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TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2011 FINAL 75¢

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HOME Maia proclaims innocence

FINALE
A WIN TONIGHT
Former Connelly staffer facing 5 tax charges in federal court
BY JONATHAN SHUGARTS
AND MAYA REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
MOORE WILL WATERBURY — A former
inspector for the Waterbury
FINISH CAREER State’s Attorney’s Office plead-
PERFECT AT ed innocent to federal tax eva-
sion charges Monday, while the
HOME, PAGE 1C man who he says prepared his
tax returns was arrested early
bury, filled out the tax returns
of thousands of taxpayers, but
now faces federal charges be-
cause the government claims
some of those returns were
fraudulent. The loss in revenue
to the government could be
“several million” dollars, ac-
cording to a prosecutor.
On the same day that federal
and former inspector for re-
tired State’s Attorney John A.
Connelly, pleaded not guilty to
five federal tax crimes in a
Hartford federal courthouse.
Maia, 71, was indicted last
month after authorities claimed
he submitted tax deductions for
a fictitious music business and
claimed phony charitable con- JONATHAN SHUGARTS REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

Monday morning. authorities unsealed a 16-count tributions between 2005 and Thomas Thorndike, right,
According to a federal prose- indictment against Thorndike 2008. Authorities claim he leaves U.S. District Court in

LET THE KIDS PRACTICE! cutor, Thomas Thorndike, a tax

preparer formerly of Wood-
in Bridgeport, John “Pudgie”
Maia, a retired city detective See TAXES, Page 8A
Bridgeport on Monday with his
attorney, Andrew Bowman.
JOE PALLADINO SAYS IT’S TOO
BAD THE RULES FOR HIGH SCHOOL
SPORTS AREN’T AS FLEXIBLE AS
MOTHER NATURE, PAGE 1C
IT AIN’T OVER TILL IT’S OVER
Chase Avenue project begins
Several homes on the lower end of Chase
Avenue in Waterbury were demolished,
beginning the long-awaited process to
widen the road. PAGE 1B

Machinery tax progress made

State legislative leaders say they’ve made
progress in their efforts to help towns stay
stable without funds for tax-exempt
machinery and equipment. PAGE 1B

Nuclear crisis a long problem

Japanese officials say once a stricken
nuclear plant has power, it will take just a
day to get it under control, but that’s still
weeks from happening. PAGE 4A

Price of homes at 9-year low

The low sales of previously occupied houses
and a rise of foreclosures in February
pushed the median sales price of homes to
the lowest level since 2002. PAGE 8C

Man undergoes face transplant

Doctors in Boston completed the nation’s
first full face transplant, a procedure paid for
by the U.S. military in order to learn how to
help severely wounded soldiers. PAGE 5A STEVEN VALENTI REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
OK, so winter is technically over but wintry conditions are lingering. Mark Wercnko, owner of Mark’s Gardens and Gifts in Watertown,
brushes snow off pansies outside his shop Monday, the first full day of spring (it actually began at 6:21 p.m. Sunday here in the
Eastern Time Zone). It doesn’t appear we’re through with snow either. Although it should be sunny today, the forecast shows more
OPINION OF THE DAY: “If you want the snow possible Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.
benefits of the United States, then become a citizen. You
work here, you make money here, you have a great life here,
then take the time and make the effort to become citizens.”
— April Randall, Waterbury
READ THE FULL LETTER ON PAGE 6A
NATO attacks Schools reel
Libyan targets from state’s
WEB EXTRAS for a 3rd night
TO DAY AT R E P -A M .CO M
>> DEAL OF THE DAY Click Deal of the Day to get half off a But rebels not able
AT&T BUYING T-MOBILE USA FOR $39 BILLION
unfunded
HERE’S WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU
$50 certificate for any hair service at Torrington Beauty Academy.
>> SAVING A PLANT Read the Gardening blog to learn how
you can keep shrubs by transplanting them — now’s the time!
to hit Gadhafi yet
BY RYAN LUCAS
>> NEW PHONES T-Mobile subscribers with 3G phones
will need new ones because AT&T, at some point in the fu-
mandates
>> WORTH REPEATING “ANOTHER traffic light in
ASSOCIATED PRESS

ZWITINA, Libya — Coalition

ture, will alter T-Mobile’s cell towers for faster 4G service.
>> MORE PHONES T-Mobile, much smaller than AT&T,
Money not there
Waterbury might prevent accidents, that is, if anyone in Waterbury actually
recognizes the thing and the purpose for which it is intended.” — posted by
forces bombarded Libya for a
third straight night Monday,
doesn’t get as many exclusives on top-line phones, and it
doesn’t have iPhones. This won’t be a big benefit to
for new targets
Dennis on the story, “Officials hope new traffic signal in Waterbury will targeting the air defenses and T-Mobile users who don’t have
reduce accidents.” forces of Libyan ruler Moam- contracts — if they want the BY ALIA MALIK
>> AT&T says it wants REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
mar Gadhafi, stopping his ad- more airwaves, but if
iPhone today, they can sign up
vances and handing some that’s the case, this
with AT&T or Verizon Wireless. When Janice E. Saam, associ-
momentum back to the rebels, deal isn’t much of a
But subscribers under con- ate principal at Naugatuck High
who were on the tract would find it easier to School, sat down to figure out
High48 Sunny and cool today;
chance of rain or even
>> Europe verge of defeat
solution. Page 8C
upgrade to an iPhone. what additional resources the
split over just last week. >> FEWER PRICING PLANS school district would need to
Low 28 snow Wednesday and operations But the rebel- T-Mobile and AT&T have different offerings, some of comply with new
Thursday. Page 8A in Libya. lion’s more or- which might disappear from the market. state mandates, >> See what
Page 3A. ganized military >> END OF UNLIMITED DATA PLANS AT&T stopped she found the high school
units were still offering unlimited data plans to new subscribers in favor numbers daunt- grads in the
Annie’sMailbox 12D Horoscope 12D Public record 2A not ready to go on the offensive, of plans with monthly data usage caps and overage fees. ing. state must
and the opposition disarray un- T-Mobile USA still offers “unlimited” data for smart- The district, accomplish.
Business 8C Jumble 9D Sports 1C derscored U.S. warnings that a which is still re- Page 8A.
phones and subscribers would likely be grandfathered in.
Classified 6B Lottery 2A Stocks 7C long stalemate could emerge. covering from a
>> BETTER NETWORK COVERAGE Combining net-
Comics 10-11D Movie times 13D Sudoku 9D The air campaign by U.S. and budget crisis, would need 11
works will improve performance in some areas because
European military units has un- new high school teachers and a
Crossword 9D Obituaries 4-5B Television 14-15D there will be more towers. However, today’s AT&T phones
questionably rearranged the part-time capstone project co-
can’t use T-Mobile’s 3G wireless data network, and vice
Editorials 6A People 13D Women 1D balance of power in Libya and ordinator, Saam reasoned. Ele-
versa, because they run on different frequencies.
rescued rebels from the imme- mentary and middle schools
40 pages. © 2011 Republican-American diate threat they faced only days >> WIDER BROADBAND AT&T is pledging to build an might also need to make
Established 1881, Waterbury, Connecticut ago of being crushed under a ultrafast broadband network to cover rural areas. changes to prepare students for
All rights reserved
powerful advance by Gadhafi’s >> HIGHER PRICES? Who knows. AT&T points out that the more intensive high school
6 34373 12494 2
Read today’s editions online forces. prices have fallen through a decade of mergers in the in- graduation requirements, she
at www.rep-am.com dustry, but public-interest groups are raising concerns.
See LIBYA, Page 8A — Associated Press See SCHOOLS, Page 8A

What Will UBecome? Graduate Information Session

Thursday, March 24, 6pm – 7:30pm
UB Waterbury Center
84 Progress Lane, Waterbury, CT
Call 1-800.EXCEL.UB
www.ubgrad.org