NPU CHIEF LEAVES ETHICS HEARING
Monday night’s Norwich Ethics Commission probable cause hearing was testy at times, with the General Manager of the city’s Public Utilities John Bilda leaving before it was over. Bilda, along with NPU Division Manager Steve Sinko, and Utilities Commission vice-chairman Robert Groner are being investigated again for possible ethics violations, after going on an all-expense trip through the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative. The trip now in question was an October 2015 excursion to a posh West Virginia golf club. It follows an investigation into a Kentucky Derby trip last May. Groner disputes allegations that participants kept the trips hush-hush. Bilda re-iterated his belief that there was nothing illegal about the CMEEC trips, and that there were very helpful in boosting the cooperative’s value, and its rate-stabilization efforts. He left the hearing after a sometimes heated 25-minute exchange with the ethics commission, when one member wanted to make a comment after finishing his questioning. Groner and Bilda appeared at the hearing, Sinko declined to participate. The ethics commission will set a meeting date to decide whether sanctions against the three NPU officials should be recommended.
NEW TRIAL IN TAFTVILLE MURDER
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – The state Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a Taftville man convicted of killing his wife of just three weeks in 2009, saying the jury’s guilty verdicts were flawed. Justices ruled Monday that the verdicts convicting Chihan Eric Chyung of both murder and manslaughter were conflicting, because murder is an intentional act and manslaughter is a reckless, unintentional act. The 53-year-old Chyung is charged in the fatal shooting of 46-year-old Paige Anne Bennett in their home. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison on the murder conviction. A judge dismissed the manslaughter conviction, saying Chyung couldn’t be convicted of two homicide charges for one act. Chyung testified that his 9 mm pistol fired accidentally while he argued with Bennett.
‘HOLD MY BEER’ CRASH
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Police in Connecticut say they’ve arrested a man wearing a shirt that says “hold my beer” for driving under the influence. State Police say 25-year-old Harrison Wootton, of Woodstock, crashed his car into a graveyard’s low stone wall in Putnam early Monday morning. A mug shot shows Wootton wearing a black shirt that says, “Hold my beer and watch this.” Police say Wootton was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, failing to drive in the proper lane and misuse of plates. It’s unclear whether Wootton is represented by an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
COLORADO MAN JAILED FOR HAVING SEX WITH YOUNG NL GIRL
A Colorado man will serve 13 years in prison after traveling to New London to have sex with a 13-year old girl. 30-year old Nathaniel Smith was sentenced Friday in federal court and Monday in New London Superior Court. Police arrested Smith in January of last year after the teen, who had been reported missing, was found with Smith at the New London Holiday Inn, who was planning to bring her to Colorado. They had met on-line. Smith will serve 15 years of supervised release after his jail term.
HIGH HIGH SCHOOL GRAD RATE
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut’s high school graduation rate has reached an all-time high. The state Department of Education reports the state’s four-year graduation rate was 87.4 percent in 2016. That is up from 87.2 percent in 2015 and 84.8 percent in 2011. The rates for the state’s 30 lowest performing school districts, known as Alliance Districts, also saw an improvement, rising more than seven percentage points, from 71.2 percent in 2011 to 78.3 percent a year ago. But Monday’s report shows a racial gap still exists. The graduation rate among white students was 92.5 percent. The graduation rate for black students was 78.8 percent, while Hispanic students graduated at a rate of 76.4 percent. The graduation rate among female students was 90.6 percent, about six percentage points higher than their male counterparts.
SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR VOYEURISTIC LIFEGUARD
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) – A former Connecticut lifeguard has been sentenced to five years’ probation for secretly videotaping his female co-workers. The Connecticut Post reports that a judge sentenced 30-year-old Michael Collins to 10 years in prison, but suspended the sentence. That sentence could be imposed if Collins does not successfully complete five years of probation. He was convicted of state voyeurism charges. Prosecutors say Collins was the head lifeguard at a beach in Westport and hid cameras in two clocks inside the beach’s lifeguard shack. Two female lifeguards reported the suspicious clocks to police in 2015. Authorities found the cameras and later discovered memory cards containing hundreds of videos, including some showing lifeguards undressing. Defense attorneys say Collins is receiving treatment for psychological problems.
