Troopers Charged With Harassing Dispatcher

SOUTHBURY (AP) –– Two state troopers were arrested Tuesday on charges they harassed a dispatcher in the Southbury barracks by signing her up for more than a dozen magazine subscriptions.

Troopers David Febbraio, 29, of Danbury, and Brian Stas, 30, of Waterbury, are charged with several counts of harassment.

“We have zero tolerance for any type of activity like this,” Lt Dale Hourigan, commander of Troop A in Southbury, told the Republican-American of Waterbury.

The troopers allegedly subscribed to 16 magazines, including Playboy, Men’s Fitness, and Cosmo Girl, using the 54-year-old dispatcher’s home address in New Milford. Some of the magazines, which were not paid for, were addressed to “Gimpy.”

The dispatcher is overweight and handicapped, the newspaper reported.

The two men denied subscribing to the magazines, according to court documents, but detectives showed them fingerprints lifted from the subscription cards that matched those in their personnel files.

“The state paid to have that done?” Febbraio allegedly responded.

Febbraio told investigators that it was a practical joke that got out of hand. He said he regretted the prank.

He was accused of eight counts of harassment. Stas is charged with four counts. If convicted, they face up to 90 days in jail on each count, and a $500 fine.

Both troopers are on paid administrative leave, working desk jobs at state police headquarters in Middletown, said Trooper Roger Beaupre, a state police spokesman.

They were released on a promise to appear October 20 in Bantam Superior Court in Litchfield.