Did You Hear … ?

New Canaan Police at 3:22 p.m. on Oct. 1 received a report of political yard signs stolen from a Smith Ridge Road home. There are no suspects and the case is closed. ***

Niche.com has ranked New Canaan Public Schools #1 in the state. (New Canaan High School and Saxe Middle School are ranked #2 in their respective grade-level categories, while the New Canaan elementary schools swept 1-2-3.)

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Now showing at The Playhouse movie theater on Elm Street: “Saturday Night” and “Joker: Folie á Deux.” See what’s on and what’s coming here.

Police Chief: NCPD Could Start Ticketing Parents for Kids’ Misuse of E-Bikes

If the problem of young people riding e-bikes recklessly downtown persists, police may start ticketing their parents, according to Chief John DiFederico. Asked about the proliferation and misuse of the motorized vehicles in New Canaan, specifically in the downtown area, DiFederico pointed to a state statute regarding the operation of e-bikes and electric foot scooters. It allows towns to create their own ordinances regarding the vehicles, including “penalties” for violations, as well as provisions requiring annual licensing. “The statute for bikes and bike rules in general— not just e-bikes—allows for a parent or guardian to be held accountable for their children who are operating a bike illegally: riding on sidewalks, going the wrong way, not obeying traffic laws,” DiFederico told NewCanaanite.com. “So we are exploring that.

Arrest Warrant: New Canaan Woman Used Electronic Device To Eavesdrop on Husband Mid-Divorce

Following an investigation launched last year, New Canaan Police on Sept. 26 arrested a 47-year-old New Canaan woman for spying on her husband with a remote device during their divorce. The husband appeared in the lobby of NCPD headquarters last November, telling police that he’d found a “little black plastic tile in his coat pocket” that appeared to be “an audio/GPS tracker,” according to an arrest warrant application obtained by NewCanaanite.com. 

When he confronted his wife about it, she “admitted to doing it,” according to the application, completed by Officer Matthew Marzano and signed June 21 by state Superior Court Judge Alex Hernandez. The husband told police that his wife had told him in the past “that she would find ways to ‘ruin him’ and ‘take all of his money’ ” the application said. He told authorities that he “runs a business from his home office and that she was intentionally and knowingly eavesdropping on his private business conversations with colleagues and other personal conversations,” it said.

New Construction Coming to Forest Street

The New Canaan Building Department last month issued a permit for a 2,757-square-foot home on Forest St. The six-bedroom house planned for 80 Forest St. will include three full bathrooms, two half-baths, a two-bay garage and unfinished attic and basement, according to the permit, issued Sept. 12. It will cost $750,000 to build, the permit said.

Town Denies Disability Pension for Imprisoned Former Police Officer

Town officials on Tuesday denied a disability pension to a former New Canaan Police officer dismissed two years ago following his arrest on animal cruelty and other charges. The municipal Pension Committee voted unanimously to deny former K-9 Officer David Rivera’s application during its regular meeting, held Oct. 8 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

First Selectman Dionna Carlson said the denial is based on Rivera “using his New Canaan police badge to illegally purchase explosives, which resulted in his conviction of several felonies, burglary in the third degree, malicious wounding and killing of animals in the first degree, possession of explosives and illegal purchase and receipt of a long gun, along with two misdemeanors.”

She continued: “Mr. Rivera committed acts of dishonesty toward the town while employed by the town, resulting in forfeiture of pension benefits under section 16.5 of the funded retirement plan of the town of New Canaan, providing that a participant who commits any act of fraud or act of dishonesty toward the town while employed by the town may forfeit his pension benefits.”

Carlson and Committee members—town CFO Anne Kelly-Lenz, Police K9 Officer Sebastian Obando, Board of Finance member Bob Hamill and Fire Lt. Michael Jackson—voted in favor of the denial. Rivera pleaded guilty in April to gun and explosives charges. He also was charged with cruelty to animals—and, specifically, multiple counts for violating a law against intentionally maiming, mutilating, torturing, wounding or killing an animal.