NORWALK, Conn. -- Some call the "failure to appear" charge a prosecutor's best friend because it is relatively easy to prove and can swiftly bring a defendant to the bargaining table. Others see the long-accepted but little-discussed practice of punishing late or absentee defendants as a crutch for overworked judges to maintain decorum and keep criminal cases from clogging their courtrooms. Now such criminal charges are being challenged in Connecticut, where nearly 1 in 10 of the cases not involving motor vehicles that ended in convictions over the past five years included a conviction for failure to appear. Those found guilty of what could be a procedural misstep can face up to five years in prison. [continues 1684 words]
After his name appeared unexpectedly in legal papers related to a major drug-trafficking investigation, Mayor John Fabrizi of Bridgeport, Conn., appeared to weather the ensuing uproar by coming clean with voters about his battles with drugs and redoubling his efforts to run the city. But the coming trial of the man who federal agents say told an admitted drug trafficker that Mr. Fabrizi was "coming over" and "needed a hit" has the potential to drag the mayor and his conduct back into the spotlight. Prosecutors filed a list of questions in Federal District Court in Bridgeport yesterday that they propose to ask prospective jurors tomorrow, when jury selection in the trial of the man, Shawn Fardy, is to begin. The questionnaire includes the names of 41 people that jurors may hear during the trial, most of them potential witnesses. [continues 366 words]
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- Through two and a half hours of questioning at the latest "Ask the Mayor" session here, a buoyant John M. Fabrizi was eager to talk about the brand-new $390,000 fire engine that federal money just bought for his strapped city. Or the new animal shelter his administration was building. Anything but what was on the top of people's minds: his recent tearful admission that he had used cocaine and abused alcohol since taking office in 2003. [continues 1119 words]
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Fighting back tears, John M. Fabrizi, the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut's largest city, admitted on Tuesday that he had used cocaine and abused alcohol since he took office in April 2003, but said that it "never, ever affected my job performance" and that he had "put this personal struggle behind me." His emotional admission followed months of rumors and the disclosure last week of a court document filed by federal prosecutors suggesting that he had used cocaine with a local Democratic official. The news of his problems was the latest black eye for this troubled city, whose last mayor, Joseph P. Ganim, a Democrat, was convicted on bribery, extortion and other corruption charges and is now serving a nine-year federal prison term. [continues 1051 words]
Responding to a court filing that suggested he had used cocaine with a local Democratic official, Mayor John M. Fabrizi said yesterday that he had made some "poor personal choices," but refused to detail them. The existence of the court filing, part of a long-running drug investigation that has already resulted in dozens of arrests, was reported in The Connecticut Post yesterday. By midmorning, the United States attorney's office in New Haven had moved to seal the document, which was filed on Thursday. Kevin O'Connor, the head of the office, also issued an unusual public apology to Mayor Fabrizi for having allowed the document to become part of the public record and told The Associated Press that he was not a "target" of the drug investigation. [continues 582 words]
President Bush pardoned a turkey, dispatching it to a petting zoo. But over the last two months the president has quietly denied roughly 1,000 applications for pardons and commutations, clearing nearly a third of the backlog from the previous administration. According to current and former government officials, that backlog was fed first by rumors that Bill Clinton was eager to grant pardons as he left office, then by his desire not to deny too many requests. "There were cases piling up during the last 18 months of Clinton's term that were ordinary denials that should have been acted on," said Margaret Love, a pardon attorney for Presidents Clinton and George H.W. Bush. [continues 139 words]
Roger Clinton was hacking his way through a friendly game of golf in 1999 when his foursome was interrupted by a visitor who drove up on a cart and, after a brief conversation, handed Mr. Clinton a box containing a Rolex watch. The encounter near the 10th hole of the Rancho Park golf course in Los Angeles might have been forgotten but for a few salient details. Current and former federal government officials say the young man who delivered the watch was Tommy Gambino, son of a convicted heroin trafficker serving a 45-year sentence. And, unknown to Mr. Clinton, his partners included two Air Force intelligence officers who reported the incident and said that Mr. Clinton had said he was "helping" Tommy Gambino's father, Rosario Gambino. [continues 2218 words]
In late January, in the final days of the Clinton administration, the White House told the Justice Department that it was considering a presidential pardon for Rosario Gambino, a convicted heroin trafficker and reputed organized crime figure. A law enforcement official said that a lawyer in the White House counsel's office faxed a request to the Justice Department for background information on Mr. Gambino, who is serving a 45-year sentence. The department, which received dozens of similar requests that month, sent back a copy of Mr. Gambino's criminal record. President Bill Clinton granted no pardon. [continues 898 words]
Chic in charcoal pinstripes and chunky shoes, her blond hair clipped back, Debra Walcott is a poised, fresh-faced 22-year-old. She is also a recovering heroin addict who bears some resemblance to the teenager in the new movie "Traffic," a character whose drug habit quickly devours her comfortable middle-class life. For Ms. Walcott, watching the "Traffic" character Caroline Wakefield lose everything was like reliving the five years she spent using drugs or scheming to get more. "That did happen to me," said Ms. Walcott, who grew up in Dix Hills, an affluent community on Long Island built atop new money. "I remember getting kicked out of my house, losing my license, my car." [continues 2090 words]
