Pubdate: Thu, 07 Sep 2006
Source: Huntington Herald (CT)
Copyright: 2006 Huntington Herald
Contact:  http://www.huntingtonherald.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4257
Author: Tom Giordano
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

HEROIN DEATH CASE GOES TO COURT

A Shelton man and his ex-wife charged with manslaughter in connection with 
the heroin overdose death of a 13-year-old boy had their case continued 
until Oct. 16 at a Milford Superior Court appearance Tuesday.

James Krasowski, 32, and his former wife, Angela Krasowski, 23, have each 
been charged with first-degree manslaughter, three counts of risk of injury 
to a minor, and one count each of possession of heroin, possession of 
heroin with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, interfering 
with police, tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance.

The charges stem from the death of Frank Korondi of Shelton, who was found 
dead of an apparent heroin overdose in the bathroom at James Krasowski's 
home on May 6.

The boy's parents have retained a lawyer to "see that they get the right 
punishment," said the boy's father, Albert Korondi.

Police investigators say young Korondi had planned to sleep over at the 
Derby home of a 10-year-old friend on May 5, the night before he was found 
dead. However, according to police, at some point during that Friday night, 
the friend's sister, (Angela Krasowski), picked up the boys and took them 
to her ex-husband's home.

The next morning, police got a 911 call from the home and arrived to find 
the boy unresponsive on the bathroom floor. He was later pronounced dead at 
Griffin Hospital in Derby.

The Chief Medical Examiner's office concluded in June, after weeks of 
conducting toxicology tests to determine the cause of death, that the 
heroin overdose of the 13-year-old boy was an accident.

Test results confirmed the boy died of "acute heroin intoxication," the 
medical examiner said, and his death was ruled an accident. The autopsy 
report also concluded that the boy had snorted and smoked the drug.

Both defendants continue to be held in lieu of $750,000 bond each; Angela 
at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic, James at the Garner 
Correctional Institution in Newtown.

Albert Korondi, a die cutter at a Bethel firm who came to America from 
Hungary, said he and his wife, Agnes, have retained Milford lawyer Seth 
Cohen. "These are hard times," said Korondi, who also has a son, John, 15, 
who attends a technical school in Ansonia.

"It's hard for all of us," said Korondi. "He's not in public schools now. I 
try to talk to John [about the tragedy], but sometimes he talks, sometimes 
he doesn't."

He said he moved his family to the Shelton neighborhood on Maple Street 
because there was a Boys & Girls Club right across the street, and a good 
school, library and church nearby.

Cohen said he has solicited the help of prominent Milford criminal lawyer 
Edmund "Ned" Collier to "guide the Korondis through the criminal case to 
see that they [the defendants] get the proper punishment."

The criminal case work on the Korondis' behalf will be pro bono, Cohen 
said. "This is something Ned Collier and I both see as a very worthy case, 
and the best way to put our legal expertise to work. We were both moved by 
the Korondis and what happened to them."

Cohen also said he hasn't decided if there'll be a civil case against the 
defendants. "We did an asset search, and they have nothing. There's 
certainly causation here, but there are no deep pockets. We haven't decided 
yet if it even makes sense to sue. We're still investigating the 
possibilities."

Cohen said he was pleased with the way State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor is 
handling the case. "He's treating it as seriously as it deserves."

Only Angela Krasowksi appeared before Superior Court Judge John T. Ronan on 
Tuesday, when her lawyer, Public Defender David Egan, told the judge all 
parties in the matter and their lawyers agreed to an October continuance 
for pre-trial procedures.

Her ex-husband, James, did not appear in court, although he reportedly was 
in a holding cell at the courthouse. James Krasowski is being represented 
by a private attorney, Dean Popkin.

In an interview in the courthouse hallway, the boy's father, Albert 
Korondi, said he and his wife, who also was in the courthouse, were 
conferring with the victim's rights advocate in an effort to recover all or 
part of the $5,500 the family spent on the boy's funeral expenses.

"We tried to keep the expenses down as best we could," said Korondi. The 
victim's rights advocate is trying to help us, but I don't know how it will 
turn out in the end."

Asked how the process works, the victim's rights advocate said the Korondis 
can make an application for victim's compensation and recover the entire 
amount of the funeral expenses if it's applicable.

According to police reports, Angela Krasowski was arrested in 2005 on 
drunken-driving charges after her sport utility vehicle crashed through the 
front of a Shelton Laundry on Howe Avenue.

Police said she had been drinking at a social club and was trying to turn 
off Howe Avenue at 1 a.m. when the accident happened. A passenger in the 
vehicle was uninjured.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D