Connecticut
Coney Island family sells entire wall featuring Banksy mural to Connecticut brewery for big bucks
Bye-bye, Banksy.
A Brooklyn family is about half a million dollars richer after selling a mural of a little robot that the iconic graffiti artist Banksy painted on their Coney Island building for 13 years ago.
The Ruoccos decade-long effort to cash in on “The Tagging Robot” ended last month, when an arts company took down an entire section of their Stillwell and Neptune avenues brick wall and shipped it off to a trendy brewery in Connecticut, the family said.
“Brooklyn family strikes gold!” Richard Ruocco, of Bergen Beach, joked to The Post Wednesday.
The Ruoccos had been trying to pawn off the famous mural since they effectively hit the art world lottery, when the enigmatic graffiti legend painted the bot on their building in the middle of the night back in October 2013, shortly after Superstorm Sandy.
The piece, which the family lovingly calls “Mr. Robot,” depicted the android spray painting a barcode, and was one of several barcode murals that Banksy blanketed across the globe that fall.
The Ruoccos initially had no idea that the graffiti was by a famous artist until swarms of gawkers came to witness the viral sensation.
They immediately protected Mr. Robot behind a roll-down gate and hired a security guard — and started looking to make a bundle off the work in the arts market.
“Why not? What are we going to do with it? Leave it on the wall and lose the money,” said Ruocco, who is cousins to the Russo family behind Gargiulo’s in Coney Island.
Unfortunately, the hype around Banksy died down and buyers were hard to come by until Ruocco’s older brother, Anthony, read that a Connecticut beer garden had acquired another Banksy mural that was left in The Bronx during the same era as “Mr. Robot.
Foolproof in Bridgeport last February installed a massive wall showing a young boy spray painting the words “Ghetto 4 Life” on a brick wall while a butler in formal attire stands beside him holding a tray of spray paint cans — which initially caused an unwelcome stir for “insulting the neighborhood,” CT Post reported at the time.
Anthony Ruocco called the brewery over the summer and “brokered the deal” to pass along the Robot mural, Ruocco said.
“We didn’t sell it for what we originally wanted. We lowered our price and he went for it. Not too many people were willing to buy a brick wall,” said Ruocco, adding that the buyer also had to pay about $75,000 for art shippers to remove and transport the mural.
Representatives for Foolproof did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
An incredible video shows Fine Art Shippers meticulously shoring up a portion of the brick wall into steel framing and jackhammering it out into one piece before shipping it off to Bridgeport, a journey first reported by Coneyologist.
Ruocco did not want to share how much cash the family received for the piece, but teased that it was for “less than half a million bucks.”
“That’s too personal. No one needs to know that, except my accountant,” he said.
He and his five siblings evenly split the sale, which leaves “enough to buy a nice car each.”
“We’re a very fair family. I know that’s what our parents would have wanted us to do. We shared everything right to the penny,” said Ruocco.
One of the siblings has already treated themselves to a cruise and Ruocco dreamed about buying a new car for his collection, though he admitted his wife would make him get rid of one before adding another.
The Ruocco siblings, now all in retirement, are planning to sell the building where the Banksy mural once lived. It had once been the site of Aiello’s catering, which the family ran from the 80s to the 90s.
Connecticut
Body recovered after Bloomfield house fire and explosion
A body was recovered after a house explosion resulting in a house fire in the area of Banbury Lane on Monday night.
Fire Marshal Roger Nelson says they recovered a body around 1:15 on Tuesday morning. The identity of the body found will not be released at this time.
When officers arrived around 6:11 p.m. they encountered the house fully in flames, police said.
According to police, the fire department was able to extinguish the fire, but the house sustained devastating damage.
There are no criminal aspects related to this incident at this time.
The incident was contained to the one house.
Connecticut
Exclusive | Ex-CBS anchor Josh Elliott back on Connecticut dating scene after ugly Liz Cho split
Ex-CBS host Josh Elliott is looking for love eight months after he filed for divorce from “Eyewitness News” anchor Liz Cho.
“Josh is out and about on the dating scene in Fairfield County,” a spy exclusively tells Page Six. “He’s been seen at the bars in the area where middle-aged singles congregate.”
A second source tells Page Six, “Josh isn’t dating anyone, but he is open to meeting people. His daughter is his priority.”
Page Six can also reveal that Elliott moved out of his and Cho’s estimated $4.2 million Connecticut marital home in January.
In court papers dated Jan. 29 and obtained by Page Six, Cho revealed Elliott moved out of their home and into a new residence without her knowledge.
Cho claimed she was notified by Optimum on Jan. 21, regarding her ex installing internet at his new home.
“The Defendant learned for the first time from said communication that on or about January 15, 2026, the Plaintiff secured an unfurnished rental residence located in Southport, Connecticut,” the filing read.
“It is now clear that the Plaintiff surreptitiously entered a new lease…” the court papers continued.
A rep for Elliott did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Page Six broke the ousted CBS anchor filed for divorce from Cho after a decade of marriage on June 20, 2025.
“The marriage of the parties has broken down irretrievably,” the court papers read. Elliott asked for a “dissolution of the marriage” and for “an equitable distribution of all property, both real and personal.”
Cho responded to her estranged husband’s complaint on Nov. 6 and filed a cross-complaint against him. She also stated their marriage “has broken down irretrievably.”
The divorce became messy when Cho requested “copies of written correspondence, emails, cards, WeChat messages, Facebook messages, social media messaging, instant messaging, telephonic text messages, transcribed voicemail messages or any written forms of communication” between Elliott and “any person, other than the defendant, with whom [Elliott] have or have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship, from July 11, 2015, to the present.”
Elliott objected the request on the “grounds that the time frame of the request for production is unreasonable, unnecessary, harassing and not likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”
Cho also requested “monies spent for the benefit of any person with whom you have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship, other than the defendant,” “property given or transferred by you to any person with whom you have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship, other than the defendant,” “monies spent for your benefit by any person with whom you have had a romantic and/or sexual relationship with, other than the defendant.”
The TV personality in addition requested financial records, documentation proving Elliott’s search for employment — as he was ousted from CBS in 2017 — travel invoices, and more. Elliott objected to the requests.
A source close to the couple previously told Page Six, “This is standard in a divorce. Her lawyer is doing a thorough document request. The documents she is requesting are standard.” The insider also insisted there is no evidence Elliott had a relationship with anyone outside the marriage.
Also in the Jan. 29 court filing, Cho filed a motion for contempt against Elliott regarding their jointly owned marital Connecticut mansion.
Cho claimed Elliott arranged for a moving truck to come to the marital residence while she was on vacation with her daughter on Jan. 19.
Cho claimed Elliott moved a “significant amount of furniture and furnishings from the marital residence,” and their “two Portuguese water dogs,” which she alleged at the time of the filing were not returned.
The court docs continued to allege, “On Tuesday, January 6, 2026, [Cho] realized that she was missing a valuable watch and earrings from her jewelry bag. As [Elliott] is the only other person who had access to the missing watch and jewelry, [Cho] believes [Elliott] is in possession of such personal property.”
She claimed his alleged actions are a “willful violation” of the court’s orders.
The insider alleged Elliott was the one to take care of the dogs and that he took “a small amount of furniture.”
In Elliott’s response to her filing, he objected to her request and claimed her allegations are “false and inflammatory.”
He claimed in court papers, “[Cho] alleges [Elliott] ‘ransacked’ and ‘abandoned’ the marital residence — claims that are patently false and intended to annoy, harass and intimidate [Elliott].
“[Elliott] did not ransack the marital home. He did not damage the property. He did not render the residence uninhabitable. He removed limited personal property and furnishings so he would have a safe haven from [Cho’s] escalating and erratic behavior direct at not only [Elliott], but his minor child as well.”
In a separate filing, he continued to defend his actions by alleging, “[Elliott] removed only limited furniture items and furnishings, many from the basement, solely to furnish a new residence after removing himself and his child from a hostile environment created by [Cho]. All property remains intact and subject to equitable distribution.”
In regard to the jewelry claim, Elliott said, “Perhaps most egregious is [Cho’s] baseless accusation that [Elliott] stole her jewelry. This allegation is made without evidence, without corroboration and without even a good-faith attempt to verify the truth.”
He then accused her of “monitoring and listening to [Elliott’s] private phone calls; rifling through [Elliott’s] personal belongings and closet; leaving the marital residence for extended periods without communication despite the presence of two dogs requiring daily care” and more claims.
He is requesting that the court deny her motion for contempt and they are due in court on March 20.
Lawyers for Cho and Elliott did not respond to Page Six’s request for comment regarding the divorce.
Elliott, 54, and Cho, 55, met while working for ABC and got married in July 2015.
This was the second marriage for both, as they each share a daughter from their previous relationships.
Cho has been with ABC on “Eyewitness News” since 2003, while Elliott was with ABC’s “Good Morning America” from 2011 to 2014.
After a brief stint with NBC, he joined CBSN as lead daytime anchor in March 2016. Nearly a year later, he was let go from the company.
Elliott has been out of the spotlight in recent years, but is now in talks to join Gayle King and Nate Burleson on “CBS Mornings,” Awful Announcing reported.
Connecticut
Man charged with murder in Hartford
A man was charged with murder and interfering with police on Sunday night.
According to police, officers were dispatched to an apartment on Washington Street for a wellness check of a woman who was reportedly unconscious and not breathing.
When officers arrived, they made contact with a man in the apartment who refused to cooperate and would not allow officers access. They then had to force entry into the apartment where they located the victim suffering from severe head trauma as well as the aggressive male, police said.
The man was secured and transported to the Hartford Police Detention Facility and is being held on a million-dollar bond.
The victim was revealed to be 76-year-old Linda Anthony and was pronounced deceased on scene.
The Hartford Police Major Crimes and Crime Scene Divisions responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.
-
Wisconsin1 week agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Maryland1 week agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Pennsylvania5 days agoPa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico
-
Florida1 week agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Sports6 days agoKeith Olbermann under fire for calling Lou Holtz a ‘scumbag’ after legendary coach’s death
-
Miami, FL6 days agoCity of Miami celebrates reopening of Flagler Street as part of beautification project
-
Detroit, MI4 days agoU.S. Postal Service could run out of money within a year