A Tale of Three Cities

Middletown:
After turning herself into the police, it looks like 46-year-old Middletown resident Laura Smith had a change of heart. Smith, who is charged with embezzling more than $47,000 from Liberty Bank, pled not guilty to first-degree larceny last Tuesday. The wife of a longtime Deep River First Selectman, Smith turned herself in on Nov. 4 at the Connecticut State Police headquarters in Hartford. The stolen funds were allegedly used to pay off gambling debts. Smith, who paid full restitution to Liberty Bank, is now employed by Dunkin’ Donuts. Her court case continues in February (Middletown Press)

Hartford:
Most people don’t count on getting kidnapped and held hostage by their spouse, but that’s exactly what happened to Hartford resident Nancy Tyler. Last July, Tyler’s estranged husband Richard Shenkman held his 58-year-old wife hostage for 13 hours and lit their house on fire. Shenkman was already on a $500,000 bail for setting the couple’s previous home on fire. Tyler, now a lawyer in downtown Hartford, has returned to the public eye to support the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence as well as a new legislative task force, formed in November due to large increases in the volume of domestic violence cases and crisis services requests. A package of proposed reforms will be announced on Feb. 8. (Hartford Courant)

Still worrying about surviving swine flu? Don’t . You have until the end of February before vaccination clinics pack-up and leave you to fend for yourself. Throughout next month, the Central Connecticut Health District will hold its final series of H1N1 vaccination clinics every Tuesday from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Health District office in Wethersfield Town Hall. Vaccination is free, no appointments needed. Hurry. (Hartford Courant)

New Haven:
Apparently lost mail isn’t always your mailman’s fault: the mail thief is real. Owner of New Haven Sunlight Deli Sally Goldson called the police last Wednesday when she saw a suspicious man pulling mail out of a box from across the street. Though police found no mail in the man’s shopping bag, they did find a thank you card made out to a woman who, as it happens, lives at the house where Goldson spotted the thief. The police also learned from the tenant that mail had been stolen “on a regular basis,” causing her to lose Netflix DVDs and a credit card (with which the thief had purchased merchandise online). The suspect remains under investigation, his strange obsession curbed for now and the fault of misplaced mail is back in the hands of the U.S. postal service. (New Haven Independent)