Date: Fri 28-Feb-1997

By ANDY GOROSKO

Published: Aug 11, 1999 12:00 am

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Richard-Crafts-tax-town

Full Text:

Town Starts Tax Foreclosure On Richard Crafts' Property

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The town has started tax foreclosure proceedings against Richard B. Crafts,

the local man convicted of murdering his wife, Helle, and then putting her

remains through a woodchipper to destroy the evidence of her 1986 death.

In an action filed in Danbury Superior Court, the town seeks to take

possession of property at 49-53 Currituck Road that Mr Crafts owned. Property

taxes on the 3.6-acre lot have not been paid for more than eight years. The

land is Lot 7 in the Meadow Lark Hills subdivision.

Through the lawsuit, the town is seeking more than $15,800 in back taxes,

interest charges, and lien fees for the fiscal years 1988-89 through 1995-96

inclusive.

The lawsuit doesn't address Mr Crafts' delinquent taxes for the current fiscal

year for technical reasons, Tax Collector Carol Mahoney said Wednesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Mr Crafts owed the town a total of more than $17,200

in back taxes, interest charges and lien fees on the Currituck Road property.

While a Newtown resident, Mr Crafts lived at a different property on Newfield

Lane.

Mr Crafts, a former airline pilot, currently is incarcerated at McDougall

Correctional Institution, a state prison in Suffield. He is serving a 50-year

term stemming from his 1989 conviction for the murder of his wife.

Named as co-defendant in the foreclosure proceeding is Lucretia Crafts of

Florida, who is Mr Crafts' mother. Also named as co-defendants are the state

and federal attorney generals.

Through the suit, the town also is seeking to recover its attorneys' fees and

costs in bringing the matter to court.

Mrs Mahoney said the town has waited until now to pursue a tax foreclosure

because it had been seeking to work out some payment arrangement with the

Crafts family.

The town's legal action requires that the court be informed by March 11 who

will be representing Mr Crafts in the tax foreclosure matter. Attorney Monte

Frank of Cohen and Wolf, PC, of Danbury is representing the town in the legal

action.

In January, a New Haven Superior Court judge dismissed Mr Crafts' 1994 appeal

of his 1989 conviction. Through the appeal, Mr Crafts had been seeking a new

trial in an effort to overturn the conviction.

In the 1994 appeal, Mr Crafts alleged that a public defender had not properly

represented him in a 1993 appeal before the state Supreme Court that was

denied.

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Well that is some spin. The Democrats have a super majority on the LC and passed the Education Budget without serious consideration of if the voters could afford the multi million dollar increase. "Was the request justified?" rather than "is this needed?" and "can the voters shoulder yet another large increase?" The voters rightly sent it back. Then for some reason all the discussion around reductions to the increase seemed to be coming from the classroom, rather than administration and overhead costs. Is this a coercive tactic to manipulate parents into supporting the budget like tacit threat of cutting freshman sports was two years ago? Who believes the Democrats did not caucus privately before the meeting and came in with a number already worked out? This is the Dems budget, they own it.

Education Cuts: Who Voted For What

I think it is important that we do not villainize every black box seen around a home, business, farm, or municipal property. A black exterior station does not always mean rat poison is being used. These stations can hold a number of different products, including monitoring blocks, snap traps, non-toxic bait, anti-tick bait stations, organic salt- or cornmeal-based control products, and newer fertility-control approaches intended to reduce rodent populations without traditional poisons. The better conversation, in my opinion, is not simply “black boxes are bad,” but rather: what is inside them, who is maintaining them, and whether the rodent issue is being managed responsibly. Exclusion, sanitation, trapping, habitat reduction, and careful monitoring should all be part of a responsible IPM strategy. To be fair, on my own property I do use rodenticides, including Bromethalin and Bromadiolone, in secured bait stations. But that is a choice I make for my property, based on my circumstances and the risk I am trying to manage. I also believe property owners should understand the tradeoffs and be encouraged to use the least harmful effective method whenever possible. I support protecting Newtown’s wildlife. I also support giving residents accurate information and not assuming that every black box represents reckless or unsafe pest control. The goal should be responsible rodent management, not fear of the box itself.

Discusses Policy Against Rodenticides

Debora, thank you! I accidentally doubled the project prices by adding the bond to the appropriation. Thank you so much for catching that and pointing it out. With the corrected numbers, the voters approved a combined $1.32 million for a salt shed ($600k) and library pavement ($720k), while rejecting the $1.12 million replacement turf. Regarding the 80s, I truly respect the hurdle of 14% mortgage rates. My point is simply that the math has shifted: in 1980, while the rates were higher, the price of a home relative to earnings was significantly lower. We are facing a different, but equally crushing, financial wall. Ultimately, it is disheartening that voters who recognized safe sidewalks and parking lots as essential, dismissed a playing field in the exact same condition. The turf has passed its life cycle and is just as much of a liability as the library’s pavement, the only difference is that this safety concern affects thousands of children who, coincidentally, cannot vote. These are apples-to-apples needs. I was hopeful our community would agree that all Newtown residents deserve safe conditions, regardless of which facility they utilize. Again, I would be remiss not to mention that when 82% of residents don’t show up, we have to deal with the interests of those who did. Hopefully, the next referendum will have a bigger turnout.

The ‘Me’ Generation

Thanks for the reply. I meant the numbers you presented in your letter. I found one place where other numbers were listed: https://www.newtownbee.com/04232026/get-out-and-vote-on-the-2026-27-proposed-municipal-and-school-budgets/?q=\\\%22advisory%20questions\\\%22. In that article, the numbers were cited as: Treadwell field: $1,125,000 Library: $720,000 Salt Storage: $600,000 As one who started out in the early 80's when inflation was double digits, my 1985 mortgage rate was 14%, and child care costs were comparable (in present value), I shared your grief but never considered the voters ironic or shameful. PS. I agree college tuition is ridiculous. Thankfully, universities are offering (or considering) waiving all or most tuition for middle class families (upwards of $200,000 incomes). Hopefully, they'll also reconsider their need for those funds in the first place.

Sure! Child care costs: https://www.ffyf.org/2022/10/13/data-child-care-prices-continue-to-rise-ahead-of-midterm-elections-outpacing-inflation/ (also from 2021-2025 we had 2 children in a local daycare in Newtown and it cost us $3200 a month, so that's a number I am very familiar with) Home price / median price vs income source: https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/home-price-income-ratios Tuition increase vs inflation: https://feed.georgetown.edu/access-affordability/noting-a-decline-in-middle-class-students-colleges-provide-more-aid/ Hope this helps :)

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Date: Fri 28-Feb-1997

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