Shelton resident trains at FBI National Academy

Sgt. Richard Montefusco of Shelton

DANBURY - Campus safety is something the Western Connecticut State University  Police Department takes seriously, and one way to keep crime at bay is to make sure the university’s officers are trained in the most current crime-prevention techniques. 

That’s why a rare opportunity to attend the FBI National Academy was something Shelton resident Sgt. Richard (“Monte”) Montefusco couldn’t pass up.

As one of WCSU’s police sergeants, Montefusco is in charge of community service and crime prevention.

“My goal is for the university to get all faculty, students and staff on the same page when it comes down to dealing with the world in which we live,” Montefusco said.
“Safety and security are everyone’s responsibility and we all need to work together to maintain the current, safe environment.”

Once nominated for participation in the FBI National Academy by the WCSU Police Department, Montefusco underwent an extensive background check and interview process. Only one-half of 1 percent of all law enforcement personnel in the world are invited by the director of the FBI to attend the academy. 

Montefusco said it was an overwhelming honor to participate in the intensive, 10-week training at Quantico, Va.

According to the FBI website, “Established in 1935, the National Academy provides advanced investigative, management and fitness training to senior officers who are proven leaders within their organizations. In addition to undergraduate and graduate-level college courses offered in areas such as law, behavioral and forensic science, understanding terrorism and terrorists, and leadership development, students forge lasting connections that strengthen global law enforcement partnerships.”

During the program, Montefusco took courses in civil law, civil liability, social media, communication strategies and labor law. 
He also received intensive behavioral training taught by an FBI behavioral scientist on the human psyche, anti-social and psycho-social behavior, and how people think.

Montefusco, who is one of Western’s firearms instructors, studied less-lethal munitions at the academy, focusing on the use of alternatives to guns such as batons, gas and “everything in the FBI’s arsenal.” Relying on less lethal options for crowd control, Montefusco said, will allow university police to neutralize a situation in seconds without having to wait for special teams to arrive on campus.

Montefusco poses in VIRTSIM uniform

He also participated in the FBI’s “VIRTSIM,” which fabricates active shooter scenarios through the use of avatars. 
“They can produce any situation you can imagine,” Montefusco said, “and the avatars are so real that it really gets your adrenaline going. I went through in a team with 13 other guys who I had just met and we all immediately understood the concept that we had to work together.”

Fifty percent of the academy curriculum was based on physical training, which included a 6.1-mile Marine Corps run-and-obstacle course called the Yellow Brick Road. “It was some of the most grueling physical training I’ve ever gone through in my career,” Montefusco said. “They change your life when it comes to working out.”

Joining Montefusco at Quantico were police officers from 17 countries and 48 states, which he said not only enlarged his network of professional contacts but also Western’s ability to interact with officers nationwide and internationally for feedback on how other departments have handled specific situations. 

Among the officers in attendance were campus police from the University of Las Vegas, the University of Tennessee, and Penn State University. Montefusco was one of only three officers representing the hundreds of law enforcement agencies in Connecticut.

“The Academy gave me the opportunity to take a look at myself and my opportunities as a police officer, how to mold other officers and all aspects of leadership,” Montefusco said. “Overall, this rounds you off as a police officer and brought together everything I’ve learned in my 21-year career.

“It has also given me the confidence that any future issues can be solved,” he said. “It’s a compliment to our department - we have a great bunch of officers, and I understand the level of commitment and expertise that my fellow officers hold. As a father of two children, I would feel safe having them come to Western.”

For more information, contact the Office of University Relations, 203-837-8486.


This is a press release from Western Connecticut State University.

Archaeologist to present program on Lakota Sioux Indian

At annual meeting of Shelton Historical Society

SHELTON - Connecticut State Archaeologist Dr. Nicholas Bellantoni will present “The Long Journey Home for Albert Afraid of Hawk,” at 2 p.m. Sunday at the annual meeting of the Shelton Historical Society. 

Albert Afraid of Hawk was a Lakota Sioux Indian and a performer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show when he died of food poisoning in Danbury in 1900.  His unmarked grave in Wooster Cemetery was discovered last summer by a local historian who notified family descendants in South Dakota. 
 Bellantoni’s presentation will tell the story of Albert and his family (his father fought with Crazy Horse against Custer at Little Bighorn) and the process of repatriation, including the archaeology and forensic science behind the work. He has said that it is one of the most interesting projects of his career.

As State Archaeologist, Bellantoni is on the faculty in the Anthropology Department at the University of Connecticut. He is a popular and enthusiastic speaker who conveys his passion to audiences throughout the state.

The meeting is free and open to the public.  It will be held at the Huntington Congregational Church, 19 Church St. There will be a brief business meeting prior to the presentation. 
Refreshments will be served.  (In case of inclement weather, an announcement will be made on WICC-AM radio.)

           For information or directions, call 203-925-1803 or visit www.sheltonhistoricalsociety.org.


          This information was taken from a press release from Tracey Tate, executive director, Shelton Historical Society.

Emmett O'Brien senior given 'dream' computer

Zachary Lexa with new gaming computer he received from Dream Come True. / Contributed photo

By Patricia Villers
Register Staff
ANSONIA — A senior at Emmett O’Brien Technical High School was overwhelmed when presented with a high-tech gift from Dream Come True of Western Connecticut Inc.
School nurse Sue Hoffert nominated local resident Zachary Lexa, 19, for the prize: a top-of-the-line gaming computer worth more than $2,000.
Hoffert said she received a letter sent to school nurses in the region seeking names of students with medical problems who were deserving of a dream gift.

Read the full story here.

Music unlocks hearts for Derby pastor (video)

By Patricia Villers
Register Staff
DERBY — The message is in the music in the ministry of the Rev. Larry Crasilli, pastor of Second Congregational Church.
Crasilli, of Southbury, is a Derby native. He has been singing since he was 17. He lived in Nashville for five years before returning to Connecticut.
In November 2010, Crasilli, 59, was ordained at Grace Faith Assembly in Danbury. He previously was a deacon and music director there, he said.
He and his wife, Doreen, 51, travel statewide, and into New York and Massachusetts, to bring their music to senior centers, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.

Read the full story here.

Man gets probation in missing teen case

DERBY — A Texas man who drove to Connecticut to meet a 15-year-old Ansonia girl he had met online and brought her to a Danbury hotel was sentenced this week to two years of probation.
Gabriel Mendoza, who was 19 at the time of his November 2010 arrest, was sentenced in Superior Court. Mendoza risks up to 11 months in prison if he violates probation.
While Ansonia police initially charged Mendoza with risk of injury to a minor, he pleaded guilty to first-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, court documents show.
At the time of Mendoza’s arrest, Ansonia police said he had begun having an online relationship with the girl, then he drove from Texas to meet her. The girl did not tell her family where she was going, and didn’t leave any note or message. Police said she met with Mendoza willingly, and both denied any sexual activity beyond kissing. Police began an extensive search and reunited her with her family a day after her disappearance.