Connecticut

AG Sues East Haven Business Selling Potent, Illegal Cannabis Products

Published

2 years ago

January 10, 2024

AG Sues East Haven Business Selling Potent, Illegal Cannabis Products

EAST HAVEN, CT —Attorney General William Tong filed seven new enforcement actions against wholesalers and retailers engaging in the distribution and sale of potent, illicit cannabis products in Connecticut, it was announced Tuesday.

Wholesalers include Shark Wholesale Corp. in Bridgeport, Star Enterprise 74, LLC, in New Britain, and RZ Smoke, Inc., in Suffield.

The four retailers are Greenleaf Farms in New London, Smoker’s Corner in Norwich, Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke in New Haven, and Planet Zaza in East Haven.

In each instance, Tong is alleging violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, which carries fines of up to $5,000 per violation, a news release reads.

“Cannabis is legal for adults in Connecticut, but it’s not a free-for-all—retailers must be licensed and legal cannabis products must comply with strict safety standards,” Tong was quoted as saying.

Tong said that three wholesalers and four retailers have sold potent, high-THC cannabis products in violation of Connecticut laws.

“None of these products have been subject to Connecticut’s rigorous testing standards or contain appropriate warnings. Some are sold in dangerous and misleading packaging designed to appeal to children,” Tong said. “These products are designed to deceive consumers into believing they are safe, tested, and regulated—that is false. We have multiple active investigations into additional retailers and wholesalers, and we will keep the heat on so long as these dangerous, illegal products are sold.”

Residents over age 21 can legally possess and consume cannabis in Connecticut. Cannabis products may only be sold in the regulated market and must meet rigorous testing and packaging requirements. Cannabis products sold outside of the regulated market continue to be illegal and may subject sellers to civil and criminal penalties.

Despite that, sale of illegal delta-8 and delta-9 cannabis products and other high THC cannabis products continues in Connecticut. In unannounced visits to vape shops and gas stations, investigators from the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Consumer Protection continue to routinely find illegal cannabis products for sale, including blunts, marijuana flower, and edibles mimicking popular youth-oriented snack foods, including Fritos, Skittles, Airheads, and more.

Illegal look-alike cannabis products pose a unique health threat to children, who may unknowingly ingest high doses of potent psychoactive chemicals. In the regulated adult-use market, edible cannabis products may only be sold in containers that contain a maximum of 100 milligrams of total THC and 5 milligrams of total THC per serving size. Children who accidentally eat an entire snack-sized bag of “chips” or “candy” may be exposed to more than 100 times the maximum adult serving.

“Most of the products sold outside of our regulated market are untested and unsafe, especially if consumed by children,” state Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan T. Cafferelli said. “Many of these products are packaged in a way that is misleading – signaling to consumers that the product inside is safe when it is not – and, most shamefully, are often sold to people who are underage and may not realize the effects of what they are consuming.”

Cafferelli said that, “Adults who choose to consume cannabis should shop in the regulated market and keep their products out of sight and out of reach from children and teens. We also encourage parents to speak to their children about the harmful effects these unregulated products can have, and what they should do if they come across them.”

Since 2021, the Connecticut Poison Control Center has received 400 calls regarding cannabis exposure in children, including 181 children under the age of 6 exposed to cannabis edibles. The majority of those cases required treatment at a health care facility, according to the Office of the Attorney General.

Planet Zaza in East Haven

According to Tong, Planet Zaza is a smoke shop located in East Haven with no license to sell cannabis in Connecticut. Investigators with the Department of Consumer Protection and Office of the Attorney General inspected the store on multiple dates, finding numerous high-THC cannabis edibles for sale more potent than any authorized for sale in Connecticut, he said.

Office of the Attorney General

“Further, investigators discovered unauthorized labels, including fake prescription labels falsely indicating that the store is a licensed dispensary and that the illegal products were medical-use cannabis,” Tong said. “The products did not appear to be produced in a licensed facility or tested in accordance with state law.”

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Connecticut

Five Guys shutters Orange location

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2025

Press Room

A popular fast food restaurant has closed the doors of one of its Connecticut locations.

The Five Guys location on Boston Post Road in Orange posted an announcement of the closure on its front door.

While there aren’t any other Five Guys locations in the town of Orange, other nearby Five Guys restaurants include the locations on Amity Road in New Haven and Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton.

NBC Connecticut has reached out to Five Guys and the town of Orange, but they have not responded to our request for comment.

It is unclear how many employees were impacted by the closure and if they were offered any opportunities to work at nearby locations.

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Connecticut

Crews battle barn fire in East Windsor

Published

19 hours ago

November 21, 2025

Press Room

Multiple roads in East Windsor were closed for several hours as crews fought an early morning barn fire.

According to the Broad Brook Fire Department, a large barn fire broke out a 365 North Road around 1:30 Friday morning.

Mutual aid from multiple towns are assisting at the scene.

The fire department had route 140 shut down between Harrington Rd and the old Herb Holden Trucking on Broad Brook Rd. closed due to hydrant lines across the street. Main St at Wesley Rd was also blocked.

The fire was knocked down and roads reopened around 5 a.m.

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Connecticut

Hartford HealthCare could acquire 2 Prospect hospitals by year end

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Press Room

Hartford HealthCare could acquire 2 Prospect hospitals by year end

After years of uncertainty regarding the future of the Connecticut hospitals owned by bankrupt operator Prospect Medical Holdings, two of the three facilities could have a new owner by the end of the year.

On Tuesday, Hartford HealthCare, one of Connecticut’s largest health systems, presented its case to the state’s Office of Health Strategy to purchase Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals. Under the new expedited approval timeline for hospitals in bankruptcy, state officials must issue a decision by Dec. 30.

During the public hearing, Hartford HealthCare CEO Jeffrey Flaks said the health system plans to bring all its expertise, resources and capabilities to Manchester, Rockville and the surrounding towns.

“The robust apparatus of Hartford HealthCare will be brought to these communities to make health care better. That’s why I’m so confident that we have this very unique opportunity to dramatically improve health care that will be here for generations going forward,” Flaks said.

Hartford HealthCare will spend $86.1 million to purchase the facilities and pledged to invest an additional $225.7 million towards capital improvements, like facility and IT upgrades, over the next three years.

Hartford HealthCare also plans to recruit new physicians to the Manchester and Rockville communities, as well as expand access to specialty care, like oncology, inpatient rehabilitation and vascular and orthopedic surgical services, according to the application submitted to the state.

If approved, the deal would serve as the first step towards concluding a lengthy search to find new buyers for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals — a process that often seemed on the brink of failure.

In 2022, Prospect signed a deal to sell its three Connecticut hospitals — Manchester Memorial, Rockville General and Waterbury — to Yale New Haven Health for $435 million. But the deal was mired in setbacks and litigation.

In August 2023, a cyberattack crippled operations at Prospect’s facilities around the country. In 2024, Yale New Haven Health and Prospect Medical sued and countersued each other over the true value of the hospitals. In January 2025, Prospect filed for bankruptcy and, by the following month, Yale officials said a deal appeared “impossible.”

In September, Yale agreed to pay $45 million to Prospect to end all disputes over the hospitals’ sale.

Hartford HealthCare stepped in and its acquisitions of the Manchester and Rockville facilities could be finalized by the end of the year. Connecticut’s flagship academic medical institution, UConn Health, seems poised to acquire Waterbury Hospital. A judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Northern Texas approved the UConn deal earlier this week, and now the transaction must obtain state approval.

It’s a speedy transition for the three hospitals, whose ownership had languished in uncertainty for years.

While the Yale deal was pending, Lamont and OHS received broad criticism for the lengthy approval process. That led state legislators to approve a measure earlier this year that allows for an expedited timeline for the acquisition of hospitals that have filed for bankruptcy.

Under the emergency certificate of need timeline, OHS must issue a final decision within 60 days from when the application is deemed complete.

In an emailed statement, Lamont’s spokesperson Rob Blanchard said OHS “met all statutory timelines in the Yale-Prospect [certificate of need review]” and that the legal disputes between the two companies illustrate the transaction’s complexity.

“Yale’s decision to file suit against Prospect less than two months after the agreed settlement raised clear concerns about the parties’ readiness to close the deal. The disputes that prolonged the CON process are now evident in the lawsuit, countersuit, and resulting $45 million settlement,” Blanchard stated in emailed comments.

Erosion of services at Rockville

Despite the promise of new ownership for Prospect’s Connecticut hospitals, the formerly private equity-backed operator will leave a lasting imprint on the state’s hospital system — perhaps most notably in the erosion of services at Rockville General.

When Prospect acquired Eastern Connecticut Health Network, which includes Manchester Memorial and Rockville General Hospitals, both facilities were full-service acute care hospitals. Today, Rockville — which serves a geographic region that’s largely rural — functions as a satellite campus of Manchester, with only an emergency room and behavioral health unit.

A spokesperson for Prospect did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

Rep. Tammy Nuccio, R-Tolland, lays the blame for the diminishment of the hospital directly with the state.

“That’s OHS’s failure,” Nuccio said. “They allowed this to happen.”

A 2023 investigation by The Connecticut Mirror found that Prospect began cutting services during the early days of the pandemic, eventually shuttering most of Rockville’s inpatient units without obtaining the required state approvals. Records and employee testimony submitted to the state show that officials were aware of the unauthorized cuts going back as far as 2021.

In February 2022, OHS fined Prospect for some of the service cuts at Rockville, but the operator appealed the penalty. The agency ultimately found it did not have substantial evidence to penalize Prospect, and waived the fine.

In October 2024, OHS launched another investigation into the service cuts. In May of this year, Connecticut officials reached a settlement with Prospect Medical Holdings. OHS fined the operator $300,000, but the agreement also allowed Prospect to shutter all services at Rockville aside from the emergency room and behavioral health, officially making the facility a satellite campus of Manchester.

At the time, then-OHS commissioner Deidre Gifford issued a statement saying the agreement “protects critical resources” for patients and families in the area.

“The agreement also holds the Prospect applicants accountable to the community, requiring public notice of past terminations and development of a strategic plan for the consolidated hospital. The plan must be developed with community input and presented to the community in a public forum,” Gifford’s statement read.

Hartford HealthCare has said as of now they don’t expect service cuts at either Manchester or Rockville. But Nuccio said she’s suspicious based on the company’s history with Windham Hospital, which HHC acquired in 2009.

In 2015, Hartford HealthCare announced the conversion of Windham’s critical care unit to what’s known as a progressive care unit, which can’t handle the same complexity of care. Most recently, the company received strong pushback from the local community over the system’s decision to shutter Windham’s labor and delivery unit, which stopped performing births in 2020.

During the hearing on Tuesday, executives with HHC stated that the system improves the quality of care at all of the hospitals that join its system and that they are proud of the work done with former acquisitions. The company’s certificate of need application states that HHC invested hundreds of millions of dollars in facilities it acquired in the past, resulting in drastically improved quality of care for patients.

Tina Varona, a spokesperson for Hartford HealthCare, declined to make Flaks available for an interview after he testified in Tuesday’s hearing, saying he had to leave immediately.

“We are unable to comment outside of the testimony at this time due to the NDA and pending regulatory review,” Varona stated in an email follow-up after the hearing.

Following Tuesday’s hearing, Attorney General William Tong issued a statement saying he expected Hartford HealthCare to maintain services, including labor and delivery, intensive care and behavioral health. But he called on OHS to hold Hartford HealthCare to its promises.

“Expectations must be matched by accountability: Absent other legal impediments, I would urge the Office of Health Strategy to seek firm commitments to continue these vital services,” Tong said.

Vernon mayor Dan Champagne shared Nuccio’s sentiments in holding the state accountable for what happened to Rockville Hospital, particularly for how long officials took to approve the failed 2022 deal with Yale. But, he said, he’s grateful Rockville has not suffered the same fate as Prospect hospitals in Pennsylvania, which had to close because they couldn’t find a viable buyer.

Champagne said he understands skepticism of what an acquisition by a big hospital system could mean for Manchester and Rockville. But for him, Hartford HealthCare’s bid will guard against the most damaging result: closure of the hospitals and the flight of medical professionals from the communities.

“There are a lot of people who say, ‘big systems can sometimes lead to increased prices or closure of services,’” Champagne said. “We need to go back to what we’re facing here. I’m watching other hospital systems close from Prospect. We have an opportunity to keep this open. That’s the most important thing.”

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