Month: July 2018

Governor Plans To Spend $600,000 To Help Puerto Rico

#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Dannel P. Malloy  announced that the Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) has developed an allocation plan utilizing a $600,000 appropriation that was included in the recently adopted bipartisan state budget adjustment bill, which was adopted by near-unanimous votes in both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly, for the purpose of ensuring housing assistance for evacuees from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands following the devastation of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria last year.

The plan, which was delivered to legislative leaders in a letter from DOH Commissioner Evonne Klein earlier today, continues the Malloy administration’s efforts to ensure that evacuees do not fall into homelessness.

“There’s no denying that last year’s hurricanes were some of the worst on record, but in the aftermath, the federal response has been shameful,” Governor Malloy said.  “Hurricanes Irma and Maria left the people of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands without electricity, without food, and without shelter.  These American citizens should receive the same disaster assistance that they would receive if they lived in any other area of our country.”

Shortly after fleeing the devastated islands, many evacuees sought shelter in Connecticut and were offered federal Transitional Shelter Assistance, which allowed individuals and families to secure temporary funding for emergency hoteling.  When the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began terminating that assistance in January, the Malloy administration stepped in to ensure these evacuees would not become homeless.  Through the dedication of many nonprofit housing providers working on the frontlines, Connecticut has focused on keeping families together and stably housed.

The devastation left in the wake of the hurricanes has still left many individuals and families unable to return home.

“Since the hurricanes made landfall last year, many evacuees have chosen to make Connecticut either their temporary or permanent home,” Commissioner Klein said.  “We’re fortunate to have a Governor and so many other state leaders who have prioritized assistance for these individuals and families.  Working with our colleagues across state government and in the nonprofit sector, we have developed a coordinated response that has helped more than 200 households find permanent housing or who have been diverted from homelessness.  Disaster case managers continue to work with approximately 100 more households to address their immediate needs.  While we are aware there are other individuals and families who are living with family or friends, the exact number is still unknown.  They have yet to come forward for assistance, but when and if they do, the State of Connecticut is prepared to help them.”

DOH conducted an analysis of the open cases in the state and determined that the $600,000 appropriation can best be allocated through the following plan:

  • $250,000 will be used to provide 100 households with first month’s rent/security deposit;
  • $300,000 will be used to provide 300 to 600 households with general diversion assistance; and
  • $50,000 will be used to provide six months’ worth of case management services.

This press release was made possible by:

Jury Finds Bridgeport Man Guilty of Illegally Possessing Loaded Firearm

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that FEDERICO CANNON, also known as “Rico,” 36, of Bridgeport, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 26, 2017, CANNON was released from federal prison after serving a 70-month sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  On July 31, 2017, while CANNON was on federal supervised release, Bridgeport Police received information that CANNON had a gun and was riding in a car in the area of the Trumbull Gardens housing complex in Bridgeport.  Officers located and stopped the vehicle.  After CANNON was removed from the car, officers located a 9mm semi-automatic SAR B6P handgun from the floor below the passenger seat where CANNON had been sitting.  The gun was loaded with 16 rounds of ammunition.

CANNON has been detained since his arrest on July 31, 2017.  Judge Underhill scheduled for December 3, 2018, at which time CANNON faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years on the firearm charge and a maximum term of imprisonment of three years for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

This is CANNON’s third federal conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. In the early morning hours of October 21, 2004, CANNON was in a car with three other individuals driving northbound on Interstate 95 between Norwalk and Bridgeport when they initiated a confrontation with another car occupied by two men.  The confrontation culminated at the bottom of the Exit 25 ramp in Bridgeport when approximately seven or eight shots were fired at the victims’ vehicle.  A subsequent search of the vehicle in which CANNON was a passenger revealed a semi-automatic pistol at CANNON’s feet in the right rear passenger seat of the vehicle.  A jury in New Haven found CANNON guilty and, on April 12, 2006, he was sentenced to 42 months of imprisonment.

In the early morning hours of February 25, 2012, Bridgeport Police stopped a vehicle in which CANNON was a passenger on Caroline Street in Bridgeport.  CANNON initially exited the vehicle and attempted to walk away, but police ordered him back into the car.  After directing the driver out of the vehicle, a Bridgeport Police detective observed a 9mm semi-automatic pistol on the floor of the rear passenger area near where CANNON was sitting.  The firearm was loaded with 10 live hollow-point cartridges and two full-metal jacket cartridges.  A jury in Hartford found CANNON guilty and, on July 11, 2014, he was sentenced to 70 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. CANNON also has a state conviction stemming from a car stop by Bridgeport Police on June 6, 1999.  On that date, officers located a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun concealed under the right front passenger seat where CANNON had been sitting.

This matter was investigated by the Bridgeport Police Department’s Tactical Narcotics Team and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rahul Kale.

(FBI Press Release)

Bridgeport News: Huntington Turnpike Crash

5:44pm–#Bridgeport CT– Two cars collided on Huntington Turnpike near Virginia Avenue.  The two cars collided but witnesses said the tan car continued up the hill for a city block before losing a wheel and coming to a stop.  Firefighters had to extricate the passengers in the dark blue Volkswagen.  There were 3 reported injured.

 

Bridgeport News: Larceny Charges After Investigation

In November 2017, the CT State Police Western District Major Crime Squad initiated an investigation into a suspected scheme involving misappropriation of state funds within a substance abuse treatment program called Access to Recovery (ATR). The program is funded by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and is administered through Advanced Behavioral Health (ABH), a non-profit company. A complaint was made to ABH that one of their caseworkers, Nikkita Chesney (DOB: 11/27/1972) of Bridgeport, CT, was involved in a kickback scheme where she would promise clients cash in return for requesting day care services, a benefit available through ATR. In the course of the investigation, it was learned that numerous documents were forged in order to make these clients appear eligible for these benefits, when in fact they were not. It was also learned that Chesney conspired with several other individuals to complete the illicit scheme, including other ATR clients and two home daycare providers in Bridgeport, CT. The conspiracy resulted in a total of $35,197 in misappropriated funds from Access to Recovery. On 06/20/2018, arrest warrants were obtained for four involved suspects.

 

On 06/25/2018, Chesney surrendered herself to detectives at Troop G, where she was arrested on theOn 06/25/2018, Chesney surrendered herself to detectives at Troop G, where she was arrested on thefollowing charges:C.G.S. 53a-122 – Larceny 1st DegreeC.G.S. 53a-48/53a-122 – Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 1st DegreeC.G.S. 53a-139 – Forgery 2nd DegreeC.G.S. 53a-48/53a-139 – Conspiracy to Commit Forgery 2nd DegreeChesney was released on a $50,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport SuperiorCourt GA#2 on 07/09/2018.J

 

Joyce Walker (DOB: 06/18/1981) of Bridgeport, CT, was identified as an ABH client and co-conspirator who played an instrumental role in the fraudulent scheme. An arrest warrant was obtained for Walker andshe turned herself into WDMCS-G detectives on 06/25/2018 on the following charges:C.G.S. 53a-122 – Larceny 1st DegreeC.G.S. 53a-48/53a-122 – Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 1st DegreeC.G.S. 53a-139 – Forgery 2nd DegreeC.G.S. 53a-48/53a-139 – Conspiracy to Commit Forgery 2nd DegreeWalker was released on $50,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior CourtGA#2 on 07/09/2018.  The two home day care providers involved in the scheme were identified as Merlisia Bennett (DOB:10/25/1958) and Rachel Lawrence (DOB: 09/01/1948), both of Bridgeport, CT. Both parties turned themselves in on arrest warrants on 06/28/2018 and were charged with the following:

 

Merlisia Bennett:C.G.S. 53a-122 – Larceny 1st DegreeC.G.S. 53a-48/53a-122 – Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 1st DegreeC.G.S. 53a-139 – Forgery 2nd DegreeC.G.S. 53a-48/53a-139 – Conspiracy to Commit Forgery 2nd Degree.  Bennett was released on $50,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior CourtGA#2 on 07/09/2018.

 

Rachel Lawrence:C.G.S. 53a-122 – Larceny 1st Degree C.G.S. 53a-48/53a-122 – Conspiracy to Commit Larceny 1st Degree Lawrence was released on $25,000 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in Bridgeport Superior Court GA#2 on 07/09/2018.

(Press Release)

 

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