Connect with us

Connecticut

Connecticut mayor who regained office after corruption conviction wins another primary

Published

on

Connecticut mayor who regained office after corruption conviction wins another primary


BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, who went to prison for corruption and then regained his old job back eight years ago in a remarkable political comeback, has won the Democratic nomination for another term.

Ganim, 63, defeated John Gomes, the city’s former chief administrative officer, by a narrow margin Tuesday in a party primary.

Gomes declined to concede and could possibly run again in the general election, but the Democratic nominee is expected to have a big advantage. Bridgeport, Connecticut’s largest city, hasn’t had a Republican mayor since 1991.

Ganim’s campaign claimed victory late Tuesday, crediting his win to the “remarkable transformation” of Bridgeport under the mayor’s leadership. The campaign said Ganim had helped the city become more financially stable and developed it as an entertainment hub.

Advertisement

First elected mayor in 1991, Ganim was in office 12 years, then quit when he was caught accepting bribes and kickbacks. Convicted of racketeering, extortion and other crimes, he spent seven years in prison, but then won his old job back in an election in 2015. He won reelection again four years ago.

His second stretch in office hasn’t been trouble free. In 2021, Bridgeport’s former police chief, Armando Perez, was sentenced to a year in prison for rigging a 2018 police chief examination to ensure he’d be selected.

Gomes, 52, who immigrated from the Cape Verde Islands, announced he was running for mayor against his old boss after losing his city job last year.

Speaking to supporters at around midnight, Gomes said he wasn’t ready to quit.

“This time our voice will not go silent. All I can say is stay tuned. I have not conceded,” he said.

Advertisement

Besides Gomes, if he decides to run, Ganim now faces Republican attorney David R. Herz in the general election. Lamond Daniels, a Democrat who failed to get on the primary ballot, has also qualified to appear on the ballot as an independent but has yet to announce his plans.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connecticut

Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to $1 million

Published

on

Connecticut couple charged in alleged Lululemon theft spree that netted up to  million


A Connecticut couple has been charged in connection with an elaborate two-month theft spree at Lululemon stores across the country that an investigator with the retailer estimates netted about $1 million worth of product.

Jadion Richards, 44, and Akwele Lawes-Richards, 45, were arrested on Nov. 14 in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota suburb of Woodbury. The couple, from Danbury, Connecticut, were charged with organized retail theft after a Lululemon retail crime investigator contacted local authorities in Minnesota.

But Lululemon’s investigator said evidence shows their crimes go back to September and took place in states like Utah, Colorado, New York and Connecticut, according to the criminal complaint.

Attorneys representing Richards and Lawes-Richards did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment Thursday.

Advertisement

Richards claimed he was racially profiled, complaint says

Richards and Lawes-Richards were stopped after exiting the Lululemon store in Roseville, Minnesota, on Nov. 14 when the security alarm went off, according to the criminal complaint. Richards allegedly claimed store employees racially profiled him and the two were allowed to leave afterward.

The Lululemon investigator later alleged the two visited the store the day before on Nov. 13 with an unidentified man and stole 45 item valued at nearly $5,000. That same day, the pair had allegedly conducted four other thefts in Minneapolis, Edina and Minnetonka.

Officers arrested the couple at the Lululemon in Woodbury. The two denied any involvement in the theft, with Lawes-Richards allegedly claiming they were staying with her aunt and had only been in Minnesota for a day.

Officers found several credit and debit cards on the couple, as well as an access card to a Marriott hotel room. Using a search warrant, officers found 12 suitcases in their room, including three filled with Lululemon clothing with tags attached worth over $50,000, according to the complaint.

Advertisement

In all, the company investigator estimated the couple has taken up to $1 million in stolen product, according to the complaint, which does not detail how he arrived at the high figure.

Couple blocked cameras among other tactics: Investigator

The Lululemon investigator said one of the couple’s alleged tactics was for one of them to distract associates while another stuffed product in the clothes they were wearing, according to the complaint.

Another technique involved the two strategically exiting the store, with one of them holding a cheap item they had bought and the other carrying more expensive products that had sensors, according to the complaint. When the alarm would sound off, only the person with the cheap, purchased item would stay behind and show a receipt, while the other would keep walking with the stolen product, the complaint says.

The pair are accused in eight Colorado theft incidents between Oct. 29 and 30, and seven thefts in Utah on Nov. 6 and 7, according to the complaint.

Advertisement

The pair are currently being held at the Ramsey County jail in Minnesota, court records show. Their next court appearance is set for Dec. 16.



Source link

Continue Reading

Connecticut

Connecticut readers get the shaft from newspaper’s vulgar Jets headline blunder

Published

on

Connecticut readers get the shaft from newspaper’s vulgar Jets headline blunder


Ouch!

A newspaper in Connecticut had an unfortunate typo involving Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley’s herniated disc on Monday.

This past Monday, The Chronicle, a newspaper covering Eastern Connecticut, published an AP story on the front page of its sports section in the print edition that referred to Mosley’s “herniated d–k.”

Mosley has missed the Jets’ four games with the injury — the one in his neck, that is.

Advertisement
Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley speaks with the media before practice in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun/New York Post

In the copy, Mosley’s injury was not shafted, getting described correctly in the nut graph.

The unfortunate phallacy did not go unnoticed: in an extra twist, the error went viral when it was posted on the X account of David Coverdale, the 73-year-old singer of Whitesnake.

An editor for The Chronicle told The Post that the newspaper would be issuing a correction in the paper.

Last week, prior to the Jets’ loss to the Colts, Mosley spoke about how he hoped to return after the Jets’ bye, when they host the Seahawks on Dec. 1.

Advertisement

“That’s definitely the goal,” he said. “I’m in a position where I’ve played a lot of football. Me missing this time won’t hurt me as much as another guy that might need this opportunity. It’s about safety at the end of the day. When I go home, I’m Clint Mosley. I’m C.J. I’m not the football player.”

Mosley said the birth of his daughter, who arrived the week after his injury, put things in perspective for him.

“I had a full week of having a normal neck and ever since then every time I’m looking down, my neck’s hurting,” Mosley said. “It puts things in perspective. There’s a lot of life after football. When I’m done playing, I want to make sure I’m 100 percent.”

From head to toe and everywhere in between.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Connecticut

Another Earthquake Hits CT: Did You Feel It?: CT News

Published

on

Another Earthquake Hits CT: Did You Feel It?: CT News


Patch AM CT brings you the breaking and trending news stories from all across Connecticut each weekday morning. At any point, you can find your local Patch and catch up on those stories here.


A second earthquake hit Connecticut this week, and this one was a higher magnitude earthquake than the previous one, according to the United States Geological Survey.>>>Read More.


A collision between a car and tractor-trailer on the highway turned fatal, state police said.>>>Read More.


A suspected drunken driver was corralled by an alert citizen and state police, officials said.>>>Read More.

Advertisement

Here are the latest updates on Thursday’s storm for Connecticut, including some changes for Friday.>>>Read More.


In Connecticut, there are a few exceptions to what has been a trend since 2019 for retail stores to close on Thanksgiving Day.>>>Read More.


The holidays are coming in hot: One glance at CT’s events calendar would make you think we were already waist-deep in garland and tinsel.>>>Read More.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending