Good morning. A Waterbury man has until December to explain how he obtained rare stolen comic books or he may face up to 40 years in prison. Saul Salazar allegedly stoleover $200,000 worth of near mint 1960s comics from a Shelton self-storage facility in 2019.
The stolen comics included early issues of Captain America, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and X-Men from Marvel Comics. First issues of these characters have sold for millions of dollars if kept in near mint condition. In 2022, a copy of Fantastic Four #1 from 1961 sold for $1.5 million at Heritage Auctions.
Salazar was arrested in 2020 after some of the stolen books were sold to a store in New Haven. Police investigated his car and found bags containing over 500 stolen comics. Salazar has no prior criminal record. State Superior Court Judge Kevin Russo offered him a pretrial diversionary program if he explains how he got the comics.
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
A former fundraiser for embattled U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Samuel Miele is now the second person in connection with the Santos campaign to admit to a federal crime. Miele impersonated an aide to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to gain funds from a donor in 2021. He is charged with aggravated identity theft and will return to court in April 2024 for sentencing where he may face up to 20 years in prison.
Connecticut and Long Island representatives voted to approve a short-term spending bill to prevent a government shutdown on Tuesday. All except for Santos (R-NY). The embattled congressman joined 92 other Republicans in voting against the bill. He claimed the House ignored rules for a two-minute vote on the decision without a proper debate or process. The bill now awaits approval from the Senate.
A lawsuit was reopened into the delay in processing of pistol permits during the pandemic in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport. The Connecticut Citizens Defense League sued the cities in 2021 after their members experienced delays in the permitting process of obtaining a firearm. They claimed the delays violated their Second Amendment rights. The federal lawsuit was dismissed in March by a lower court but the league appealed the case to the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals.
Cuts to education, health care and mental health amid a predicted 2024 budget deficit are off the table, according to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s budget chief. The state’s Budget Division estimates a $231 billion budget for next year — with a potential deficit of up to $9.5 billion. Officials are looking for alternatives in sales tax collection and ways to reduce state purchases in order to maximize revenue to close the deficit.
Connecticut’s House Speaker wants a review of absentee voting following the controversial Bridgeport elections. Bridgeport’s mayoral election had to be done twice after current Mayor Joe Ganim was accused of fraud by stuffing tampered ballots in a drop box. State Representative Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) intends to not limit absentee voting, but instead address ballot harvesting and drop box use.
Empire BlueCross will rebrand itself to Anthem Blue Cross in 2024. The name change is in conjunction with Empire, a nearly 90-year-old New York-based health insurance company, merging further with the Indiana-based health insurance provider Evelance Heath. Formerly Anthem Inc., Evelance purchased Empire in 2006. Customers will not experience changes to benefits, pricing, network, coverage or service from the rebrand process.
Families are suing the owners of a Fairfield home where a high school student died at a house party last year. Paul and Susanna Leifer’s Lazy Brook Drive home was the site of an underage party in 2022 where multiple flights between intoxicated minors occurred. The families of Shelton and St. Joseph High School students claim Susanna Leifer witnessed the assaults but failed to report them to police or emergency medical personnel. Several teens were left with stab wounds and fractured noses. Fairfield Prep student James McGrath was killed.
More Connecticut students are being homeschooled, according to the CT Homeschooling Network. However, due the state not requiring parents to inform their school district if they plan to homeschool their kids, the network lacks concrete data. Nationwide, homeschooling has increased by 51% since the 2017-18 school year. The network cites objections to COVID vaccine requirements as the primary source for this homeschooling spike.
