FOXWOODS CEO DEAD
The chief executive officer of the Foxwoods Resort Casino has died. Tribal officials say 65-year old Felix Rappaport was found dead this morning in the casino hotel suite that is his residence. A cause of death hasn’t been determined yet, but tribal police say it’s not considered suspicious. Rappaport had been CEO at Foxwoods since November, 2014, and started working there nine months earlier after working for many years for Las Vegas casinos.
NEW JOB FOR FORMER CEO
A former Chief Executive Officer at Foxwoods is now working for MGM. Scott Butera has been named MGM Resorts International’s president of interactive gaming, which includes sports betting. Butera left Foxwoods in 2014 to become the commissioner of the Arena Football League, until he was replaced this Spring. Legalized sports betting is expected to become more widespread in the U-S after the Supreme Court ruled last month against a federal ban on such gambling.
CHIEF JUSTICE SWORN-IN
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Richard Robinson has been sworn in as Connecticut’s first African-American chief justice and says he will focus on making sure everyone has equal access to the court system. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy swore in Robinson at the state Supreme Court Monday. Judges, politicians, family and friends filled the courtroom.
Malloy says Robinson will be a great leader and praised him for helping others understand the difficulties minorities face in society. Robinson officially has been chief justice since the legislature unanimously confirmed his nomination last month. The 60-year-old Stamford native has served on the Supreme Court for more than four years. He succeeded Chase Rogers, who retired in February. Lawmakers rejected the Democratic governor’s first nominee, Justice Andrew McDonald, who would have been the nation’s first openly gay state chief justice.
MAN THROWN FROM CYCLE
A Norwich man was hospitalized last night after being thrown from his motorcycle. Police say 38-year old Shawn Taylor struck the back of a pick-up truck around 8 PM on I-395 northbound in Montville near the state police barracks. Taylor landed in the left shoulder of the highway, while his motorcycle landed in the center median. Police say he was not wearing a helmet. The driver of the pick-up truck was not injured.
J.C. MAN CHARGE WITH LETTING CHILD WANDER
A Jewett City man has been charged with risk of injury to a child, after apparently letting the one-year old wander alone outside. State police say they found 33-year old Robert Kunkel unconscious in the open front doorway of a Matthewson Street home around 11 Sunday night. Police say, once he came-to, Kunkel was shown a photo of the child, and he confirmed he had been alone with him or her. Police say there was signs of drug use on the suspect. Kunkel is being held on 5-thousand dollars bond. The child was given to a family member.
RE-TRIAL DELAYED
It now won’t be until this Fall, if then, for the murder re-trial of Chihan Eric Chyung. The Norwich resident made a brief appearance Monday in Norwich Superior Court, where his case was continued to September. A change in his legal representation is causing the delay. The 55-year old was charged in 2009 for murdering his wife. The state Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Chyung after the jury in the first one mistakenly found him guilty of both manslaughter and murder.
MINIVAN CRASH AT LAKE COMPOUNCE
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) – Police say four adults and five children were taken to the hospital after a minivan crashed near the entrance to a Connecticut amusement park. The van struck a fence just outside Lake Compounce in Bristol at about 8 p.m. Sunday. No other vehicles were involved. Police said Monday the van had just left the park and speed appears to be a factor. All the occupants got out of the van, some with the help of passers-by, before firefighters from Southington and Bristol arrived at the scene. The injured were transported to several area hospitals. Police say the injuries are not life threatening. No names or ages were released. The van sustained heavy front end damage and had to be towed from the scene. The crash remains under investigation.
ID’S IN DOUBLE FATAL IN TOLLAND
TOLLAND, Conn. (AP) – State police have released the names of two people who died in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 84 in Tolland. Authorities say two cars and a tractor-trailer were involved in the crash reported at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Police on Monday said 65-year-old Richard Wells and 52-year-old Carolyn Everett, both of Hartford, died. Both were in the same car. It appears that Wells, who was driving, lost control, struck a guardrail, veered back into the path of the tractor-trailer, then struck the third vehicle. The truck driver was not injured. The driver of the third vehicle suffered minor injuries. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection also responded to clean up about 80 gallons of leaked fuel.The crash remains under investigation.
