Free Republic

(Bridgeport-AP/WTNH, Sept. 16, 2003 3:22 PM) _ Former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim is behind bars. Ganim surrendered shortly after noon today at Fort Dix, a federal prison camp in New Jersey, to begin serving a nine-year sentence for corruption. Ganim was convicted in March of 16 corruption counts, including bribery, extortion and racketeering. His lawyer says that Ganim spent his final days of freedom with his family, working on his appeal and getting his financial affairs in order. Ganim's associates, who were sentenced to shorter prison terms, testified at his trial that he steered lucrative city contracts to them and...

(New Haven-WTNH, July 1, 2003 Updated 10:05 PM) _ The downfall of former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim is complete. Ganim was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison for his conviction on corruption charges. He will receive three years probation and will be fined $150,000. Watch the story with News Channel 8's Kent Pierce Former Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim was silent on the way to his sentencing. In court, lawyers for both sides argued over how much money Ganim made by steering the contract to privatize the water treatment plant to a friend's company and by giving the deal to...

(Bridgeport-AP June 11, 2003 11:10 AM) _ An 89-year-old Bridgeport man has been given a three-year suspended sentence in the death of his wife. Morris Meyer had admitted he suffocated his ill wife at a nursing home. Today in court he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree manslaughter. The judge told Meyer that there is no question he was a loving husband, but what he did was legally and morally wrong. The judge said that putting Meyer in prison would do no one any good. Police said Meyer calmly admitted to officers on March 24th that he had...

(Hartford-AP Apr. 17, 2003 11:35 AM)_ An off-duty state Capitol police officer has been exonerated in a gun incident at the Bushnell Center. An investigation began in February after Officer Paul Warren's personal gun went off accidentally inside the crowded theater. The incident occurred during intermission of "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" starring Valerie Harper. The gun, a .380-caliber Browning automatic handgun was in his shoulder holster when it went off as he and his wife were returning to their seats at the end of intermission. Both Hartford police and state Capitol police could not determine why the gun...

Dear : Thank you for contacting me regarding the nomination of Miguel A. Estrada to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. It was good to hear from you. As you may know, I currently oppose Mr. Estrada's nomination. I have chosen to do so because I believe that the Senate must exercise its constitutional responsibility to provide "advice and consent" with regard to a President's judicial nominees. While I believe that the ultimate test of a nominee is not ideology but competence – and for that reason, I have voted to confirm conservative as...

Here is a discussion board about Leiberman’s presidential candidacy. This might be some fun. click here

(Danbury-AP Dec. 17, 2002 8:00 AM)_ Danbury officials have told several Danbury places of worship they can't help out the homeless. The effort to open places of worship to homeless people turned away from city shelters has hit a snag. City officials told three area churches and one synagogue they can't take in the homeless this winter because their buildings do not meet local zoning regulations and state fire codes. Churches, homeless advocates and city officials have been meeting to come up with a short-term solution to provide the homeless with a warm place to stay this winter. Officials say...

(New Haven-WTNH, Aug. 2, 2002 2:40 PM) _ Police seized several assault weapons and handguns Thursday from a man who has been served with a restraining order. The weapons were seized from 55 Emily Road after authorities learned 31-year-old Dominic Simeone, the subject of the restraining order, had registered several weapons. Included the cache of weapons were two rocket launchers, nine assault weapons including an Uzi and an AR-15, a dozen handguns, 78-boxes of ammunition. There were also cases marked "explosive" and US Army 30mm ordinance which were seized. A representative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms met...

(Hartford-AP Apr. 4, 2002 7:45 AM)_ A lawsuit challenging sex education classes in Fairfield schools has been thrown out by a federal judge in Hartford. Judge Robert Chatigny has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Fairfield man who claimed the town violated the Constitution by refusing to excuse his seventh-grade son from a health course that included sex education. Dismissing the lawsuit mean the "F" will remain on the seventh-grade transcript of Corky Leebaert for his failure to attend the mandatory class. Leebaert is now a sophomore at Fairfield High School. The judge says if Fairfield had granted Turk Leebaert's...

(Hartford-AP, Mar. 25, 2002 1:55 PM) _ A Connecticut congressman and senator say they want to make the old Colt gun manufacturing plant a national historical park. Senator Christopher Dodd and Representative John Larson said today they will introduce legislation next month to get the ball rolling. Dodd says the site of America's first gun manufacturing plant has great historical value. The congressmen say a historical Colt park would help revitalize the surrounding Hartford neighborhood. Larson represents the First Congressional District, which includes Hartford. He says the cause is worth a fight.

1 - Most Important Lesson During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely, this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would ...

My alarm went off -- it was Sunday again; I was tired -- it was my one day to sleep in. But the guilt I'd have felt the rest of the day would have been too much, so I'd go; I'd pray. I showered and shaved, adjusted suit and tie, Got there and swung into a pew just in time. Bowing my head in humble prayer Before I closed my eyes, I saw that the shoe of the man next to me was touching my own and I sighed. With plenty of room on either side, I thought, "why do ...

(New Haven-WTNH, June 14, 2001 6:15 PM) _ Charges of political corruption surface just outside Bridgeport's City Hall. Today a second person close to Mayor Joseph Ganim pleaded guilty to racketeering and tax fraud. Walking out the back door of federal court in New Haven today, 42-year-old Leonard Grimaldi had nothing to say. The former campaign manager for Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim, Grimaldi is the second person this week to plead guilty on corruption charges connected to the administration. Yesterday, Ganim fundraiser Paul Pinto pleaded guilty to racketeering, among other charges. In court, Grimaldi admitted paying bribes and kickbacks to ...

Three guys in a hotel call room service and order two large pizzas. The delivery boy brings them up with a bill for exactly $30.00. Each guy gives him a $10.00 bill, and he leaves. When he hands the $30.00 to the cashier, he is told a mistake was made. The bill was only $25.00, not $30.00. The cashier gives the delivery boy five $1.00 bills and tells him to take it back to the 3 guys who ordered the pizza. On the way back to their room, the delivery boy has a thought... these guys did not give him ...

Just curious, does anyone know what a “Algimec Agmi” type gun is. It’s banned in my wonderful state of CT and I have now idea what it is. Thanks in advance.Cheers!!

CDC: Conn. ranks 43rd in tobacco money spending (AP, Apr. 4, 2001 7:10 AM) _ The Centers for Disease Control say Connecticut ranks 43rd in tobacco settlement money spent on anti-smoking campaigns. Forty-six states were involved in the tobacco settlement. Connecticut has spent an average of 31 cents per capita on tobacco prevention programs so far. That's far below the CDC's recommended minimum of $6.50 per capita. Since 1999, Connecticut has spent nearly $160 million of the settlement money on NON-tobacco-related programs. About $40 million of the settlement has been put into trust for general health and tobacco programs, but ...

Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, Representative Ron Paul wrote his colleagues in Congress asking them to cosponsor his "Pharmaceutical Freedom Act" (HR 3636), a bill aimed at making prescription drugs more affordable for all Americans, including senior citizens. A key element of the bill is that it exempts Internet pharmacies that are in compliance with state regulations from the burden of additional federal regulations. "Many consumers have been able to use the Internet to lower their prescription drug costs," stated Paul. "One senior citizen in my district lowered his drug costs from $700 to $100 a month by using an ...

A friend of mine will be attending an event tonight in NYC that will have as guests of (dis)honor James Carville and Mary Matalin. There will be a question and answer session at some point in the evening and my friend asked me if I had any good questions he could pose to Carville. I know the obvious ones like – Why are you so butt ugly? And what does the devil like to drink? But I figured a little more insight and political astuteness would be a better way to go. So I’m asking, does anyone have any good ...

Many Gun-Owning Parents Don't Follow Safety Guidelines Michigan Case Is Latest in Series of Fatal School Shootings By WebMD Staff With Reporting from Liz Meszaros WebMD Medical News March 2, 2000 (Atlanta) -- Prosecutors say the 6-year-old lived in a flophouse, surrounded by crime and drugs, where he found a loaded gun in a bedroom and took it to school. The case of the Michigan boy accused of gunning down a first-grade classmate this week is an extreme one, but a recent survey found that most parents don't do enough to keep guns out of their children's hands. Less than ...

Internet search tool company RealNames has become the latest site to be cracked by Internet vandals -- only this time tens of thousands of customer credit cards and passwords may have been stolen. RealNames CEO Keith Teare said the San Carlos, California company discovered the intruder late Wednesday afternoon, when user searches for company names were suddenly all routed to www.188.net, a site written entirely in Chinese and believed to be associated with the Chinese government. Hacker Havoc Reveals Risks Mind your own Business news Everybody's got issues in Politics Infostructure strengthens your backbone "I think it's probably just random," ...