Kennedy Cousin Skakel Gets First Parole Hearing

Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel will get his first parole hearing to determine whether he should be released from prison a decade after he was convicted of killing his neighbor.      Skakel is serving 20 years to life for fatally beating Martha Moxley with a golf club in 1975 in Greenwich when they were 15. Skakel is a nephew of Ethel Kennedy.  The hearing will be held Wednesday at McDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield.  Skakel's supporters say he deserves to be released from prison because he was a victim of a miscarriage of justice and has been a model inmate.  But the victim's relatives want Skakel kept in prison for life, saying he was properly convicted. Officials say Skakel is eligible to be released in April if parole officials approve it.

No Charges For Woman Who Removed Obama-Hitler Sign

Prosecutors are dropping charges against an 80-year-old Connecticut woman who tore down political signs including one that showed President Barack Obama with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache. The Hartford Courant reports that prosecutor Cynthia Baer told a judge in Rockville Superior Court on Tuesday that the signs were recovered and Nancy Lack won't be prosecuted. Lack wasn't in court but met earlier with the prosecutor.Lack was arrested Oct. 11 in Hebron after she took down three posters being hung on Main Street by workers for frequent presidential candidate Lyndon LaRouche. The workers called police, and Lack was charged with breach of peace and larceny.  Lack told WVIT-TV she lived through World War II and was angry that someone would portray the president as a Nazi.

East Haven Agrees To Settle US Discrimination Case

One of four Connecticut police officers arrested on federal civil rights charges has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice.  East Haven Officer Jason Zullo entered the plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hartford. A plea agreement calls for him to serve between one and two years in prison. The four officers were arrested in January on charges that they assaulted people while they were handcuffed and unlawfully searched Latino businesses. Another defendant, Sgt. John Miller, pleaded guilty last month to violating a person's civil rights by using unreasonable force. Two others have pleaded not guilty.  The city of East Haven announced separately on Tuesday that it has agreed to a proposed settlement of claims by the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division that officers engaged in a pattern of discrimination and abuse toward Latinos.

Jury Clears Bridgeport Officer In Fatal Shooting

 A state civil court jury has cleared a Bridgeport police lieutenant and the city of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a South Carolina man in 2008. The Bridgeport Superior Court jury on Tuesday rejected claims made in a wrongful death lawsuit by the family of Frederick McAllister of Florence, S.C. The Connecticut Post reports that jurors found that Lt. Brian Fitzgerald used reasonable force when he shot the 33-year-old McAllister in the back at a housing complex. A state prosecutor had cleared Fitzgerald of criminal wrongdoing, saying McAllister refused orders to put his hands up and reached for his waistband before being shot. McAllister was unarmed. The shooting followed a car chase. Tuesday's verdict angered McAllister's relatives. His mother, Martha McAllister, says her son's shooting was unjust.

 Waterbury Driver Held In Death Of Pedestrian

 Police say they have charged a driver in connection with a hit-and-run crash that fatally injured a Waterbury teenager. Waterbury Police Capt. Chris Corbett said 29-year-old Michael McHaney of Waterbury was charged Tuesday with felony evading responsibility, second-degree manslaughter and second-degree assault with a motor vehicle. He was held on $500,000 bail until a court appearance Wednesday. It's not known who is representing him.  Corbett said two men were struck at about 11:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of the Route 8 off ramp, or Aurora Street, and the Route 73 Connector.      Nineteen-year-old Joshua Rodriguez, died Tuesday afternoon from head and internal injuries. Twenty-one-year-old Richard Resto is in stable condition at a hospital with leg and hip injuries. Police said they located the car and McHaney after getting a tip.

Connecticut State Police Getting New .45-Caliber Pistols

Connecticut state police say criminals are footing the $280,000 bill for replacing troopers' 16-year-old pistols with new, higher-caliber handguns. State police are trading in their .40-caliber Sig Sauer pistols for 1,250 new, .45-caliber Sig Sauer guns made in New Hampshire. State police spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance says the entire cost is being paid for with money seized in federal and state investigations of drug dealers and other criminals, under the federal asset forfeiture program.  Vance says state police replace their pistols every 12 to 14 years. The last time troopers got new guns was in 1996, when they upgraded to the Sig Sauer .40-caliber pistols from Beretta 9 mm guns. State police began receiving shipments of the new guns last month and recently started training with them.

2 Charged In Home Robbery Spree In 7 Connecticut Towns

Police say two men arrested in Monroe are responsible for a home burglary spree in seven Fairfield County towns in September and October. Monroe police received numerous break-in complaints in the two months, reporting jewelry and cash thefts. Fairfield County police discovered a similar increase in burglaries in several other towns. The Connecticut Post reports that Connor Buckley of Shelton and Eammon Donnelly of Newtown became suspects after a Monroe officer on patrol saw a vehicle matching the description of one used in previous robberies.      Police found jewelry, tools, gloves and small electronic items in Buckley's car and house. Police say they recovered jewelry and burglar tools from Donnelly's home.  Both men were charged with burglary and larceny.

 Women Voters Seen As Key In Connecticut Senate Race

Three female U.S. senators are urging Connecticut voters to support Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy in the Senate race, saying he'll be a stronger advocate for women than Republican Linda McMahon.    Democratic Sens. Barbara Mikulski  of Maryland, Mary Landrieu  of Louisiana and Jeanne Shaheen  of New Hampshire appeared at a rally on Tuesday for Murphy in Hartford's Bushnell Park.  Mikulski, the longest serving woman in the Congress, got cheers from the crowd of more than 100 after saying McMahon won't necessarily be an advocate for women even though she wears lipstick and high heels. Both Murphy and McMahon see female voters as key to winning the open Senate seat. While recent polls show Murphy has the edge among women, McMahon has made in-roads since her failed 2010 campaign.

Lieberman To Be Named 'Honorary Submariner'

U.S. Navy officials are recognizing U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman's support by naming him an "honorary submariner."  Officers including Rear Adm. Richard Breckenridge, commander of Submarine Group Two, are planning to make the presentation Wednesday in Groton when Lieberman visits the Naval Submarine Base and tours the newest submarine in the fleet, the USS Mississippi. Officials at the base say they wanted to honor Lieberman's support of the submarine force, sailors and military families in southeastern Connecticut. Lieberman, an independent, has been a U.S. senator since 1989 and is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He is retiring at the end of this session rather than seeking re-election.