SCHOOL OFFICIALS PLEAD NOT GUILTY
NORWICH, Conn. (AP) – Three Montville school district administrators arrested in the fallout over an alleged “fight club” have pleaded not guilty. Superintendent Brian Levesque, High School Principal Jeffrey Theodoss and Assistant Principal Tatiana Patten were charged in April with failing to report abuse. They pleaded not guilty Thursday in Norwich Superior Court. The three are accused of not telling authorities about allegations that a substitute teacher organized fights between students inside a math classroom. Teacher Ryan Fish was fired in October, but police were not notified until two months later. Fish has pleaded not guilty to charges including reckless endangerment. Patten’s lawyer says he doesn’t think a crime has been committed and believes the cases should be dismissed. The administrators have been placed on paid leave.
HOME INVASION ARRESTS
Two arrests have been made in connection with a Norwich home invasion, while the search is on for a third suspect. Police say 54-year old Daniel O’Brien of Lisbon, along with one of two Hispanic males with him at the time, 39-year old Luis Ruiz of Meriden, has been charged with being a part of the home invasion at 83 West Town Street back on December 1st. Both are being held on bond. Police say Ruiz and a second male entered an unlocked rear door to the residence, injuring two male victims, and stealing a cell phone and cash. The cell phone was later recovered in a dirt parking lot on Wightman Avenue. Police say one of the victims had recently terminated a business deal with O’Brien. The third suspect in the case is described as hispanic, about 5-foot-8, with long back hair in a ponytail or bun, possibly going by the name of “Psycho” ..Contact Norwich police with any information.
BOILER SCREW-UPS
A father and son has been accused of installing a boiler they weren’t licensed to install in East Lyme, which prompted the hospitalization of a resident for carbon monoxide poisoning. 66-year old Gregory Benoit and his 39-year old son Aaron, both from Quaker Hill, did the work at an Elizabeth Street home in March of last year. A State Department of Consumer Protection affidavit says the homeowner returned to his residence in May, 2017, to find the C-O detectors going off in his house. He discovered an exhaust pipe downstairs was out of its socket. The homeowner had to be treated for C-O poisoning. The detectors went off again in November, and a second contractor discovered numerous installation errors, which were corrected.
MYSTIC AQUARIUM INVESTIGATING DEAD SEALS
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (AP) – Officials say six dead seals have been found on a Rhode Island beach. The Newport Daily News reports that marine biologists from the Mystic Aquarium & Institute for Exploration have been called to investigate after the seals were found on Sachuest Beach on Thursday. Middletown Operations & Facility Manger Will Cronin says it’s unclear how the seals died. He says it was “evident the seals had been dead a long time.” He says the state Department of Environmental Management has also been notified. The last time a dead seal was reported at Sachuest Beach was in June 2015.
BOSTON-AREA CASINO ON SCHEDULE
BOSTON (AP) – Wynn Resorts officials say the Las Vegas company’s Boston-area casino remains on track to open next June. Peter Campot, construction director for the $2.5 billion project, told the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Thursday that the Everett waterfront hotel, casino and entertainment complex is about 60 percent complete and roughly $1 billion has been spent. Robert DeSalvio, the casino’s president, added that roadwork funded by the company will also ramp up this summer in Boston and surrounding areas to improve traffic around the project, which is one of the largest in state history. The company in April renamed the casino from Wynn Boston Harbor to Encore Boston Harbor following allegations of sexual misconduct against company founder Steve Wynn. Wynn denies the allegations but resigned as CEO and sold his company shares.
