Under a new law that takes effect Thursday, those who commit identity theft will face harsher sentences.
Pushed by state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat, the legislature toughened the law on identity theft this year to broaden the definition of the crime and stiffen the penalties for those convicted.
Colapietro, who has represented the 31st District since 1992, said it’s an important change in the law that he is particularly glad to have played a role in such “a badly needed reform.”
“The statistics and the stories show that identity theft is a serious crime that can severely damage the reputation of its victims and cause long-lasting financial difficulties,” Colapietro said.
The senator said the beefed-up law will serve to “crack down on identity theft and make it easier for victims to receive justice.”
The new law “broadens the legal definition of identity theft” and targets especially those who target residents over the age of 60.
The law allows the state also to seize money or property obtained through identity theft, placing it in a state Department of Consumer Protection fund to provide victims with restitution.
Experts say identity thieves acquire personal information through a variety of sources, often electronically.
To try to prevent electronic identity thief, the law creates a provision to penalize the unlawful possession of personal access devices such as card readers, scanners and personal identification numbers.
It also tries to prevent crooks from stealing information from employment forms by penalizing employers who don’t secure sensitive information properly.
The law makes it possible to prosecute identity thieves where their victims live instead of only where the crime was committed. It also requires courts to correct public records tainted by identity theft and extends the statute of limitations on the crime from two to three years.
Colapietro hailed the “broad bipartisan support” the measure supported.
“This law will go a long way toward preventing this kind of crime and helping its victims to recover from it,” the senator said.
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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crime. Show all posts
September 29, 2009
September 2, 2009
A death in Texas
It appears from a stellar New Yorker story by David Grann this week -- a piece, by the way, that shows how important journalism can be -- that Texas executed an innocent man.
Whether you support or oppose the death penalty, you should read it.
*******
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
March 27, 2009
Ex-GOP state House candidate jailed
Missed this story in yesterday's Hartford Courant, but I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it interesting: Chuck DiBiaso, who ran unsuccessfully against Democratic state Rep. Roger Michele in 2004 has been tossed in prison for at least 27 months for trying to arrange a sexual romp with a 15-year-old girl who turned out to be a Bloomfield police officer.
PS: To the guy who accused me of covering up the crime because I'm so fond of Republicans, please, get a life. Do you think I check the arrest dockets in Bloomfield or wherever? How the heck would I know about this thing? I don't possess a crystal ball that automatically serves up every potential story 24/7.
Along that same vein, readers, if you know about a story that you haven't seen on here or in the paper, let me know about it! In the end, we rely on the community to tell us what's going on. We are a tiny handful of journalists scrambling every day, not an omniscent army. We need your help.
*******Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
March 31, 2008
Home invasion suspect on sex offender registry
Leslie Williams, the man fingered in Sunday's home invasion case in New Britain that left one woman dead, is on the Connecticut sex offender registry.He registered on March 4, listing a Hartford address at 34 Huyshope Avenue. He is 6' 1" tall and weighs 180 pounds.
Here's the link to his page on the registry.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Body found in Bristol this morning
According to the Associated Press, the body of MaryEllen Welsh, the woman missing after yesterday's home invasion in New Britain, was found today in Bristol. She was shot to death, the wire service reported.The body was found in a gravel pit on Old Waterbury Road near Rockwell Park.
Here's the AP story:
A woman missing after a home invasion was found dead, apparently from a gunshot wound, authorities said Monday. A suspect found driving her car was in custody.
MaryEllen Welsh was visiting a friend on Sunday morning when someone broke into the house, Sgt. Darren Pearson said. The friend she was visiting, identified as Carol Larese, 65, was shot and badly wounded but was expected to recover.
Police arrested Leslie Williams when he crashed Welsh's car in Watertown after a police chase about five hours after the home invasion, Pearson said.
Police said they later found Welsh's body in Bristol, about 10 miles from New Britain. Welsh, 62, had been undergoing treatment for cancer.
Williams, 31, has been charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, robbery, kidnapping with a firearm and other crimes connected with what happened to Larese, Pearson said. Police were preparing to charge him in connection with crimes against Welsh.
Pearson said it appeared Williams acted alone. He called it a "crime of opportunity." Pearson declined to comment on a possible motive.
Cynthia Holland, a friend of the victims, said the two were having coffee when the home invasion happened.
"She's a lovely person," Holland said of the then-missing Welsh.
Gov. Jodi Rell issued this statement Monday afternoon:
“Once more, all over Connecticut, decent people are reacting with horror and fury to a heinous, inexplicable and utterly reprehensible crime of violence. Understandably, the home invasion in New Britain on Sunday reawakens the shock and revulsion we felt after the crimes last summer in Cheshire and other such cases.
“I grieve for MaryEllen Welsh, who was brutally and senselessly killed while doing nothing more than visiting a friend for coffee, and my heart goes out to Carol Larese, who was wounded. Our thoughts and prayers are with both women, their families and their friends.
“As Governor of Connecticut, my resolve is ever stronger to deal sternly and forcefully with the vicious predators who would commit such outrages. We took real steps in January to strengthen our criminal justice systems – but the ghastly crimes in New Britain show us unequivocally that there is more to do and that there are some people who are so evil that ordinary measures will not stop them.
“First, I again call upon the General Assembly to pass legislation that will establish a clear and simple ‘three strikes’ law in Connecticut. The suspect in the New Britain case has a record that includes multiple burglaries and a sex offense involving a minor. He had been denied parole in 2006 and released on probation earlier this month after finishing an eight-year sentence.
“The time for excuses and rationalization has passed. We need a law that says if you commit three violent offenses, you will be sent to prison for the rest of your life. Period. It is time for action.
“Second, I am calling for legislation that will require any offender convicted of a second or subsequent sexual offense, regardless of the severity or degree, to face an automatic 50 percent increase in their sentence for that offense. No questions, no additional legal issues to prove in court, no unwieldy persistent offender statutes. Just an automatic 50 percent increase in sentence.
“I am also asking the Chief State’s Attorney, the Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Commissioners of the Department of Public Safety and Department of Correction to attend a meeting in my office this week. The simple fact is this: We have laws already on the books – Megan’s Law, Jessica’s Law, persistent offender statutes and any other applicable laws – that are not being used in all cases. I want to know exactly what resources my Administration can provide that will ensure these laws are applied each and every time they can be. I also want to know what additional resources we can provide that will ensure that non-violent offenders and violent offenders who are unlikely to reoffend have the programs and services they need to remain on the straight and narrow.
“I will also be proposing that Pre-Sentence Investigations be mandatory in all cases involving sexual offenses. These full background checks of convicted criminals are sometimes waived. Yet it is clear one continuing problem we face is deciding which offenders are the most dangerous. The improvements we have made in Board of Pardons and Paroles operations are a start, but I believe it is absolutely essential that judges have the fullest picture possible of potentially dangerous offenders before they hand down a sentence that may not keep such a person in prison for the maximum period.
“Finally, I am calling on the Legislature to join me in restoring the funding for increased GPS monitoring of offenders on probation and parole – and to require GPS monitoring for all sexual offenders upon their release. I realize fully that this will have an impact on the budget – and yet I can think of no reason not to proceed.
“The crimes that took place on Sunday in New Britain offend us all. We must – and we will – react to these crimes in a resolute but measured way. The continuing, bipartisan effort to strengthen and enhance our criminal justice system is just such a reaction.”
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
March 10, 2008
Murder victim's family and friends speak out for bill in Hartford
Press release from state Rep. Bill Hamzy, just issued:
Family members, in-laws and friends of Jennifer Magnano of Terryville, who was murdered by her husband last August, testified today in favor of a bill that would allow family violence victims who fear for their safety to offer court testimony via teleconference rather than being forced to appear in person.
The legislation (House Bill 5875) which was developed by state Representative William A. Hamzy, R-78th District, was considered at a public hearing today before the state legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
Mrs. Magnano had left Terryville on April 14, 2007 with her son and two daughters and fled to California to escape an abusive relationship with her husband Scott Magnano. Forced by a court order to return to Connecticut to testify in person in her divorce and child custody battle with her husband, she was murdered by Scott Magnano in the front yard of their Terryville home at about 11 p.m. August 23, 2007.
Jennifer Magnano and two of her children, who had been staying with friends, had returned to the home to pick up some belongings, when her husband, who was under a court order to stay away from her, forced her into the front yard and shot her. A few hours later, police found Scott Magnano a short distance from the house, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound.
“We had to come back to Connecticut,” Jessica Rosenbeck, 22, Jennifer Magnano’s daughter, testified. “Scott had somehow gotten custody of my siblings, and my mom had to fight him in court. She considered just running away with us, but she always tried to do the right thing. We went to lawyers, court hearings, did everything we were told, but it wasn’t enough. No one took us seriously and my mother paid the price. No other family should know the pain we feel each day, and I hope with the passing of a bill like this, that can be possible.”
“I am here today to testify in support of H. B. 5875 because the court system failed us,” said David Magnano, 16, Jennifer and Scott Magnano’s son. “”We relied on and followed the current system and it failed us. And because of that, my sisters and I are now without our mother. My nine-year-old sister now lives on the other side of the country; the other side of the continent. And for the rest of her childhood and the rest of my childhood, we will get to see each other maybe five or six times a year. [My mother] was an honest woman who always followed the rules, and she was a good mother, and she paid the price for it. The courts, the police, every government agency involved, did nothing to protect my mom.”
Saying his mother had told him: “I do not want to be just another statistic,” David Magnano added: “We are here today to make sure that my mother is NOT just another statistic.”
Lisa Magnano, Jennifer Magnano’s sister-in-law, testified that a police officer had told Jen that after reading the court order requiring Scott Magnano to come no closer than 300 feet from his wife, “that because it was a civil order, he would not have been able to arrest Scott [if he violated the order].”
“This is why [this legislation] would be important in helping victims in these situations – because the perpetrators of these crimes do not have respect for the court system and feel they are above the law or any order from the courts. Because of Scott’s disregard for the court system, we now have two children who are not being raised with the tender love and guidance of their dear mother,” Lisa Magnano told the committee.
“Jennifer Magnano had good reason to fear for her life when she returned to Connecticut to fight for the custody of her children,’ said Representative Hamzy. “If Connecticut law had allowed her to teleconference her testimony from a safe location unknown to her husband Scott, she would be alive and her children would be living with her today. Instead, she was ordered to return to Terryville, where she clearly was in danger, and paid a horrible price because she obeyed the law. This legislation, which Jennifer’s family and friends hope will become known as ‘Jen’s Law’ if it passes, could save the lives of hundreds of women in her situation for years to come.”
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Family members, in-laws and friends of Jennifer Magnano of Terryville, who was murdered by her husband last August, testified today in favor of a bill that would allow family violence victims who fear for their safety to offer court testimony via teleconference rather than being forced to appear in person.
The legislation (House Bill 5875) which was developed by state Representative William A. Hamzy, R-78th District, was considered at a public hearing today before the state legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
Mrs. Magnano had left Terryville on April 14, 2007 with her son and two daughters and fled to California to escape an abusive relationship with her husband Scott Magnano. Forced by a court order to return to Connecticut to testify in person in her divorce and child custody battle with her husband, she was murdered by Scott Magnano in the front yard of their Terryville home at about 11 p.m. August 23, 2007.
Jennifer Magnano and two of her children, who had been staying with friends, had returned to the home to pick up some belongings, when her husband, who was under a court order to stay away from her, forced her into the front yard and shot her. A few hours later, police found Scott Magnano a short distance from the house, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound.
“We had to come back to Connecticut,” Jessica Rosenbeck, 22, Jennifer Magnano’s daughter, testified. “Scott had somehow gotten custody of my siblings, and my mom had to fight him in court. She considered just running away with us, but she always tried to do the right thing. We went to lawyers, court hearings, did everything we were told, but it wasn’t enough. No one took us seriously and my mother paid the price. No other family should know the pain we feel each day, and I hope with the passing of a bill like this, that can be possible.”
“I am here today to testify in support of H. B. 5875 because the court system failed us,” said David Magnano, 16, Jennifer and Scott Magnano’s son. “”We relied on and followed the current system and it failed us. And because of that, my sisters and I are now without our mother. My nine-year-old sister now lives on the other side of the country; the other side of the continent. And for the rest of her childhood and the rest of my childhood, we will get to see each other maybe five or six times a year. [My mother] was an honest woman who always followed the rules, and she was a good mother, and she paid the price for it. The courts, the police, every government agency involved, did nothing to protect my mom.”
Saying his mother had told him: “I do not want to be just another statistic,” David Magnano added: “We are here today to make sure that my mother is NOT just another statistic.”
Lisa Magnano, Jennifer Magnano’s sister-in-law, testified that a police officer had told Jen that after reading the court order requiring Scott Magnano to come no closer than 300 feet from his wife, “that because it was a civil order, he would not have been able to arrest Scott [if he violated the order].”
“This is why [this legislation] would be important in helping victims in these situations – because the perpetrators of these crimes do not have respect for the court system and feel they are above the law or any order from the courts. Because of Scott’s disregard for the court system, we now have two children who are not being raised with the tender love and guidance of their dear mother,” Lisa Magnano told the committee.
“Jennifer Magnano had good reason to fear for her life when she returned to Connecticut to fight for the custody of her children,’ said Representative Hamzy. “If Connecticut law had allowed her to teleconference her testimony from a safe location unknown to her husband Scott, she would be alive and her children would be living with her today. Instead, she was ordered to return to Terryville, where she clearly was in danger, and paid a horrible price because she obeyed the law. This legislation, which Jennifer’s family and friends hope will become known as ‘Jen’s Law’ if it passes, could save the lives of hundreds of women in her situation for years to come.”
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
March 4, 2008
Colapietro says state need online criminal registry listing those who make false accusations
Press release just issued by state Sen. Tom Colapietro, a Bristol Democrat:
State Senator Thomas Colapietro (D-Bristol) this year will push for creation of an online registry for individuals found to have intentionally falsely accused others of criminal conduct.
“People should be able to easily find out who has falsely accused someone of a crime,” said Senator Colapietro. “Not only will this registry help members of the public, it will also help to deter people from making false accusations and help to affirm those people who are truly victims and are seeking help from law enforcement officials.”
Under existing state law, knowingly giving information related to an actual occurrence that is false is considered a Class A misdemeanor (C.G.S. § 53a-180c(a)(3)). Individuals convicted of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree can serve a maximum of one year in prison.
“The penalty for making a false accusation is not steep enough,” Senator Colapietro said. “We need to make sure that, when a person suffers because someone made a false accusation about them, at the end of the day they get justice under our law.”
Senator Colapietro has asked the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee to raise the concept as legislation during this year’s regular session.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
State Senator Thomas Colapietro (D-Bristol) this year will push for creation of an online registry for individuals found to have intentionally falsely accused others of criminal conduct.
“People should be able to easily find out who has falsely accused someone of a crime,” said Senator Colapietro. “Not only will this registry help members of the public, it will also help to deter people from making false accusations and help to affirm those people who are truly victims and are seeking help from law enforcement officials.”
Under existing state law, knowingly giving information related to an actual occurrence that is false is considered a Class A misdemeanor (C.G.S. § 53a-180c(a)(3)). Individuals convicted of falsely reporting an incident in the second degree can serve a maximum of one year in prison.
“The penalty for making a false accusation is not steep enough,” Senator Colapietro said. “We need to make sure that, when a person suffers because someone made a false accusation about them, at the end of the day they get justice under our law.”
Senator Colapietro has asked the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee to raise the concept as legislation during this year’s regular session.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
February 6, 2008
Look up criminals!
Check out Connecticut's new database of criminal convictions since 2000.
I looked up a bunch of local bigshots in hopes of finding one of them did something awful in some distant corner of the state. But all I found was one guy who let his dog roam, which didn't strike me as particularly heinous.
One of my friends got nabbed for racing along over 70 miles per hour on the highway. Going purely on observation along I-84, I didn't even realize that was a crime in Connecticut.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
I looked up a bunch of local bigshots in hopes of finding one of them did something awful in some distant corner of the state. But all I found was one guy who let his dog roam, which didn't strike me as particularly heinous.
One of my friends got nabbed for racing along over 70 miles per hour on the highway. Going purely on observation along I-84, I didn't even realize that was a crime in Connecticut.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
January 23, 2008
Hamzy, Burns explain vote on crime package
Press release from state Reps. Ron Burns and Bill Hamzy, both of whom represent at least part of Bristol:
Legislation that passed the state Senate Tuesday and the state House of Representatives early Wednesday morning will increase penalties for home invasions and close some loopholes in state criminal justice laws, but a proposal that would have imposed tougher penalties on repeat violent offenders was rejected by the majority Democrats, state representatives William A. Hamzy, and Ron Burns said today.
“I supported the bill that passed the House because it will give families more protection from home invasions like the one in Cheshire last summer and because it will make it more difficult for hardened, violent criminals to be released on parole after serving only a portion of their sentences,” said Representative Hamzy, R-78th District.
“What troubles me is that the majority Democrats rejected our ‘three strikes and you’re out’ proposal, which would have put three-time violent offenders behind bars for life, where they could not threaten law-abiding citizens. Our proposal would have targeted only dangerous repeat offenders whose past criminal histories have shown they are incapable of being rehabilitated. These individuals belong behind bars – and our three strikes proposal would have kept them there and saved innocent lives,” Representative Hamzy said.
“I voted for the legislation we approved today because it will help Connecticut families feel confident that they can once again go to bed at night without having to worry about violent criminals breaking into their homes and threatening their lives,” said Representative Burns, R-77th District. “The three strikes amendment the Republicans proposed would have further strengthened the bill. Unfortunately, the majority Democrats ignored the 45,000 people who signed a petition last year that supported a three strikes law by leaving it out of the bill that passed Tuesday.”
The House Republican three strikes amendment would have required that after a third conviction of a dangerous felony, a violent criminal would be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of release, the legislators said.
The dangerous felonies would have included murder other than a capital felony, manslaughter, arson, kidnapping, robbery in the first or second degree, robbery involving an occupied motor vehicle, assault constituting a felony, sexual assault in the first or third degree, home invasion, burglary in the first or second degree, or stalking in the first degree, the legislators said.
The state House and Senate, meeting in special session nearly six months to the day after a Cheshire home invasion and triple murder shocked the state, adopted many of the provisions recommended by the governor’s task force and supported by most legislators.
They include:
Creating a new crime of home invasion.
Requiring individuals convicted of second degree burglary or home invasion to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Altering the makeup, qualification requirements and appointment process for the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, and prohibiting parole hearings from being conducted unless the board’s chairperson certifies that all pertinent information has been provided to the board or is unavailable.
Eliminating the parole administrative review procedure, making it more difficult for dangerous violent offenders to be released from prison prematurely.
Requiring global positioning system monitoring of 300 additional parolees.
Requiring the Judicial Branch to post certain arrest warrant information on the internet.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Legislation that passed the state Senate Tuesday and the state House of Representatives early Wednesday morning will increase penalties for home invasions and close some loopholes in state criminal justice laws, but a proposal that would have imposed tougher penalties on repeat violent offenders was rejected by the majority Democrats, state representatives William A. Hamzy, and Ron Burns said today.
“I supported the bill that passed the House because it will give families more protection from home invasions like the one in Cheshire last summer and because it will make it more difficult for hardened, violent criminals to be released on parole after serving only a portion of their sentences,” said Representative Hamzy, R-78th District.
“What troubles me is that the majority Democrats rejected our ‘three strikes and you’re out’ proposal, which would have put three-time violent offenders behind bars for life, where they could not threaten law-abiding citizens. Our proposal would have targeted only dangerous repeat offenders whose past criminal histories have shown they are incapable of being rehabilitated. These individuals belong behind bars – and our three strikes proposal would have kept them there and saved innocent lives,” Representative Hamzy said.
“I voted for the legislation we approved today because it will help Connecticut families feel confident that they can once again go to bed at night without having to worry about violent criminals breaking into their homes and threatening their lives,” said Representative Burns, R-77th District. “The three strikes amendment the Republicans proposed would have further strengthened the bill. Unfortunately, the majority Democrats ignored the 45,000 people who signed a petition last year that supported a three strikes law by leaving it out of the bill that passed Tuesday.”
The House Republican three strikes amendment would have required that after a third conviction of a dangerous felony, a violent criminal would be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without the possibility of release, the legislators said.
The dangerous felonies would have included murder other than a capital felony, manslaughter, arson, kidnapping, robbery in the first or second degree, robbery involving an occupied motor vehicle, assault constituting a felony, sexual assault in the first or third degree, home invasion, burglary in the first or second degree, or stalking in the first degree, the legislators said.
The state House and Senate, meeting in special session nearly six months to the day after a Cheshire home invasion and triple murder shocked the state, adopted many of the provisions recommended by the governor’s task force and supported by most legislators.
They include:
Creating a new crime of home invasion.
Requiring individuals convicted of second degree burglary or home invasion to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Altering the makeup, qualification requirements and appointment process for the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, and prohibiting parole hearings from being conducted unless the board’s chairperson certifies that all pertinent information has been provided to the board or is unavailable.
Eliminating the parole administrative review procedure, making it more difficult for dangerous violent offenders to be released from prison prematurely.
Requiring global positioning system monitoring of 300 additional parolees.
Requiring the Judicial Branch to post certain arrest warrant information on the internet.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
January 14, 2008
More cash sought for gun task force
Press release from state Reps. Bill Hamzy and Ron Burns, both Republicans who represent portions of Bristol:
With the Connecticut General Assembly poised to enact several anti-crime initiatives this year in response to last summer’s home invasion murders in Cheshire, state representatives William A. Hamzy and Ron Burns also are planning to pursue an increase in funding for the Statewide Firearms Trafficking Task Force to reduce gun violence, the legislators said today.
The task force, a unit within the state Department of Public Safety that enforces state gun trafficking and possession laws, is having one of its most successful years ever, thanks to a significant infusion of special funding that was included in the 2007-2009 state budget during the 2007 legislative session, said Representative Hamzy, R-78th District, and Representative Burns, R-77th District.
“The task force is on its way to having one of its most successful years ever in terms of illegal guns confiscated and arrests of individuals involved in illegal gun sales,” said Representative Hamzy, who voted for the original bill (House Bill 5922) that created the task force in 2000.
“When it has had the resources it needs, the firearms trafficking task force has been far more effective in getting the job done than all the gun control laws we have put on the books over the years. That is because the task force aggressively targets individuals who sell guns to criminals and confiscates illegal guns used to commit crimes. Gun control laws inconvenience legitimate gun owners but do very little to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals - who acquire them illegally from underworld gun dealers,” Representative Hamzy said. “We will be acting on several major anti-crime initiatives over the next few weeks. Providing an adequate and stable source of funding for the firearms trafficking task force ought to be one of them.”
“For the first time since special state funding for the unit was cut off as the result of a fiscal crisis in 2003, the state legislature has finally increased its funding, providing it with $400,000 in 2007-08 and $400,000 more in 2008-09. If we boost the task force’s special funding to $500,000 for 2008-09 and keep it at that level for the next several years, we can make life very difficult for illegal gun traffickers and the criminals who buy firearms from them. The additional funding will allow the task force to add more officers, conduct more investigations, arrest more illegal gun dealers, take more guns off the streets, and save more innocent lives,” Representative Burns said
“The home invasion murders in Cheshire last summer showed just how horribly flawed Connecticut’s criminal justice and parole systems are,” Representative Burns said. “Outraged Connecticut residents demanded that tough new anti-crime laws be put on the books to prevent more murders like them in the years ahead. If we give the task force the resources it needs to keep operating effectively for years into the future, we can do even more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and protect the law-abiding people of our state.”
The additional funding provided to the task force for 2007-08 enabled the unit to seize 656 illegal firearms and arrest 37 people on gun trafficking charges between January and November of 2007. During the first two years of its existence in 2000-01 and 2001-02, when it was funded at $500,000 for each year, the task force seized more than 450 illegal guns and arrested almost 100 individuals on gun-related charges. When the Public Safety Committee was considering increasing the task force’s budget in early 2007, their original proposal was to fund it at $500,000 for both years of the state’s two-year budget, the legislators said.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
With the Connecticut General Assembly poised to enact several anti-crime initiatives this year in response to last summer’s home invasion murders in Cheshire, state representatives William A. Hamzy and Ron Burns also are planning to pursue an increase in funding for the Statewide Firearms Trafficking Task Force to reduce gun violence, the legislators said today.
The task force, a unit within the state Department of Public Safety that enforces state gun trafficking and possession laws, is having one of its most successful years ever, thanks to a significant infusion of special funding that was included in the 2007-2009 state budget during the 2007 legislative session, said Representative Hamzy, R-78th District, and Representative Burns, R-77th District.
“The task force is on its way to having one of its most successful years ever in terms of illegal guns confiscated and arrests of individuals involved in illegal gun sales,” said Representative Hamzy, who voted for the original bill (House Bill 5922) that created the task force in 2000.
“When it has had the resources it needs, the firearms trafficking task force has been far more effective in getting the job done than all the gun control laws we have put on the books over the years. That is because the task force aggressively targets individuals who sell guns to criminals and confiscates illegal guns used to commit crimes. Gun control laws inconvenience legitimate gun owners but do very little to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals - who acquire them illegally from underworld gun dealers,” Representative Hamzy said. “We will be acting on several major anti-crime initiatives over the next few weeks. Providing an adequate and stable source of funding for the firearms trafficking task force ought to be one of them.”
“For the first time since special state funding for the unit was cut off as the result of a fiscal crisis in 2003, the state legislature has finally increased its funding, providing it with $400,000 in 2007-08 and $400,000 more in 2008-09. If we boost the task force’s special funding to $500,000 for 2008-09 and keep it at that level for the next several years, we can make life very difficult for illegal gun traffickers and the criminals who buy firearms from them. The additional funding will allow the task force to add more officers, conduct more investigations, arrest more illegal gun dealers, take more guns off the streets, and save more innocent lives,” Representative Burns said
“The home invasion murders in Cheshire last summer showed just how horribly flawed Connecticut’s criminal justice and parole systems are,” Representative Burns said. “Outraged Connecticut residents demanded that tough new anti-crime laws be put on the books to prevent more murders like them in the years ahead. If we give the task force the resources it needs to keep operating effectively for years into the future, we can do even more to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and protect the law-abiding people of our state.”
The additional funding provided to the task force for 2007-08 enabled the unit to seize 656 illegal firearms and arrest 37 people on gun trafficking charges between January and November of 2007. During the first two years of its existence in 2000-01 and 2001-02, when it was funded at $500,000 for each year, the task force seized more than 450 illegal guns and arrested almost 100 individuals on gun-related charges. When the Public Safety Committee was considering increasing the task force’s budget in early 2007, their original proposal was to fund it at $500,000 for both years of the state’s two-year budget, the legislators said.
*******
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
June 14, 2007
Zoppo criticizes Stortz on Federal Hill security issue
One thing about this little blog is that the news moves faster.
Here we are, only an hour after the mayor issued his press release calling for a police substation, and already the responses are starting to come in.
Councilor Ellen Zoppo, a Democrat running for mayor, said that is "unfortunate that the mayor is using this very serious issue, which has been festering for years, as a written press release, as opposed to having a constructive dialogue on this issue Tuesday night."
"Leadership is needed when the issue is at hand, not when you have a few days to compose a written press release," Zoppo said.
Zoppo, of course, is unhappy that Mayor William Stortz failed Tuesday to support a move to at least consider buying the 303 Main St. house that library directors had asked the city to purchase to start cleaning up the problems in that area of Federal Hill.
With Bristol Hospital asking for help in improving the area's security as well, some city officials, not just Zoppo, were surprised that the council did nothing at all at its meeting to lend a hand.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Here we are, only an hour after the mayor issued his press release calling for a police substation, and already the responses are starting to come in.
Councilor Ellen Zoppo, a Democrat running for mayor, said that is "unfortunate that the mayor is using this very serious issue, which has been festering for years, as a written press release, as opposed to having a constructive dialogue on this issue Tuesday night."
"Leadership is needed when the issue is at hand, not when you have a few days to compose a written press release," Zoppo said.
Zoppo, of course, is unhappy that Mayor William Stortz failed Tuesday to support a move to at least consider buying the 303 Main St. house that library directors had asked the city to purchase to start cleaning up the problems in that area of Federal Hill.
With Bristol Hospital asking for help in improving the area's security as well, some city officials, not just Zoppo, were surprised that the council did nothing at all at its meeting to lend a hand.
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Federal Hill security
No doubt reacting to events reported in this story the other day, Mayor William Stortz this afternoon told reporters he wants the Police Board to consider creating a substation on Federal Hill. Here's the press release the mayor sent out a few minutes ago:
Bristol, CT, June 14, 2007 - In a prepared release, Mayor William T. Stortz announced that he is asking the Police Board to consider a Police Substation in the Federal Hill area.
Owners of Bristol Property Management were once willing to provide space for a possible police substation in the Federal Hill area, to help address some of the issues.
Said Stortz, “I will be meeting with Mr. [Michael] Cordano [of Bristol Property Management] to explore the possibility and discuss other aspects of the concerns as noted. We realize that there are costs associated with doing something like this. Additional new costs are based on the costs of the facility, as well as other costs such as administration and personnel.”
Stortz continued, “We do have one other substation in the City: that will add to our analysis in this particular situation.”
“We realize that there are problems on Federal Hill, just as they were noted and pointed over three years ago. A substation, if implemented will not be a total panacea. Many other steps will have to be taken to address these issues, on Federal Hill, and other areas throughout the City,” said Stortz.
Stortz concluded, “I am appreciative that Mr. Cardano is willing to cooperate and assist us in addressing these problems.”
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Bristol, CT, June 14, 2007 - In a prepared release, Mayor William T. Stortz announced that he is asking the Police Board to consider a Police Substation in the Federal Hill area.
Owners of Bristol Property Management were once willing to provide space for a possible police substation in the Federal Hill area, to help address some of the issues.
Said Stortz, “I will be meeting with Mr. [Michael] Cordano [of Bristol Property Management] to explore the possibility and discuss other aspects of the concerns as noted. We realize that there are costs associated with doing something like this. Additional new costs are based on the costs of the facility, as well as other costs such as administration and personnel.”
Stortz continued, “We do have one other substation in the City: that will add to our analysis in this particular situation.”
“We realize that there are problems on Federal Hill, just as they were noted and pointed over three years ago. A substation, if implemented will not be a total panacea. Many other steps will have to be taken to address these issues, on Federal Hill, and other areas throughout the City,” said Stortz.
Stortz concluded, “I am appreciative that Mr. Cardano is willing to cooperate and assist us in addressing these problems.”
*******
Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
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