Greenwich News Reports:
Sleeping With The Stars
Hartford Courant
In 2003, Schwartz paid $10.4 million for a 17-room, 11000-square-foot mansion on 7 acres in Greenwich, and he also owns a condo in Edwards, Colo. ...
Minnesota team dines out in Stamford
Stamford Advocate - Stamford,CT
Greenwich resident and Thirteen/WNET President Emeritus William Baker will be honored for his contributions to public television and the New York ...
Jeff Wilpon won't rest until Amazin' mission is complete
It's five o'clock in the morning in Greenwich, Conn., the land of high net worth and billion-dollar hedge funds, and inside one of these tony, new-money homes, a creature of habit is already stirring — and beginning to sweat.
Jeff Wilpon, 46, one of the most vilified New York City sports figures in recent years but who has more and more become the face of Mets' ownership, is pedaling furiously on his stationary bike, something he does for an hour every day.
It's said by those who know Wilpon best that from this point on he won't come to anything resembling a complete stop until, incredibly, around 10 at night, moving steadily throughout his day like some Pac-Man gobbling up everything in his path, seemingly checking off one item after the next — in exact order, no less — from a carefully-prepared, if not overly ambitious list ...
"I'm not in this," he once said without a twitch of doubt, when the world was against him at the beginning, "not to achieve my goal."
From the time he entered our consciousness, circa 2001, Jeff Wilpon, who "politely" declined to be interviewed for this story, appeared to us as nothing but a poster boy of nepotism, thrust by his dad into the Mets' organization despite not having on his resume a sliver of hardball management experience. Combine that with his arrival coinciding with the team's sudden descent into oblivion, eventually straight to the bottom of the National League East, and it made for a situation that was no-win from the get-go, where he might as well as had a "Kick Me!" sign taped on his back.
In fact, it took little time for one local columnist to playfully dub him Paris Wilpon, conjuring an unseemly image of a spoiled, empty-headed dolt running around out of control on nothing but unearned money, whose only claim to fame was being an heir to a family fortune.
It didn't help that whatever suspicions people had about Jeff's substance were made that much worse by the fear and loathing of his out-of-the-gate, rough-edged style. To those within the inner sanctum of Metland, he was seen early on, according to sources and published accounts, as something of a pugnacious punk, someone who'd only remove the silver spoon born in his mouth to rap people over the head with it: snooty, abrasive, impatient, short-tempered, unreasonable and a bully over the powerless, who would go so far as to fire an usher for committing the egregious sin of smoking a cigarette on the job.
One revealing story goes back to 2003, Jeff's first full season as COO. The Mets had just finished playing a series against the Expos in Puerto Rico, and they were returning on the team charter. First, however, they needed to go through security on the tarmac, forced to stand on this long, snaking line. It was taking an eternity, too. Jeff, who had stayed behind while his father flew out a day earlier on a private plane, suddenly showed up, taking his place in the back. But after waiting for just a half-minute, he released this snort of an exasperated sigh, lifted up his luggage with a snap, and simply bolted to the front, passing a string of stunned expressions — and forever-altered perceptions.
"It was like, 'I'm more important than everybody else,'" said one eyewitness.
It's these kinds of ugly first impressions that linger to this day, remaining uncomfortably under the surface...
..."I think it was Jeff's lack of experience that made him do some things that rubbed people the wrong way," said one high-level former employee who asked for anonymity. "Overall, I think his intentions were good. He was just trying to get the team going in the right direction. But at times, he didn't come across that way. I think because he's such a highly competitive guy that sometimes it was like he wanted to prove to people that he deserved to be there in that job."
"George Steinbrenner on training wheels," is what the whispers have always said about Jeff, appearing far more like George's boy than Fred's.
"Jeff is regimented, extremely demanding and a perfectionist," Browne said. "He wants to win on the field, he wants to win in business, and he's committed to always being better — that is, at everything, even his golf game. Like last summer, while he was on vacation, he e-mailed me that he hit a 68, which was the first time he had ever broken 70. But what I remember most about that e-mail is that after briefly praising himself for that 68, he wrote — mind you, in the same sentence — about how upset he was for the two shots he blew that would've given him a 66. I mean, he couldn't be happy with himself for more than a split second."....
..."He's changed," Horwitz claimed. "He's mellowed."
"I'll say this," said one employee, "when the Mets were going through their collapse in those last couple of weeks, Jeff not only didn't show any strain but still took the time to come up to me, pat me on the back, tell me I was doing a good job and even asked about my family."
This is not to say, of course, that Jeff Wilpon has magically transformed, but maybe, just maybe, he's evolved a few degrees from those initial Met years, when he was someone so shockingly devoid of social skills that people around him couldn't believe he was related to the regal man who brought him into being.
When you look at the father and son, you quickly see the striking physical resemblance smack in the middle of their faces: that long, thin, upturned nose. But that's where any kind of similarity seems to begin and end. While Fred's lips curl easily into an engaging smile, Jeff's don't, only occasionally managing something akin to a forced grin. While Fred's eyes twinkle, Jeff's barely blink, looking all business, caught in deep thought while possibly pondering the next thing on his agenda. And while Fred exudes a polished elegance and fatherly warmth, as well as being someone famously judicious with his words, Jeff appears raw, impulsive and a bit on the chilly side.
"Jeff doesn't dwell on the emotions (of the job)," said Howard. Like with e-mails — "He prefers getting shorter ones," he said, "and he doesn't like to get the gratuitous, 'OK, thanks,' type of responses. He prefers just, 'Got it. Done.' And that's the end of the chain."...
...By 10, Jeff was already carrying around homemade business cards identifying himself as Sterling Equities' "Director of Construction." It was around 15 years later, in 1986, that his dad made him the company's executive vice president — but not before Fred made his son pay his dues with another builder and three years after, as a catcher, Jeff had an eye-blink of a fling at professional baseball, drafted by the Expos (which, rumor has it, was done as a favor to Fred) and spending a brief time with Class-A Jamestown of the New York-Penn League (though his name reportedly doesn't appear in the team's statistics for that season).What Jeff did last September, especially, was nothing like his dad but straight out of the George Steinbrenner playbook.
Not only did he lower the boom at the worst of times — telling SI.com in the midst of his team balancing perilously on the tipping point: "I'm disappointed with the way the team is performing overall, and that's everyone, top to bottom. I'm disappointed in Omar (Minaya, the general manager), Willie (Randolph), the players ... that's everyone. We shouldn't be in this position," — but once the season ended, reminiscent of Steinbrenner's apology to New York City after the Yankees tanked in the 1981 World Series to the Dodgers, Jeff fired off a letter via e-mail to all Mets season-ticket holders, expressing bitter disappointment over what had happened, conceding they, the fans, indeed deserved much better and promising to fix whatever was wrong.
That attempt at a fix came just days before spring training — in the form of, arguably, the best pitcher in the game, Johan Santana — and Jeff did it exactly the way the Boss in his heyday used to: by first trading away a slew of prospects, then closing the deal with a man-to-man chat and flipping open that fat checkbook of his....
Age: 46
Resides: Greenwich, Conn.
Job: Senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, Mets
Responsibilities: Manages team's business and baseball operations.
Other experience
• Senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, Brooklyn Cyclones
• Executive vice president, Sterling Equities
• Board of directors, New York Hall of Science; NYC & Co.; Greenwich Country Day School; Association for a Better New York
Our two-part series looks at
the men who are emerging from their fathers' shadows as the key players in the management of New York's pro baseball teams.
Today: Mets' Jeff Wilpon
Tomorrow: Yankees' Hank Steinbrenner
These stories will be archived at recordonline.com/sports.
CBS News legal analyst Mickey Sherman
Recollections about lawyers, guns and money make for anecdotal book
I'd really like to meet the rival who beat out Mickey Sherman for high school class clown, because Sherman is a really funny guy.
He's also the scum of the earth to those who despise criminal defense lawyers as protectors of the antisocial rabble who threaten us all.
But in How Can You Defend Those People? Sherman explains, in an often humorous way, what motivates those like him who defend the presumably guilty.
Many times 'those people' aren't always who we think they are. He has seen people who considered him a disgusting parasite one day show up at his office door the next, checkbook in hand.
'This metamorphosis generally occurs precisely 10 minutes after their son or daughter gets arrested,' Sherman relates.
He covers his own metamorphosis from the 'slums' of Greenwich, Conn., and a 'solid C' academic career to life as a 'C list celebrity.'
But mostly the reader gets an anecdote-filled primer on our criminal justice system and the way it is covered by the media from one of the country's most recognizable lawyers, thanks to his being the go-to legal expert for an alphabet soup of cable and network television programs.
Sherman's legal career began as a public defender. It's a profession he believes is unfairly maligned.
'Even my mother rarely took my calls,' he writes of those days.
He was also a prosecutor for four years and mildly successful TV game show contestant (winning $17,000 and all kinds of prizes) before becoming a 'real lawyer.'
'You can't buy a house in Fairfield County, for $17,000 and all kinds of stuff,' he points out.
Having spent some time with him a few years ago when he was involved in a cold-case homicide in Olathe, I would observe that the personality he displays on television is the same in a courthouse lobby, over dinner and drinks or in a book.
But behind the façade of disarming humor, Sherman stands out as someone who takes what he does very seriously. Like any good lawyer, he knows that the decisions he makes have an impact on the lives of real people -- even if they are people who bring trouble on themselves.
'People do stupid or bad things,' Sherman writes. 'People like me are there to clean up the mess, or at least, to do our best to minimize how their conduct will impact the rest of their lives.'
A defense attorney has an absolute duty to do everything within ethical bounds to help his client, but sometimes those bounds are not always well-defined.
Sherman relates one dilemma when a client confessed to him that he had stashed a gun in the back seat of a police car. The officer who had arrested the man for burglary had missed the gun when he searched Sherman's client. The gun, fully loaded, had been taken in another burglary police knew nothing about.
Risking an ethical complaint but afraid that an unsuspecting police officer could be at risk, Sherman told an officer he trusted about the gun. The officer promised that his client would not face additional charges.
'He thanked me, and I went back home, wondering what it was going to be like applying for a job in advertising after my disbarment,' Sherman says.
But when his client went to court, nothing was mentioned about the gun.
Sherman points out how much respect he has for the judges, defense lawyers, police officers and prosecutors who strive to do the right thing, no matter which side of the system they toil on.
And despite the serious nature of what they do, Sherman proves you can still have fun doing it.
Appearing with a client before a tough judge, he asked for a continuance to research an issue. The judge asked what it was.
'Your vacation schedule, your honor,' Sherman said.
The request was granted.
How Can You Defend Those People? by Mickey Sherman (240 pages; the Lyons Press; $24.95)
The Greenwich Blues Pee Wee Ice Hockey TeamGreenwich Sports News Reports:
Via Greenwich Post
Greenwich to put a little ‘Blues’ in Garden State
Greenwich Post - Greenwich,CT
For the first time in 35 years, the Greenwich Blues Pee Wee ice hockey team will be competing at the national level. After beating Mid-Fairfield in the regional tournament, the Blues will represent the Northeast as they play the Wisconsin Fire on Wednesday.
“I don’t have kids, so I just enjoy giving back to a sport that’s been very gracious to me,” Blues head coach Scott Raymond said. “It’s so rewarding to see these kids do something I was able to do because it’s one of the reasons I do it.”
In the state finals, the Mid-Fairfield hockey team took the Connecticut championship, beating the Blues 4-1. Despite the loss, the top two teams in Connecticut automatically represent the state in the Tier I New England Regional Championship, which meant Greenwich could look for redemption at the regional level.
With a bitter taste still in their mouths, Greenwich came roaring back in the New England tourney, which took place in Hartford earlier in the month. During the tournament, the Blues plowed through their opponents in the preliminaries, beating Rhode Island 6-0 and Vermont 10-3, and tying New Hampshire 3-3.
In the championship round of the tournament, Greenwich upended the Edgewood Hawks of Rhode Island 5-1 during the semifinals and gained a rematch against Mid-Fairfield. This time around it was the Greenwich Blues that came away with a 4-1 victory and will represent New England in the USA Hockey Tier I Pee Wee National Championship.
Wednesday’s 12-year-old national championship tournament will take place in Hackensack, N.J., at the Ice House Arena. Greenwich will see action at 9:45 a.m. when they battle the Wisconsin Fire, the No. 5 team in the country. Thursday at noon, the Blues are back in action when they face off against Team Maryland, the 10th best team in the country. ...
Greenwich golf teams are eager to tee off this season
Greenwich Post - Greenwich,CT
Someday, the Greenwich High girls golf program hopes to be — pardon the pun — on a “par” with the GHS boys team. The Cardinals won the FCIAC championship in ...
Pleasing season GHS cagers improve their record
Greenwich Post - Greenwich,CT
It’s kind of a strange feeling for head coach Bill Brehm and the Greenwich High School boys basketball team. On one hand, this was a season that saw some ...
Greenwich Republicans and Democrats are already maneuvering behind the scenes to see how they can work the state's new system of funding of campaigns with taxpayer dollars to their advantage. Full Story Arrests in slaying boost police morale The arrests of two men in the 2006 slaying of Andrew Kissel has given police the type of infusion of energy and confidence that comes with a difficult job done well, Chief David Ridberg said. Full Story NORWALK -- Police Officer Matthew Morelli apparently staged his death in a South Norwalk church parking lot a week ago Friday to make it look as if he were the victim of a homicide while on duty, police and state sources said. Full Story Rell readies tax cap proposal HARTFORD -- It's a typical cart-before-the-horse situation. In this case, the horse is a bipartisan committee having a hard time finding common ground on tax policy. Full Story When Preston Stuart took his swing during a croquet match against Blair Brickman, the ball landed too close to the wicket, and he had to stop the game. Full Story Prosecutors keep witnesses' names sealed STAMFORD -- Prosecutors want to keep secret the identifies of five key witnesses against the cousins accused in the slaying of convicted Greenwich real estate developer Andrew Kissel, according to court papers filed late Friday. Full Story STAMFORD -- The number of passenger rail cars on the New Haven Line will grow by 40 percent with the arrival of new M8 cars starting next year, officials said last week, providing the first firm details on how much the new rail cars will increase capacity on the crowded commuter line. Full Story Social services to get $50G back The Board of Estimate and Taxation has voted to put $50,000 back into the Department of Social Services budget to help children at risk. Full Story North Mianus student Melanie Pfetch, 10, was helping pre-school and kindergarten students make Italian masquerade masks yesterday. Full Story | |
Meet the super-rich, the dysfunctional class threatening American values.
For decades, social scientists, policy wonks, and politicians have studied and debated what's come to be known as the "culture of poverty." The consensus: A group of Americans is set apart from the mainstream by geography, class, and income. Its members adhere to norms that don't apply to the rest of society and engage in self-destructive behavior that imposes significant costs on the nation at large. The culture of poverty has made for potent politics (remember Ronald Reagan's fictitious welfare queen?) and spawned best-selling polemics from the right (Charles Murray) to the left (Jonathan Kozol).
We don't hear as much about the culture of poverty these days. Perhaps it's because the market turmoil is making us all feel a little poorer. Or perhaps it's because a highly visible group is now exhibiting all the outward appearances of the underclass: the overclass....
Critics point to a pervasive sense of victimhood in the underclass. But listen to what Bear Stearns CEO Alan Schwartz told the troops after his firm succumbed to wounds that were almost entirely self-inflicted. "We here are a collective victim of violence," he said. Yep, just another case of the Man keeping the Man down.
Conservative critics constantly carp that the culture of poverty has encouraged a sense of dependency on Washington. Of course, in recent months, the bureaucracy—the Federal Reserve, the Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac—has generally ignored the struggles of poor homeowners. Yet it vaulted into action to save the bankers from their own disastrous bets. When Bear Stearns, the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, approached insolvency, the Feds orchestrated JPMorgan's acquisition of it....
...The overclass is better connected, and it can cause more damage. "Poor inner-city kids selling drugs to suburban kids can harm people," Mayer says. "But financial markets can bring thousands and thousands of people to ruin."
The pernicious culture of affluence merits further study. When self-proclaimed rogue sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh sought to learn about the culture of poverty, he hung out in Chicago's notorious Robert Taylor Homes and befriended drug dealers. The tale is chronicled in his fascinating book Gang Leader for a Day. If he really wants to understand the workings of a dysfunctional class that's threatening American values and taxing national resources, Venkatesh, who teaches at Columbia, should move into a co-op on the Upper East Side and get a job on Morgan Stanley's trading desk. He can call his next book Hedge-Fund Manager for a Day.
Is VON Creator PulverMedia Dot Gone?
Pulver Media, the New York-based company well known for VON, the trade shows for the VoIP industry and a magazine with the same name might be shutting down, joining the dot.gone club, according to sources.
TICC Capital Group, a Greenwich, CT-based investment group that trades publicly on the NASDAQ stock exchange had invested $11 million in Pulver Media in June 2007. The investment was senior secured notes with warrants, i.e. debt.
PS. For only 63 cents a week from now until election day, you can help turn the page on Chris Shays. Contribute before the reporting deadline on Monday night at midnight.
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"I felt there was a hemorrhaging, a need to develop relations with management, to work toward some of these goals," he said.
Tesei addressed those goals before an open forum at the Cos Cob Library on his 100th day (March 12) since taking office. He chose to give his review of those 100 days in his own neighborhood of Cos Cob where he lives with his wife Jill and toddler daughter Caroline...
NOW LISTEN UP BETTY "YOU CAN TRUST ME" STERNBERG:
Their investigative trail began early on April 3, 2006 after movers discovered Andrew Kissel's body in the basement of his rented mansion. He was bound hand and foot and had been stabbed repeatedly.
Kissel, who Ridberg described as a drug user at the time of his death, was facing a jail sentence for state and federal charges for swindling and defrauding banks and financial institutions in the multi-millions. His financial crimes had put before police a hefty number of defrauded, potential suspects...
..."It's ridiculous," said Urso, "to think this type of guy would have the backbone to kill himself for his children or that he would do so in such a painful, gruesome manner."...
Greenwich At NightGreenwich Blogs Post:
Today's photo posting
you're in the right place - http://petesimmons.net/
Nearly paralyzed with pain, Armin Schaper arrived at neurosurgeon Dr. Amory Fiore's office in Greenwich unable to get out of the car. Full Story In town Police forum to address teen drinking Greenwich police youth officer Detective Christy Girard will moderate a community briefing dubbed "Take it Back" on youth and alcohol at 7 p. Full Story Parking enforcement officers have been giving out more than tickets recently in downtown Greenwich. For the past two weeks, they have been handing out plastic cards embedded with a chip that shoppers and other would-be users can use to pay to park at a growing number of meters in the central business district. Full Story Judge delays jail time for Fay The priest convicted of stealing $1 million from his Darien church does not have to report to prison for another seven weeks, a federal judge has ruled. Full Story STAMFORD -- A city man is hospitalized with what may be a fractured skull after smacking his head against a curb during a brawl downtown Thursday, police said. Full Story Virgin Atlantic offers NORWALK -- Some Virgin Atlantic Airways customers will soon get a "green" ride to the airport. Late this year, the Norwalk-based airline plans to roll out zero-emissions hydrogen fuel cell cars that can transport business-class passengers to New York airports, the company announced yesterday. Full Story HARTFORD -- The chief operating officer of Blue Sky Studios Inc. was at the capitol yesterday lobbying lawmakers to support millions of dollars worth of financial incentives to move the company to Greenwich. Full Story Benoit to return to work Seven months after being suspended, Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal Joseph Benoit will return to his old job on Monday, abandoning an earlier effort to fire the 34-year-department veteran for poor performance, town officials said yesterday. Full Story The former church pastor sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $1 million from his Darien parish will die there if he's not allowed to complete a clinical trial for a new cancer drug, his attorney said this week. Full Story Panel votes to extend higher conveyance tax HARTFORD -- A legislative committee yesterday voted 29-21 to extend higher real estate conveyance tax rates for two years with the potential of exempting financially strapped homeowners. Full Story Some seniors want the Board of Education to reconsider taking over Western Greenwich Civic Center for use as a temporary home for displaced Hamilton Avenue or Glenville school students. Full Story | |
An explosion rips through New York City's Grand Central Station one morning, destroying the train Karen Friedman's husband, a successful hedge fund manager, is riding in to work. Days later, with many bodies still unidentifiable, Karen resigns herself to the awful truth: her husband of eighteen years is dead.
On that same day, a suspicious hit-and-run accident leaves a young man dead in Karen's hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. Ty Hauck, a detective, becomes emotionally caught up in the case and finds a clue that shockingly connects the two seemingly unrelated events.
Months later, two men show up at Karen's home digging into Charles's business dealings. Hundreds of millions of dollars are missing—and the trail points squarely to Charles. With doubt suddenly cast on everything she has ever known, Karen, with Hauck, steps into a widening storm of hedge fund losses, international scams, and murder. And as the investigations converge, these two strangers touched by tragedy are pulled into a deepening relationship and unwittingly open the door to a twisted—and deadly—conspiracy.
With its breakneck pacing, plentiful twists, compelling characters, and abundant heart, The Dark Tide confirms Andrew Gross's place as a master storyteller at the top of his game.
About the AuthorAndrew Gross is the author of the New York Times and international bestseller The Blue Zone and coauthor of five number one bestselling novels with James Patterson. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn. They have three children.
Many of those parents had attended a special meeting the Board of Education held Wednesday night specifically to address their concerns, and last night they were back with more questions and criticism.
Many said they were suspicious that school officials weren't telling them everything about the health risks their children faced from the mold that forced the school to be evacuated several weeks ago....
