TOP STORY:GREED IS GOOD ????Just more of those good old Republican family values we keep hearing about.....Greenwich real estate developer Richard R. Girouard, faces two counts of conspiracy, financial institution bribery, and wire fraud; eight counts of money laundering; and a single count of bank fraud.Developer indicted on bank fraud chargesBusinessWeekNEW HAVEN
A Connecticut developer and his associate have been indicted on federal charges of participating in a scheme to rig bids on Fleet Bank's sale of distressed loans.....
.....Authorities say Girouard and his companies made about $6 million in profits from the scheme.
Girouard operated the company and Mayotte was the chief financial officer. The indictment alleges they paid $1.4 million for confidential bank information from a bank official to submit winning bids for Fleet Bank's sale of distressed loans.
Girouard and Mayotte also are accused of defrauding an investor of more than $400,000.
Telephone messages were left Friday for their attorneys.
The former bank official, Kevin J. O'Keefe, has pleaded guilty. Girouard's attorney, Paul Aparo, has pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud.....Norwalk developer indicted for fraud The HourNORWALKBy JAMES S. WALKERHour City EditorA Norwalk businessman has been indicted along with his business associate for their roles in a fraud scheme that netted them approximately $6 million in profits, according to the Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
Nora R. Dannehy announced Friday that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned a 15-count indictment charging real estate developer Richard R. Girouard, 54, of Norwalk, and Paul A. Mayotte along with two of his companies with conspiracy, financial institution fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.....
According to the indictment, Girouard operated Girouard Associates, Inc. and
Richard Girouard Associates, LLC, formerly located in New Canaan and now in Greenwich, while Mayotte was the chief financial officer of Girouard Associates and a business confidant of Girouard. .....
......Girouard and Mayotte are charged with two counts of conspiracy, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years, on each count; two counts of financial institution bribery, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, on each count; one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years; eight counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years, on each count; and two counts of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, on each count. Several of these counts also carry a maximum fine of $12 million.
Girouard Associates and RGA are charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of bank fraud and two counts of financial institution bribery. Each count carries a maximum term of probation of five years and a fine of up to $12 million.The indictment was returned on Jan. 21. Friday,
Girouard appeared before United States Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and his companies. Mayotte is expected to be arraigned next week.
O'Keefe and Aparo have been charged separately. Their cases are pending before United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford.
Feds charge Brookfield man with bank fraud, money laundering Danbury News TimesA Brookfield man was indicted Friday along with a Greenwich developer on charges of participating in a scheme to rig bids on Fleet Bank's sale of distressed loans.....
....The 15-count indictment alleges Girouard and his companies made about $6 million in profits from the scheme.
It also says Girouard and Mayotte engaged in another scheme to defraud an unwitting investor in one of the corrupt transactions with Fleet Bank (later Bank of America) out of more than $400,000, and that they conspired to launder that money.
Girouard, of Norwalk and Stuart, Fla., was a real estate developer and home builder in Connecticut who operated Girouard Associates Inc. and Richard Girouard Associates LLC, federal prosecutors said. The
companies were formerly located in New Canaan and are now in Greenwich.
Mayotte was the chief financial officer of Girouard Associates and a business confidant of Girouard, according to authorities.
The indictment alleges the two conspired with Kevin J. O'Keefe, a vice president at Fleet Bank in Hartford, and with Girouard's lawyer, Paul J. Aparo, to commit financial ....
....In return for O'Keefe's assistance, federal prosecutors said, the two men paid him and Aparo about $1.4 million.
A grand jury returned the indictment Wednesday. Girouard appeared Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna F. Martinez in Hartford and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and his companies.
O'Keefe and Aparo have been charged separately. Their cases are pending before U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric J. Glover is prosecuting the case, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating.
Developer Indicted On Bank Fraud ChargesHartford CourantAP NEW HAVEN -
A Greenwich developer and his associate have been indicted on federal charges of participating in a scheme to rig bids on Fleet Bank's sale ...
....Girouard and Mayotte also are accused of defrauding an investor of more than $400,000.
Telephone messages were left Friday for their attorneys.J. Bruce Maffeo, attorney for Girouard's companies, which also were charged, said the companies deny the charges and expect to be fully vindicated.
The former bank official, Kevin J. O'Keefe, has pleaded guilty.
Girouard's attorney, Paul Aparo, has pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud.
THE RAW GREENWICH NEWS FEED CONTINUES......
New York Post
... The Garden is unlike any other place," said MSG Network's Jill Martin, who has had her hands full with her "Gimme a Minute" celebrity halftime interviews. "Athletes love to play here, the fans love to come here and celebrities love to sit back and take in the atmosphere."
There have been some dandy sightings - Hugh Jackman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Phil Collins, Ron Howard, Jon Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, Chloe Sevigney, Kevin Bacon, Howard Stern and Freddie Prinze Jr.
Celebrity row even made heavy gossip news when Tea Leoni and David Duchovny showed up together courtside with their kids amid a Page Six report of a potential reconciliation. All the gossip magazines - "People," "US Weekly," etc. - were all over their Knicks appearance.
Howard, whose film "Frost/Nixon" was about to come out, showed up in the first row on an invite from Greenwich, Conn., neighbor Allan Houston. Soon, Howard was hanging with the newspaper photographers behind the baseline, borrowing their cameras. The Oscar-winning director was seen getting tips on how to shoot a basketball game......
COMMENT:
Every Sunday Alan Houston Attends Harvest Time Church Up On King Street And Walks Right By Where Greenwich Roundup Volunteers At The Church Coffee Bar. He Always Gives A Friendly Hello As He Ushers His Family Upstairs For The Church Service With Pastor Glen.
But He Has Never Had Time To Stop And Get A Cup Of Coffee Or A Muffin.
Which Was OK, Because He Is A Very Busy Guy.
But Now Greenwich Roundup Is Saying: "Wait A Minute. Alan Huston Has Time To Hang Out With Opie From The Andy Griffith Show, but he doesn't have time to pick up a Bagel or muffin and watch the church service on the big screen TV?
I guess Greenwich Roundup is going to invite fellow Greenwich resident Ron Howard to the Harvest Time coffee bar and give him a muffin while I show him the banged up Olympus camera that I like to use to take crappy pictures of failed Greenwich School Administrators.
Then Houston is probably going to ask for a cup of Green Mountain Coffee and say."Ron, It's good to see you here at Harvest Time."
THE RAW GREENWICH NEWS FEED ONCE AGAIN CONTINUES.....
Critics wrestle with Rell's choise of WWE CEO for state Board of Ed
Stamford Advocate
By Brian Lockhart
A few months ago, Betty Sternberg, the state's first female commissioner of education who is leaving the post of superintendent of Greenwich public schools, took a phone call from Linda McMahon, chief executive officer of Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment.
"She simply identified herself as 'a Greenwich resident,' " Sternberg recalled, adding that a secretary filled her in on McMahon's role at the WWE. "I have an open-door policy if some member of the community wants to talk to me about something educational."
Sternberg said the two spoke about the federal No Child Left Behind Act and other topics.
Then two weeks ago, when Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced the nomination of McMahon, 60, to the state Board of Education, Sternberg connected the dots.
"(McMahon) did not tell me she was being considered or was considering it," Sternberg said. "Now, of course, I put it together. . . . She was doing her homework."
McMahon's appointment, which requires legislative approval, has raised eyebrows. What, some pundits and residents have wondered, is Rell doing, asking a woman who presides over a pro-wrestling empire built on melodrama, violence and sex to set education policy and standards for Connecticut's children?. ...
...."I'm at a loss," Norwalk Schools Superintendent Salvatore Corda said when told about McMahon's background and televised exploits. "I wouldn't want to judge anybody without knowing them. If the governor made this appointment, I'm sure she had some rationale behind it. The governor's not a dumb person."
Stamford Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr said McMahon is a blank slate to him.
" I have no knowledge of Ms. McMahon and whether she'd serve the governor's purposes," Starr said. "I don't know what experiences she has in education."
McMahon has known Rell since the latter was lieutenant governor and has contributed to her campaigns.....
....Bruce Levine Mellion, head of the Norwalk teachers union, was not impressed with Rell's choice of McMahon......
....Sternberg said, adding she has not viewed the clips of McMahon's activities in the WWE ring but is not bothered by what she has heard.
"Clearly, there are all sorts of forms of entertainment," Sternberg said. "She's developed a viable, vibrant business a segment of society is interested in.".....
PLEASE SEE:
GREENWICH LOVES THE
RAW GREENWICH NEWS FEED
ON GREENWICH ROUND UP
GREENWICH ROUNDUP IS HERE TO SERVE
TOWN RESIDENTS WITH THE LATEST
NEWS ABOUT GREENWICH
HERE IS THE RAW GREENWICH
NEWS FEED FOR TUESDAY:
Greenwich Round Up Has Once Again
Been Spanning The Globe To Bring You
The Latest News About Your Town.....
M. Jodi Rell announced Saturday that she has appointed Linda McMahon of Greenwich, the WWE’s chief executive officer, to the 11-member Board of Education....
PLEASE ALSO SEE:
TheDay.Com
Business smarts aside, the governor's nominee to fill an empty seat on the state Board of Education raises questions of suitability.
Greenwich executive Linda McMahon is Greenwich executive Linda McMahon is certainly an accomplished and successful businesswoman. In fact, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell's own press release recommending Ms. McMahon for the board that establishes academic standards and sets policy for Connecticut's 149 local and 17 regional school districts, she is “widely recognized as one of the entertainment industry's top female executives.”
Our disagreement is not with Ms. McMahon's business abilities, but rather her line of work. She is the chief executive officer of the Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., parent corporation of “Raw,” “Royal Rumble,” “Smackdown” and other productions that combine wrestling and acting for bizarre entertainment.
No Connecticut school would condone the ring behavior of the WWE's biggest headliners. Some lessons a child might learn from watching a WWE event: Being a violent bully is cool. Smashing someone over the head with a metal chair won't cause serious injury. Women are sex objects and attracted to the most brutish men. It's entertaining to make fun of people....
PLEASE NOTE:
The Greenwich Time Is
Behind The Times:
The First Time That Greenwich Time Published An Aticle Concerning McMahon's Appointment Was When Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson Filed This Late Night Education Report On The 15th.....
Staff Writer
Posted: 01/15/2009 08:08:08 PM EST
State lawmakers from Greenwich say they intend to give the World Wrestling Entertainment's chief executive a fair hearing about her qualifications when considering her nomination to the state's top.
Linda McMahon, 60, a Greenwich resident and chief executive of Stamford-based WWE Inc., has been nominated by Gov. M. Jodi Rell to help set education policy as a member of the state Board of Education.
McMahon, who co-founded WWE with her husband, Vince, in 1982, has been an occasional performer on its pro wrestling shows, nationally known for their choreographed fights, melodramatic story lines and outlandish behavior by burly, tough-talking performers.
In one episode, Linda McMahon can be seen before hundreds of spectators in a wrestling ring, telling a business-suited male performer, "You're fired!" before appearing to kick him in the crotch.
Though some editorial writers have raised questions about nominating an executive whose company has been accused of promoting fictional television violence, state Rep. Lile Gibbons, R-Greenwich, said McMahon deserves a fair hearing and should be judged on her credentials in education.
Nominees to the 11-member board "should be judged by the high standards they can bring to it," Gibbons said. "I'm more than willing to have an open mind and see what she brings.".....
...."I have always had a tremendous interest in how we educate our children," McMahon said in a statement in which she said she hopes to "be an advocate for a stronger education system in our state and our country."
She declined, through a spokesman, to be interviewed Thursday.....
McMahon, whose nomination was announced by the governor last weekend, must be approved by the General Assembly's Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee before facing a legislative confirmation hearing Feb. 5.
If confirmed, her term on the board would end in March 2011.
WHEN GREENWICH ROUNDUP TYPES:
THE GREENWICH TIME LISTENS......
The Next Morning (Thursday The 15th) Greenwich Time Managing Editor Bruce Hunter Told Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson To Call Up Linda McMahon To Get The Story. Linda McMahon Wasn't Talking So The Wet Behind The Ears Gustafson Was Stuck, Because He Really Didn't Have Any Hatford Contacts.
Thursday He Started Feverishly Calling Hartford To Try And Get Greenwich's New Freshmen Legislators To Give Him A Quote.
A Clueless Fred Camillo said, "I'm sure the governor has done her homework on whether (McMahon) is qualified."
The Story Was Feveriously Thrown Up On The Web At 08:00:05 On Thursday the 15th Some And The Story Was Reposted At The Stamford Advocate At 08:08:08
Google Analytics Shows That The Greenwich Time Server Repeated Visted Greenwich Time Web Pages About Linda McMahon And The WWE All Day Thursday.
Something Tells Greenwich Roundup That The Logs To Those Hearst Newspaper Server Will Probably Resolve Down To Managing Editor Bruce Hunter And Cub Reporter Colin Gustafson.
If We Said It Once
We Said It A Thousand Times.....
When Greenwich Roundup Types:
The Greenwich Time Listens....
HOWEVER, GREENWICH BLOGGER NICK "THE SLY" FOX
PROBABLY LIKES GOVERNOR RELL"S CHOICE:
ECW Champion Jack Swagger & Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy & Finlay The Brian Kendrick vs. R-Truth Last Man Standing Match If MVP loses, Triple H loses his spot...
Both D-LO Brown and Val Venis have been released by WWE!!! More news to follow!
AND NOW ONCE AGAIN BACK TO THE RAW GREENWICH NEWS FEED:
Stamford Advocate
The Rams needed to respond
after falling to the FCIAC's deepest and most experienced team in Greenwich. New Canaan also needed to accomplish this task ...
ROY-HART: Superintendent candidate Manko looking for next challenge Union-Sun & Journal... out of Colgate University's master's of arts in teaching degree program.
Teaching secondary social studies in Greenwich, Conn., Manko landed a full-time job with the district. That led to acceptance into Syracuse University's Maxwell School of ...
Norwalk Advocate
By Jesse Quinlan The ball was in the hands of the game's leading scorer,
just as the Greenwich High School girls basketball team had hoped for. ...
CAKE: a Mid Career Retrospective of Sculptor and Visual Artist Don... PRESS RELEASE PR.com... in 1989.
His success and many prestigious commissions (including the bust of William Finch at Bush Holly House in Greenwich, CT) have not stopped Desper from wading into new modes of creative expression. With the addition of poetry to his ...
The Choate News, CT
Under his leadership the girls played to a second place finish in the New England Championship, finishing behind only perennial powerhouse Greenwich Academy ...
Falling Asset Values, Job Losses Make Breaking Up Harder to Do for Couples Bloomberg... alimony by claiming their plunge in fortunes isna t short-lived, said
Cynthia Hartwell , a divorce lawyer in Greenwich, Connecticut. Good Time a oeIf the breadwinner or your employer has been affected by the downturn, it is a good time to get ...
Ridgefield Press
Cara Lockwood and Rachel Morrison scored goals as the Ridgefield High girls hockey team avenged an early season loss with a 2-1 win over host Greenwich on ...
Linda Y. Tsai weds Richard C. WeinhartIndependent Press
She is an equity analyst at MKM Partners, a securities trading and research firm in Greenwich, Conn. She graduated from Barnard College and received an MBA ...
The Keene Sentinel, NH
... as a way to latch on to the Super Bowl buzz,” says Jack Trout, president of Trout & Partners, a marketing-strategy firm in Old Greenwich, Conn. ...
Innovations in the Third Dimension: Sculpture of Our Time at The Bruce Museum
Art Daily
The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, showcases forty-five masterpieces of modern sculpture in its major winter exhibition, Innovations in the Third Dimension: Sculpture of Our Time, illustrating how ...
Report: Tax revenue up $77.5M from year ago
Norwalk Advocate
There is a candle of hope out there in this ill economy, one retailer said Thursday, after the state reported a $77.5 million increase in sales and use taxes that business collected in December.
The state Department of Revenue Services' monthly tax revenue report showed Connecticut businesses collected $355.6 million from retail and other sales and rentals in December 2008, compared with $278.1 million a year earlier.
Collections were, however, down $47.5 million for the period of July 1 through Dec. 31, 2008, from the same period in 2007, the department said. Connecticut's fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
In a monthly report on retail and food services released Jan. 14, the U.S. Census Bureau said national retail and food services sales amounted to $343 billion in December 2008, compared to $380 billion in December 2007. This is a drop of 2.7 percent nationally.
"We've been doing good," Jill Leonard Tavallo, a spokeswoman for Norwalk-based retailer Stew Leonard's, said Thursday. "Thank God people have to eat."
But Tavallo said this doesn't mean times are easy. "We notice the way customers buy has changed, but we haven't noticed a drop in our average sales."
She said people still are shopping at Stew's and the store ended up coming out ahead for 2008. The company is privately held and does not disclose sales figures. As a grocer, most of what Stew's sells is not subject to sales tax, including food for human consumption. ....
....Ansonia: $82.5 million, -1.4 percent Bridgeport: $1.1 billion, +15 percent Danbury: $4.4 billion, +171 percent* Greenwich: $1.2 billion, +5.1 percent ...
From small town to big screen
Waterbury Republican American
David is an auto enthusiast and his friend, Nick Pagani of Greenwich, is a classic car collector who frequently supplies movie studios with old vehicles. ...
Will Apple sue Palm over Pre?
DesignLines
... think the software is the key ingredient," he added. Brian Marshall, a financial analyst with Broadpoint.AmTech (Greenwich, Conn.) said he took Cook's response as a shot across Palm's bow. "That's who they seem to have in their sights," Marshall ...
Creditors Sue Archway Owner
Wall Street Journal
... committee is now resorting to baseless claims in a 'kitchen sink' filing at the 11th hour," said a representative of Catterton, of Greenwich, Conn. ...
Thirty-Year Treasuries Post Biggest Weekly Loss Since 1987 on Glut Concern
Bloomberg
... $62.5 billion in 10-year duration equivalents, according to David Ader , head of U.S. interest-rate strategy at Greenwich, Connecticut-based RBS Greenwich Capital Markets, another primary dealer. a oeWea re facing the largest sale of 10-year ...
Greenwich school takes CPR to heart
Stamford Advocate
But some 55 Greenwich Country Day School staff and faculty members lived down that reputation Friday during a mandatory CPR certification course. ...
Meet the New Majority, Same As the Old Majority
AmSpec Blog
... Whites than winning more black and Hispanic votes. They want Republicans to once again be able to carry places like Greenwich, Connecticut and Lincoln, Massachusetts.
Wilton instruments find new home
The Hour, CT
Wilton High School band director Frank "Chip" Gawle said Greenwich Music, Norwalk Music and Goldie and Libro Music Center in New Haven have agreed to help ...
ProSales Honors Top Dealers at IBS Event
Tools of the Trade
... in the industry. The 2008 Excellence Awards winners, locations, and categories are: Interstate + Lakeland Lumber, Greenwich, Conn. / Showroom Millwork Masters, Keene, N.H. / Marketing Construction Supply, Farmington, N.M. / Technology TW Perry's ...
Religion briefs
Stamford Advocate
GREENWICH -- Tony Campolo, a nationally known pastor, sociologist, social activist, author and commentator, will discuss "Faith and the Future of the ...
Hicks to Resign from United Rentals Board; Three New Directors Elected
Rental Equipment Register
... of the board. Wayland has worked tirelessly to advance our company, to the great benefit of all our stakeholders.' Greenwich, Conn.-based United Rentals is No. 1 on the RER 100.
Bulletin Board
Stamford Advocate
Girls Incorporated seeks teen girls ages 14-18 from the Greenwich area to participate in the National Corporate Camp for Entrepreneurs Competition. ...
Economy turning second homes into rental properties
International Herald Tribune
... "Now the rate of sales has gone way down." Many of HomeAway's new clients are like Debra and Bill Finerman of Greenwich, Connecticut, who in 2007 paid 800,000, or about $1 million at the time, for a two-bedroom apartment near the Seine in the Sixth ...
Community almanac
Stamford Advocate
LUNCH BUNCH For Greenwich residents older than 55 with a senior ID: four-course meal at Greenwich Hospital cafeteria, noon to 2 pm Saturday for $4.50.
22 CT and NY music students vie for GBS award
Connecticut Post
Municipalities represented in this year's competition are: Bridgeport, Greenwich, New Canaan, Orange, Easton and Milford, each with one candidate; ...
================================================================
Please send your comments to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com or click on the comments link at the end of this post.
Say Cheese: Greenwich, April 9, 2005. Andrew Kissel is seen at Epona Stables in Greenwich, Conn. in an April 9, 2005 photo. The driver of slain Greenwich real estate developer Andrew Kissel and another man have been charged in his 2006 murder, police said Saturday (The Greenwich Time/AP Photo)
The Latest From The Greenwich Citizen .....
