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3K Foreign Contraband Cigarettes Seized, Destroyed By USPS In NY, Other States: Officials 3K Foreign Contraband Cigarettes Seized, Destroyed By USPS In NY, Other States: Officials
3K Foreign Contraband Cigarettes Seized, Destroyed By USPS In NY, Other States: Officials Around 3,000 packages of foreign contraband cigarettes bound for Connecticut, New York, and other states have been found and destroyed by the US Postal Service since the beginning of the year, officials said.  According to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, the seizures were a result of a settlement between the USPS and several states in August 2022 that forced the Postal Service to destroy untaxed foreign cigarettes instead of returning the illegally-mailed packages back to the sender.  Of the 3,000 cigarette packages destroyed since the beginning of 2023, 44 had bee…

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by Ben Crnic
Police & Fire
Alert Westport Bank Employee Foils Kidnapping Scam, Police Say Alert Westport Bank Employee Foils Kidnapping Scam, Police Say
Alert Westport Bank Employee Foils Kidnapping Scam, Police Say A woman who received a call demanding money saying her daughter was being held hostage was saved from falling for the scam by an alert bank teller in Fairfield County. The incident took place in Westport on Thursday, March 23 at the M&T Bank, said Lt. Eric Woods of the. Westport Police. Woods said the bank called for help after a customer reported she received a call from a man saying he and the victim’s daughter had been in a motor vehicle accident and the daughter was being held as a hostage. He then demanded she withdraw as much money as she could in exchange for the safe r…

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by Kathy Reakes
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CT Woman Charged With Domestic Terrorism, Threw Molotov Cocktails, Rocks At Officers: Police CT Woman Charged With Domestic Terrorism, Threw Molotov Cocktails, Rocks At Officers: Police
CT Woman Charged With Domestic Terrorism, Threw Molotov Cocktails, Rocks At Officers: Police A woman from Connecticut has been charged with domestic terrorism after allegedly being part of a group that threw Molotov cocktails, rocks, and other objects at officers and construction equipment, police say.  The incident happened in Georgia on Sunday, March 5, when a group of agitators claiming to be peacefully protesting the proposed Atlanta Public Safety Training Center instead conducted a coordinated attack on both construction equipment and law enforcement officers, according to the City of Atlanta Police Department.  According to police, the group of more than 30 people changed in…

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by Ben Crnic
News
Newly Released Photo Of Gabby Petito Shows Blood On Her Face Before Police Stop Newly Released Photo Of Gabby Petito Shows Blood On Her Face Before Police Stop
Newly Released Photo Of Gabby Petito Shows Blood On Her Face Before Police Stop Gabby Petito took a photograph of herself with blood on her face and showed the injury to a police officer, but was ignored, according to attorneys for her family. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, the law firm of Parker & McConkie released the photo from September 2021, that is included in the family's wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab, Utah Police Department which had stopped Petito and her fiancé and fellow Long Island native Brian Laundrie, age 23,  on the day of the abuse. The Petitos claim the police department should have recognized their daughter was in a life-threatening situ…

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by Kathy Reakes
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'Our Hearts Are Heavy': CT Officer Dies Of Brain Cancer, Police Department Announces 'Our Hearts Are Heavy': CT Officer Dies Of Brain Cancer, Police Department Announces
'Our Hearts Are Heavy': CT Officer Dies Of Brain Cancer, Police Department Announces A Connecticut police department is mourning the loss of an officer who died of brain cancer. Officer Matt Silvestrini died peacefully while surrounded by family at his home on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 3, the Middletown Police Department in Middlesex County announced. "Officer Silvestrini dedicated his life to serving others," the announcement reads. "He was a decorated Veteran of the US Army (serving two tours in Iraq), he served the City of New Haven as a police officer before transferring to MPD in 2012. He was a member of the Emergency Response Team, Firearms Unit, and an instructor…

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by Nicole Valinote
Police & Fire
Search Intensifies For Suspect In Murder Of 11-Month-Old Daughter In Connecticut Search Intensifies For Suspect In Murder Of 11-Month-Old Daughter In Connecticut
Search Intensifies For Suspect In Murder Of 11-Month-Old Daughter In Connecticut Updated story: Caught! Connecticut Father Wanted For Stabbing, Dismembering Toddler Apprehended, Police Say Federal, state, and local law enforcement have stepped up their search and increased the reward for a Connecticut man wanted for allegedly stabbing and dismembering his 11-month-old daughter. Police say Christopher Francisquini, age 31, of Naugatuck, killed Camilla Francisquini on Friday, Nov. 18 in Naugatuck. The search now includes massive electronic billboards along highways and an increased reward of $25,000 by the FBI. “Christopher, if you are listening, the search will not st…

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by Kathy Reakes
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CT Police Lieutenant Charged With DUI/Drugs Following Crash, Cops Say CT Police Lieutenant Charged With DUI/Drugs Following Crash, Cops Say
CT Police Lieutenant Charged With DUI/Drugs Following Crash, Cops Say A police lieutenant in Connecticut has been charged with alleged following a crash. The incident took place in New Haven County on Sunday, Oct. 30 around 1:15 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 30 on Highland Avenue in Waterbury. Waterbury Police responded to the area of 840 Highland Avenue on a report of a motor vehicle accident. Officers located a pickup truck that had been traveling northbound on Highland Avenue when the driver veered off the roadway and sideswiped a parked unoccupied vehicle and fence, said Lt. Ryan Bessette of the Waterbury Police. The driver of the truck was identified as …

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
CT 18-Year-Old Facing Host Of Charges After Stop Sticks Used By Police During Racing Incident CT 18-Year-Old Facing Host Of Charges After Stop Sticks Used By Police During Racing Incident
CT 18-Year-Old Facing Host Of Charges After Stop Sticks Used By Police During Racing Incident A teenager is facing a host of charges after Connecticut State Police deployed stop sticks during a racing incident overnight. Troopers were investigating a large group of cars that had been observed operating at a high rate of speed and racing in Middlesex County at around 12:45 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 26 on Route 9 in the towns of Cromwell and Middletown.  Troopers followed the group of vehicles to the DOT Commuter Lot located off of Industrial Park Rd in Cromwell, where a large group of cars were observed engaging in reckless and dangerous activities, according …

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by Joe Lombardi
News
5 Retailers Accused Of Selling Tobacco Products, E-Cigarettes To Minors After CT Detail 5 Retailers Accused Of Selling Tobacco Products, E-Cigarettes To Minors After CT Detail
5 Retailers Accused Of Selling Tobacco Products, E-Cigarettes To Minors After CT Detail Five Connecticut businesses were caught allegedly selling tobacco and e-cigarette to minors during a compliance check. The checks took place in New Haven County on Monday, Nov. 14 in Milford. The Milford Police Department working with the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Tobacco Prevention and Enforcement Program conducted unannounced compliance inspections of establishments that sell tobacco products and/or electronic cigarettes. State law prohibits the sale of tobacco and e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21, said the Milford Police. Retailer…

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by Kathy Reakes
Police & Fire
Rash Of Residential Burglaries Reported In This Fairfield County Town Rash Of Residential Burglaries Reported In This Fairfield County Town
Rash Of Residential Burglaries Reported In This Fairfield County Town Police in Fairfield County are warning residents about a rash of residential burglaries. The burglaries have been taking place in the Trumbull area and neighboring communities, Lt. Brian Weir, of the Trumbull Police said. "These burglars are breaking into homes and rummaging through them when nobody appears to be home," Weir said.  He added that there have been a few burglaries where the attempts have been halted after the thieves made entry and discovered someone was home. "As of this time, there have been no confrontations between these criminals and homeowners, but the police want…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
Man Charged With Assaulting 5 Officers, Including From FBI, With His Car In Fairfield County Man Charged With Assaulting 5 Officers, Including From FBI, With His Car In Fairfield County
Man Charged With Assaulting 5 Officers, Including From FBI, With His Car In Fairfield County A Connecticut man has been charged with assaulting five officers, including from the FBI, with his car in Fairfield County. Litchfield County resident Dennis Lee Waiter, age 32, of Torrington, was arrested on Thursday, Oct. 27 for the Tuesday, June 15, 2021 incident in Bridgeport, said US Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Avery. As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on June 15, 2021, members of the FBI’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and Bridgeport Police Department investigating gang-related violence and the potential for a retaliation shooting att…

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by Kathy Reakes
News
CT Man Who Killed 2 Responding Officers Was Divorced Father Described As 'Rowdy' CT Man Who Killed 2 Responding Officers Was Divorced Father Described As 'Rowdy'
CT Man Who Killed 2 Responding Officers Was Divorced Father Described As 'Rowdy' Neighbors of the man accused of placing an alleged fake 911 call to ambush and kill two Connecticut police officers was known as "rowdy" and "always drinking," according to the Daily Mail.  Nicholas Brutcher, age 35, a divorced father of two in Hartford County, allegedly fired on the officers in Bristol before being killed. He was an avid hunter and is shown holding guns in his Facebook pictures. According to the Daily Mail, neighbors also said Brutcher was "always drinking," and that he'd often be around checking on his brother Nathaniel, who was shot and wounded in the deadly shoot…

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by Kathy Reakes