticelli, who acts as the liaison between the department and the state registry. But people dont consider that there are plenty of offenders not registered. These are the ones who have been convicted but dont comply with that mandate.
Nationally under Megan's Law, a sex offender is required to register locally as an offender. Under Connecticut law, an offender has five business days from the date of arrival to register in person as a sex offender with the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry Unit.
In May 2011, Steven Amoling was one of those convicted offenders who did not abide by the law. He was charged after not registering with the state when he relocated to Old Greenwich. Greenwich detectives monitored Amoling from the moment of his arrival.
After Amoling failed to register within the statutory timeframe, police obtained a warrant for his arrest. He proceeded to flee from Greenwich without notifying either Florida law enforcement or Connecticut registry of his new address. He was arrested as a fugitive.
If any new offenders move in, Corticelli says the department does a meet and greet with the offender and his probation officer. Its two-fold to let them know we know theyre here and to let them know if they have any issues as far as public backlash and infringement on their rights, they can come to us.
In Greenwich, no offenders have reported being harassed, he said. However, the department encourages people to use the State Sex Offender Registry to search for offenders in Greenwich and in neighboring towns such as Stamford and Port Chester, N.Y., and sign up for email alerts. The department does not notify the public when offenders move into the area. If an offender moves near a school or another area where children may be, they notify school officials, who make it known to parents.
Corticelli said he believes fewer offenders tend to live in Greenwich because public scrutiny is high. I would assume offenders would think in Greenwich and more affluent areas, that they might draw attention to themselves in a small group of offenders. Because of this, Corticelli says offenders may register at one address but be living at another to avoid public scrutiny and stigma.
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