‘I Am Truly Thankful’: Letter of Appreciation for New Canaan Police Officer Nicholas Rienzi

Police Chief Leon Krolikowski shared the following letter of appreciation for Officer Nicholas Rienzi from New Canaan resident Ernest Mysogland at a Dec. 15 special meeting of the Police Commission:

“Dear Chief Krolikowski, 

I am writing to express my gratefulness to officer Nicholas Rienzi who was extraordinarily helpful to me on the evening of Nov. 15. Upon leaving the rather dark parking lot of the Lutheran church in town after a church meeting, I failed to see a curbing on the side of the lot. When I felt the bump of the asphalt curb I quickly stopped but soon realized my car was stuck over a large rock.

New Canaan’s Mysogland Family Honored by STAR Inc.

New Canaan’s Ernie Mysogland describes his adult special needs daughter Jassinia as “a true sweetheart” who models his wife of 50-plus years, Susie, in her kindness. For more than 20 years, Jassinia through an area nonprofit organization with deep ties to New Canaan has worked as a bagger at the Food Emporium on Elm Street, now Acme. 

Because the Mysoglands had such a large family—11 kids—and Jassinia’s brothers and sisters brought home so many friends, she came to know all kinds of people, according to her dad. “Those people got the idea that if Jassinia was going to work at the grocery store and she was going to bag groceries, they would try to get in her lane,” Ernie Mysogland recalled Monday night, standing near his wife and daughter and addressing more than 100 STAR Inc. staff members, clients and families gathered at the organization’s Norwalk headquarters for its 67th annual meeting. “And they would say, ‘Hi Jassinia,’ and she would say, ‘Hi, how are you?’ And Jassinia, unfortunately, would let a lot of family secrets out. People would say, ‘Jassinia, how are you?