Contributed Photo
Police plan to ensure that this weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day parade is a “family event” and not a “drunk fest.”
Following up on a promise to crackdown on public drinking at Sunday’s parade, police spokesman Officer Joe Avery released the following statement on Thursday:
“The New Haven Police Department will be enforcing public drinking laws in New Haven during the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade. 170 officers will be deployed for the parade to deal with traffic and public drinking. Please leave your coolers home or they will be confiscated if you refuse you will be arrested. After many complaints to the Police and Saint Patrick’s Day Committee this has become a joint effort to make this parade a true family event not a drunk fest.”
Police announced that the penalty for drinking in public is a $99 fine.
Police Nab Burglary Suspect
Police chased an erratically driven pick-up truck into East Haven and cornered it behind an apartment complex. They found it was full of stolen construction equipment.
Here’s what happened, according to Avery:
At 2:12 a.m. on Friday, Officer M. Francia spotted a black pickup truck turn erratically from Stiles Street onto Forbes Avenue, headed toward Fulton Street. When Francia tried to pull the truck over, it sped through a red light. The driver continued into East Haven and refused to stop until he was boxed in behind an apartment complex on Laurel Street.
In the truck, police found a variety of used and new construction equipment, including two brand new Honda generators. After tracing the serial numbers on the equipment, police found it was purchased by Walsh Construction. The construction company told police that their storage trailers near Stiles Street have been burglarized several times in recent weeks.
The 42-year-old driver of the pickup was arrested on charges of burglary and engaging an officer in pursuit.
Food Stamp Defrauder Sentenced
The Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s office announced on Thursday that the former owner of a New Haven convenience store was sentenced for defrauding the Federal Food Stamp Program.
Manilal Joitaram Patel, 57, of Hamden, owned the Sadavi Mini Mart at 34‑C Cinque Green at the Church Street South housing complex in the Hill. In Oct. 2005, the Mini Mart started participating in the food stamp program. Under the program, items such as beer and cigarettes are not eligible for purchase with food stamps. It is also prohibited to exchange cash for food stamps.
In December 2007, a federal agent began visiting the Sadavi Mini Mart and exchanging food stamps for cash and ineligible items, including cigarettes and a phone card. Between July 2007 and May 2008, Patel defrauded the food stamp program of $328,525.19.
Patel pleaded guilty to the crime on Oct. 27, 2009. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello ordered Patel to pay full restitution to the government. He sentenced Patel to five years of probation, including one year of home confinement with electronic monitoring, and a fine of $25,000.
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Question re the photo in the story about no booze at tomorrow's St. Patrick's Day parade in New Haven. . .the sign says the "maximum penalty" is L500, that capital L with a slash commonly means "pounds"...and offence is the British spelling for offense...would seem the photo is NOT of a sign anywhere in New Haven (or the U.S. for that matter). Guess somebody was in a hurry to pull up a "No Drinking" sign photo for the story and didn't look at it carefully.