Fairfield County Business Journal 4/16/2012 by Westfair Business Journal

FAIRFIELD COUNT Y

BUSINESS JOURNAL

YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS • westfaironline.com WestConn

Vol 48, No. 16 • April 16, 2012

FCBJ TODAY Space available: big office blocks come onto the market, but few big deals … 2

Chapter 11 for Vertrue Norwalk company seeks to reorganize

Q1 adds up to $1 billion for a Stamford PE firm … 3

BY ALEXANDER SOULE

casoule@westfairinc.com

Mix hedge funds and social media, and you get a real culture clash … 5 In the field: From “60 Minutes” to more than 200 employers … 7 Squeezing startup juice out of orange-juice futures in Stamford … 9. The List: The FCBJ ledger on the region’s accounting firms … 10. Special report: identity theft in Conn. – as simple as supply and demand? 11 Special supplement:

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Medical maneuvers Norwalk Hospital latest to consider a partnership BY ALEXANDER SOULE

data published last month by the Connecticut Office of Health Care Access, making the comresh off a $10 million gift, Norwalk bined entity the second largest hospital group in Hospital is exploring an affiliation or the state after Yale New Haven. The rapid-fire moves are indicative of wider merger with Western Connecticut Health Network – even as Yale New Haven Health moves in the health care industry, as the U.S. Medical, page 6 System swoops into its market with a pediatrics office planned for the former headquarters of Virgin Atlantic in Norwalk. Norwalk Hospital has been independent since its 1892 formation by hat industry workers. In the Hat City to the north, Dr. John Murphy leads a Western Connecticut Health BY CAROL E. CURTIS Network that includes Danbury Hospital ccurtis@westfairinc.com and New Milford Hospital. Adding Norwalk n assigning an AA long-term rating Hospital would push Western Connecticut on Connecticut bonds, a one-time Health revenue to near $1 billion, according to Manhattan prosecutor is debuting a new ratings agency here even as Attorney General George Jepsen takes a long look at the industry and its impact in furthering the financial crisis. It marks New York-based Kroll Bond Rating Agency Inc.’s first general obligation rating and its entry into the market. In a casoule@westfairinc.com

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ive years after striking an $800 million deal to be taken private – and then getting hit with a very public U.S. Senate investigation – Vertrue L.L.C. has filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, with the combined entity owing Google Inc. $3.7 million and the New York State Attorney General’s office $1.7 million. The filing by the Norwalk company came April 2. In 2009, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller launched a probe into alleged deceptive marketing practices by Vertrue along with Stamford-based companies Webloyalty Inc. and Affinion Group Holdings Inc. The three marketing service companies raised Rockefeller’s ire by enrolling consumers in U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller membership-based clubs that levied ongoing fees for varying services. Rockefeller contended the companies signed up consumers on the sly. The resulting barrage of bad publicity resulted in a customer exodus that helped Vertrue, page 6

Bond ratings, take two Jepsen eyes industry as agency debuts

release, KBRA stated the outlook reflects its expectation that Connecticut’s economy will continue to improve slowly and its revenues will continue to increase. While Connecticut is its first general obligation rating, the firm is currently in talks with several other states. KBRA is rating Connecticut even as Jepsen has pledged to work with other attorneys general in holding the rating agencies accountable for their role in preRatings, page 6

Q1 a quiet one for real estate BY ALEXANDER SOULE

casoule@westfairinc.com

The IRS took space at iPark Norwalk, with more than 100,000 square feet coming on the market.

Gold coastal property

Partners. The two companies paid $8.5 million for the 34,000-square-foot building at 55 Post Road West, whose tenants include Catapult Marketing. Oaktree is based in Los Angeles and has an office in Stamford. The company’s broker was Newmark Knight Frank, which has a Greenwich office.

Ho-Jo becomes J-Hotel Three companies relocated to Stamford and its Holly Pond Plaza office building.

Holly Pond Plaza gains three Companies in Darien and Norwalk have relocated their main offices to Stamford’s Holly Pond Plaza, amid an ongoing renovation by Faros Gould, which bought the East Main Street building in 2010. Private equity firm Centerstone Partners L.L.C. moved its headquarters from 1120 Boston Post Rd. in Darien, taking 3,000 square feet of space at Holly Pond Plaza. Beacon Wealth Consulting and the Shoff Derby Insurance Agency both took smaller offices at Holly Pond Plaza, moving from Norwalk. Existing tenant DKR Capital renewed its lease. Cushman & Wakefield represented Faros Gould in finding tenants, and said full floors remain available as well as smaller office spaces.

Two buy Westport building An affiliate of Oaktree Capital Management sold a Westport office building to ClearRock Properties and Homewood Real Estate

The new J-Hotel and eleven14 Kitchen restaurant is opening this spring at the site of the former Howard Johnson Hotel at 1114 E. Putnam Ave. in Greenwich. Brenwood Hospitality Group is leading the project along with cb5 Restaurant Group, with interior design by New Yorkbased d-dash design. The hotel will have nearly 90 rooms and meeting space. The hotel’s general manager is John Sheedy, who previously worked with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which opened a new headquarters in Stamford late last year. Executive chef Francois Kwaku Dongo previously worked for Wolfgang Puck’s Spago. The hotel will include the Chocolate Lab sweet shop and café.

Darien project gets green Hertz Construction completed the first eight homes at Noroton Green, which it bills as the first development in Darien to be green certified, according to National Association of Home Builders standards. Stamford-based First County Bank is providing financing for the development at 333-1 West Ave.

Mover makes move Arthur Werner Moving & Storage established a 60,000-square-foot storage facility

at 1212 Central Ave. in Bridgeport. The company also has locations in Stamford and New York City. “Our business in Manhattan has held up remarkably well over the past two years, thanks in part to a strong rental market,” Dana Bitton, president of Arthur Werner Moving, said in a statement. “What we’re seeing now is a definite improvement in some of the suburban areas.”

Microsoft opens in Danbury Danbury Fair Mall will be the site of Microsoft Store’s first location in the tristate area with the Apple Store already a mall tenant. In addition to computers, software, phones and other products, the Microsoft Store offers technical support and training.

$1.6 million for Harco sale SalesOne L.L.C. bought the former Norwalk quarters of Harco Fitch Co., paying nearly $1.6 million for the 24,000-square-foot building at 16 Fitch St. Norwalk-based SalesOne plans to expand into the building as a jewelry and accessory manufacturing and distribution site. The company was represented by Vidal/ Wettenstein.

Munson files Chapter 11 Munson Builders Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with Wilton Bank its largest creditor owed $2 million. The Fairfield-based company also owes more than $200,000 to Custom Air Solutions, and in excess of $100,000 to Mill River Properties and Fairfield Domestic Kitchens. – Alexander Soule

ith a flurry of small lease announcements the past few weeks, the first quarter’s real estate market was characterized mostly by large blocks of space thudding into a market already sporting a stubbornly high availability rate. In Stamford, Building and Land Technology is readying 695 E. Main St. for leasing, with the building totaling more than 600,000 square feet of space. Two other spaces exceeding 100,000 square feet became available, tallied by RHYS Commercial Real Estate. The town of Ridgefield spent $6 million for the former Schlumberger property at 36 Old Quarry Road, with plans to redevelop it. And at iPark Norwalk at 761 Main Ave., more than 100,000 square feet is now available, with the Internal Revenue Service establishing a field office in one corner of the building. No lease transpired in the first quarter in excess of 25,000 square feet, according to RHYS, which is based in Stamford. In all, the company tracked new leases totaling just more than 350,000 square feet of space, less than half the level of activity a year earlier. Clayton Holdings took 23,000 square feet of space at 100 Beard Sawmill Road in Shelton, with the financial due-diligence company having been located at 2 Corporate Drive in Shelton. Aircastle Advisors is staying put at 300 First Stamford Place in Stamford, where it is leasing 19,000 square feet. After that, the next largest deal tracked by RHYS was Aris Global securing 13,000 square feet at 1266 E. Main St., with the company providing varying services to drug companies. Aris has its headquarters at 2777 Summer St. in Stamford. Westchester County, N.Y., similarly had lower leasing activity. Just one new lease occurred for more than 20,000 square feet, with gaming company Voyetra Turtle Beach Inc. relocating to Valhalla from Elmsford. There were half as many leases in the first quarter from the fourth quarter of 2011, according to RHYS. The Fairfield County office availability rate dipped to 21.5 percent, down more than a full percentage point from a year earlier, and rental rates are now up more than $2 a square foot from a year ago, to over $33. There were myriad smaller deals, including Triple Point Technology’s expansion that brought its Westport base of operations to 25,000 square feet of space, with real estate advisory services company Cresa Partners helping the commodities software vendor tack on extra space as well to a smaller office in Houston.

2 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

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RDSCINTO TENANT PROFILE JOHN A. ZINNO JR., CPA NAME:

John A. Zinno Jr., CPA TITLE:

Partner-in-Charge, Shelton Office COMPANY:

BlumShapiro - Accounting | Tax | Business Consulting

As it moves to 300 Atlantic St. in Stamford, Cowen Healthcare Royalty Partners is awash in $1 billion in new capital.

Cowen on the grow With $1B fund, it expands to bigger office BY ALEXANDER SOULE

casoule@westfairinc.com

owen Healthcare Royalty Partners is more than doubling its space in Stamford after uncorking a new $1 billion fund, among the largest to be raised globally in the first quarter. Cowen Royalty invests in drug companies in exchange for royalty rights on existing drugs. As an example, a 2011 deal featured a $30 million financing arrangement for San Diego-based Zogenix Inc. In exchange, Cowen Royalty is initially receiving 5 percent of net sales of the Sumavel DosePro drug for migraine headaches, eventually dropping over time to 0.5 percent of net sales. Cowen Royalty is relocating within Stamford from 177 Broad St. to 300 Atlantic St., taking nearly 12,000 square feet. Both buildings are owned by New York City RFR Realty. It has good company – the online PSEPS private equity directory lists nearly 50 firms with a presence in Stamford, including Cowen Royalty and affiliate Cowen Capital Partners were among the 10 private equity entities to raise funds totaling $1 billion or more in the first quarter, according to a report this month from Preqin, which has a New York City office. Preqin said early returns showed “relatively steady” fundraising, though it thinks the totals could increase between 10 percent and 20 percent as additional companies file disclosures on new funds, and could pick up further from there. In North America, private equity fundraising topped $27 billion. Only last month, Connecticut Treasurer

Denise Nappier committed a combined $90 million to Greenwich-based Pegasus Partners and New Canaan-based RFE Investment Partners. Preqin data suggests it is taking companies longer to complete fundraising, at nearly 21 months today versus in under a year’s time at the peak of the last economic cycle. Meanwhile, private equity companies continued to wheel and deal entering the second quarter, with attention on the sector expected to spike as presidential candidate and former Bain Capital partner Mitt Romney looks to lock down the Republican nomination. Oaktree Capital, a Los Angeles-based private equity giant with a Stamford office, scheduled an initial public offering of stock in April, with the Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group set to follow suit. AT&T Inc. is flipping an ownership stake in its Yellow Pages subsidiary to Cerberus Capital, with the unit employing 220 people in New Haven. And as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Ridgefieldbased TWT Investment Partners L.P. is raising as much as $50 million for a “Wine Trust,” reportedly the only private equity firm in the country focused exclusively on wine investments, including futures on wine that has yet to be bottled. In a major decision for one of Fairfield County’s largest private equity investors, First Reserve Corp. appointed as president Alex Krueger, second in line to founder and CEO William Macauley. The Greenwichbased company focuses on energy investments.

WEBSITE:

www.blumshapiro.com

PROFILE:

John is an audit partner and the Partner-in-Charge of BlumShapiro’s Shelton Office. BlumShapiro is the largest regional accounting, tax and business consulting firm based in New England. John started with the firm in 1989 upon graduation from Assumption College and was promoted to partner in January 2000. As a partner with over 20 years of experience, John services a variety of privately held businesses and their owners. He also serves as the director of services to educational institutions. John resides in Middlebury, Connecticut with his wife Lisa and two children, Olivia and Jake. He is very active in his community by serving as a board of director in a volunteer capacity for The Palace Theater of Waterbury, The Greater Waterbury YMCA and St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation. BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY:

Be good to people and good things will follow FAVORITE BOOK:

Good to Great FAVORITE MOVIE:

Hoosiers FAVORITE QUOTE:

“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual.” – Vince Lombardi FAVORITE LANDLORD:

Bob Scinto!!!

Robert D. Scinto, Inc. OWNER/DEVELOPER/BUILDER/MANAGER

Building more than just buildings.

203.929.6300 www.scinto.com

FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012

PERSPECTIVES

‘Forgive me, but …’

dmit it, you heard that same little voice in your ear, vaguely reminiscent of Mike Wallace, as you read about the $1 billion deals being done in the days after April Fool’s Day.

“Come on.” Hey, we’d all love to be Westchester native Mark Zuckerberg, running the most transformative web company since Google. We’d love to be the 2-year-old online photo company on which his Facebook is splurging $1 billion, as it readies for an IPO that will value it at many multiples of that figure. Many of us even wouldn’t mind being Connecticut College graduate Tim Armstrong, who in trying to recapture AOL’s glory days stumbled across a cache of patents and pawned them off to Microsoft for $1 billion. But as we look at the value of our own homes, our own net worth as reflected in pay, stock, retirement, college savings – we can’t quite get that little Mike Wallace voice out of our ear. “Forgive me, but haven’t we seen all this before?” We might have. In fact as recently as 2006 as our home values took flight from the solid ground on which they had sat. We saw it in the late 1990s, as names like Global Crossing, Lycos and Enron convinced us they had cracked the code to

growth that knew no bounds. We’d love to see Mike Wallace take this one on. We don’t mean to be skeptical – Facebook has wrought permanent change in the way we communicate. But there was something gratifying in early April, as little old FuelCell Energy Inc. got its moment in the sun in opening the Nasdaq market. Since 1969, the Danbury company has been working to fulfill the promise of abundant, clean

energy, and working to make a profit while remaining reliant on government subsidies gleaned by customers to purchase its devices. FuelCell’s own IPO in the early 1990s? About $6.5 million. Unlike some opening bells, that Nasdaq ceremony in early April was less about market riches, and more about the little guy and dogged determination to solve a problem. Those usually were Mike Wallace’s best interviews, come to think about it.

As for Mike Wallace? He just got his man, or agency, or company or whomever or whatever he was chasing down each week culminating in “60 Minutes” on Sunday night. Wallace died April 7 in New Canaan where he lived in his final years. He was 93. In an interview several years back on the launch and development of “60

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FuelCell opening bell.

Something special n anchoring CBS News for two decades, Walter Cronkite got the label of the most trusted man in America.

• Main office telephone. . . . . . . . (914) 694-3600 • Newsroom fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (914) 694-3680 • Sales fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (914) 694-3699 • Research fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (914) 694-3682 • Editorial e-mail. . . . . casoule@westfairinc.com

Minutes,” Wallace’s face turns gleeful when recalling the “gotcha” journalism tricks of the trade the program would bring to the mainstream mass media. “We really did on a regular basis investigations, hidden cameras, ambush interviews – a lot of stuff that had never been seen before on television,” Wallace said. “People just knew that something special was going on.” Wallace recalled turning down an offer from then-presidential candidate Richard Nixon to serve as his press

secretary, on the cusp of “60 Minutes’” launch in 1968 – with the first program including a Nixon interview from the Republican primary that year in Miami. Perhaps unwittingly, it summed up his journalistic credo and revealed what made him such an iconic voice in American media; and why he is missed. “I remember the line was something to the effect that I wasn’t going to be able to put a good face on bad facts,” Wallace said.

Fairfield County Business Journal (USPS# pending) is published Weekly, 52 times a year by Westfair Communications, Inc., 3 Gannett Drive, White Plains, NY 10604. Application to mail at Periodicals Postage rates is pending at White Plains, NY, USA 10610. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fairfield County Business Journal: Westfair Communications, Inc., 3 Gannett Drive, White Plains, NY 10604. More than 40 percent of the Business Journal is printed on recycled newsprint. © 2012 Westfair Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited

Have your say

The Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and opinion columns. Submissions must include the writer’s name, home or business address, email address and telephone number for verification purposes. The Business Journal reserves the right to edit submissions for accuracy, style and space considerations. Email submissions to casoule@westfairinc.com. Submissions may appear in print and online.

4 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

Taming Twitter BY CAROL E. CURTIS

ccurtis@westfairinc.com

edge funds need a social media policy, says Michael G. Tannenbaum, a prominent hedge fund attorney whose client roster includes many firms in the hedge fund capital of Fairfield County and elsewhere in Connecticut as well. Tannenbaum is co-founder of New York City-based Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt. He discussed the challenges facing hedge funds, including those posed by the rise of social media and the uncontrolled dissemination of information.

What is the biggest challenge in the industry today? “One of the big challenges relates to social media: Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. The problem is that social media tends to be very chatty and informal. Information is disseminated in a very uncontrolled way. However, the regulatory requirements and limits regarding communication that are imposed by the SEC on investment managers are very precise. When you mix those two Tannenbaum worlds, there is a real culture clash. The SEC recently issued an alert reminding managers about the need for a social media policy; we are putting those in place now.” Can you give an example of how they clash? “Under SEC rules, investment managers are not allowed to use testimonials. But there are thumbs-up/thumbs-down buttons on websites. The SEC says that is a testimonial. That is only one example that might not be intuitive. The bottom line is that managers need to have solid written compliance policies in place that say who is allowed to say what, how to monitor it, who is in charge of it, and when you have to do it. Even emails need to be watched carefully. In the end all of this is subject to SEC rules and can be damaging if not handled correctly.” What are the regulatory challenges in this environment? “An important task for the SEC is to keep track of the persons and entities it is regulating. The task has grown in size because of an influx of capital into hedge funds, and also because of the Dodd-Frank registration requirement which requires hedge fund advisers above a certain size to register with the SEC.”

What concerns you in this regulatory climate? “One of the things that troubles me is the amount of registration and regulation because it is costly. It runs the risk of creating a barrier to entry for the emerging manager where start-up capital may be limited. A lot of things come from good old-fashioned entrepreneurial spirit and if we chill the entry of smaller managers into our markets, I think we will suffer because we may very well lose out on the energy and new ideas that these folks bring with them. Hopefully I

am wrong – we’ll see.” What advice do you have for hedge fund managers? “You need to monitor and control your people, especially in the early days. That requires three things: educating the people you work with, having good, clear written policies, and getting good advice from prime brokers, attorneys, auditors and the like. And be patient, let the business develop and in the long run, it will work. One area of concern these days is being

careful with material inside information. The news is full of stories about it. When managers use outside consultants to obtain information for them to trade on, they need to be certain that the collectors of data are not collecting material non-public inside information. Otherwise they may run the risk of an SEC enforcement action, not something you want to see happen. At the very least, the consulting agreement should be clear about what data can be collected, from whom, and how to deal with it.”

“ Financial incentives from the Energy Conscious Blueprint program encouraged us to invest in opportunities that have reduced our energy and maintenance costs.” “ We have worked with the Energy Efficiency Fund for many years on new construction projects. It is a great partnership and a very – Benny Smith, Vice President of Facilities user-friendly process.” Price Chopper Supermarkets The best time to integrate money-saving energy efficiency measures into your project is early in development, during the design phase. Due to the initial capital investment needed to purchase many high-efficiency technologies, the Fund offers substantial financial assistance to help you bridge the gap. And the payback — reduced energy costs — is immediate and long-term. According to Benny Smith: “We have reduced our utility consumption, which means we can better control costs at the consumer level. Our customers also enjoy a more pleasurable shopping experience as a result of energy efficient technologies installed, and our teammates are excited to work in a state-of-the-art supermarket.”

Project: Price Chopper Supermarket Middletown, CT Fund incentives: $112,816.75 Projected energy savings: $112,555 annually

Connecticut’s Energy Efficiency Programs are funded by a charge on customer energy bills.

For more information on energy efficiency programs for businesses, call 1-877-WISE-USE (1-877-947-3873) or visit www.CTEnergyInfo.com NU-27102 Testimonial_BSmith_7375x85_FCBJ.indd 1

10:58 AM FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April3/30/12 16, 2012 5

Vertrue — From page 1

push Webloyalty last year into the arms of the far-larger Affinion, which spent $291 million for a 70 percent stake. The Stamford-based private equity company General Atlantic Partners retained 21 per-

“There are two reasons not to read emails when you are driving down the road. One is that it’s dangerous and you could really have an accident … The second is you might see a letter from the Senate in your inbox.” – Rick Fernandes, president of Affinion

cent of Webloyalty’s shares. After flat sales in 2010, Affinion increased revenue 12 percent to $1.5 bil-

Medical — From page 1

Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Last year, U.S. hospital mergers spiked to their highest total in a decade, with Norwalk-based Irving Levin Associates Inc. tracking 86 deals for more than $7.9 billion. In a February report, the firm said larger hospitals have been acquiring smaller ones in an attempt to gain pricing power and prepare for the full implementation of health care reform. Locally, hospitals have been overhauling their facilities in a bid to win more patients. At the close of March, Norwalk Hospital revealed a $10 million gift from the foundation and family of the late Harold McGraw Jr., retired chairman of McGraw-Hill Cos. The money will fund construction of an ambulatory pavilion, which would include a new emergency department capable of handling 65,000 patients annually, compared with 50,000 people today. At Danbury Hospital, excavators are carving into a hillside to lay the foundation for a tower that will include its own expanded emergency department and a new neonatal intensive care unit.

lion, not enough to avoid a $157 million loss. The company has 4,500 employees, two-thirds of them in the United States. It moved Webloyalty’s operations to its new, 140,000-square-foot headquarters in Stamford. Affinion also has a call center and data center in Trumbull. Three days after Vertrue filed for Chapter 11, Rick Fernandes, former CEO of crosstown rival Webloyalty and now president of Affinion, spoke to a Stamford gathering of the Association for Corporate Growth’s Connecticut chapter. Fernandes said he will never forget the moment he learned of Rockefeller’s investigation while CEO of Webloyalty. “We were doing incredibly well – and then the letter hit,” he said. “There are two reasons not to read emails when you are driving down the road. One is that it’s dangerous and you could really have an accident … The second is you might see a letter from the Senate in your inbox.” Over an eight-month span, Fernandes said, Webloyalty lost half its customer base and jettisoned half of its 500 employees, and plowed a small fortune into the best Beltway attorneys it could get. “We were told that this thing was going to end one day, and we wouldn’t know why, and we wouldn’t know how – and that’s exactly what happened,” Fernandes said. “At one point we thought the company was gone – and then the investigation was over.

Yale New Haven Health Care runs both Bridgeport Hospital and Greenwich Hospital, with the three institutions revenue totaling more than $2.2 billion last year. Few know Yale New Haven’s numbers better than Norwalk Hospital CEO Dan DeBarba Jr. Before his 2007 hire as CFO under thenCEO Geoffrey Cole, he was head of financial planning at Yale New Haven Health. Over the next several months, DeBarba and Murphy will review the clinical and operational issues of any affiliation, with plans to invite community members to the table in unspecified forums. “We believe that, together, we can deliver the right care in the right place at the right time to our patients through an integrated network of facilities and resources,” Murphy said in a prepared statement issued by Norwalk Hospital. “What excites us is how much we can accomplish as partners to provide a consistent and seamless patient experience across an expanded network of sites.” A similar goal has propelled Yale New Haven Health System to wing into Norwalk. The giant is in the process of acquiring the Hospital of Saint Raphael, which would add another $500 million in revenue to its top line. The hospital is located in New Haven and has a satellite office in Shelton.

“You know, that’s life,” he said. Rockefeller’s investigation resulted in the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act that was signed by President Obama in December 2010. For now, life goes on for Vertrue under $40 million in debtor-in-possession financing approved by a bankruptcy court judge. An entity called Velo Holdings Inc. is the lead debtor filing for bankruptcy protection, along with Vertrue and a dozen other affiliates. Vertrue and Velo hired Epiq Bankruptcy Solutions L.L.C. to manage the process. Other creditors including Transunion Interactive Inc., owed $2.3 million; Affiliated Computer Services, a subsidiary of Norwalk-based Xerox Corp., owed more

than $500,000; and Ticket Software L.L.C. of Vernon, owed $150,000. Velo lists three classes of shares in its bankruptcy filing. New York City-based One Equity Partners II L.P. as its controlling stakeholder, with the JPMorgan Chase & Co. subsidiary holding nearly 80 percent of Velo’s class-A shares, and all of a separate class of preferred stock. Vertrue CEO Gary Johnson is the next largest class-A shareholder with 8 percent of Velo’s total equity. Johnson also holds 22 percent of the company’s class-L common stock, with more than half of the remaining classL shares split between affiliates of One Equity Partners and Brencourt Advisors L.L.C., also based in New York City.

Ratings —

ties and two residential mortgage backed securities, in addition to Connecticut’s general-obligation rating. “Connecticut is very highly rated and on a path to doing quite well,” Nadler said. An AA rating is two steps below the highest ratings, which are AAA and AA+. KBRA concluded Connecticut based its

From page 1

cipitating the financial crisis. Jepsen’s inquiry has focused on Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service Inc. and Fitch Inc. Founder Jules Kroll started the agency in part due to the performance of existing rating agencies performed during the financial crisis, according to Jim Nadler, CEO of KBRA. A risk-mitigation expert who gained renown after helping in the search for assets hidden by Saddam Hussein, Kroll sold his previous company Kroll Inc. in 2004 to Marsh & McLennan Cos. for $1.9 billion. He has since run K2 Global Consulting in New York, while looking to enter a field where he could put his investigative skills to further use. “Jules felt that with his investigative background, he could bring a more fulsome approach,” Nadler said. “The agencies were not doing due diligence relative to subprime deals they were rating.” But starting a credit rating agency is not for the faint of heart. The Securities and Exchange Commission must designate your organization as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO), certifying a company to issue credit ratings that the SEC permits other financial firms to use for regulatory purposes. To qualify, a rating agency must be capitalized at a certain level and must provide detailed financial information to the SEC, among other things. Nine organizations are currently designated as NRSROs. The biggest by far are Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch. KBRA obtained its NRSRO rating in August 2010 via the acquisition of Lace Financial. To date, KBRA has issued ratings on eight commercial mortgage backed securi-

Jules Kroll’s ratings agency is assessing Connecticut bonds, even as the state AG eyes the ratings industry.

rating in part on the state’s high taxpayer income and gross state product relative to the region and the nation, its high levels of educational attainment and its low levels of poverty. KBRA concerns include: • a slower-than-expected economic recovery; • depletion of the budget reserve fund over the last several years with no specific near-term plan to restore reserves; and • a “volatile” revenue base due to concentration in the financial services sector and the state’s progressive income tax structure.

6 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

IN THE FIELD

The 2010 deal with New York City-based Verizon nearly tripled the size of Frontier, which has its corporate headquarters in Stamford. Frontier said it converted systems nine months ahead of schedule.

We’ve Been Helping Businesses Grow for Over 75 Years

Hedge group goes global

Platform 2 Employment participants in January.

P2E working Six weeks after getting national exposure on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” the WorkPlace Inc. says it has found jobs for 70 percent of the people whose unemployment benefits had expired. The Bridgeport-based workforce investment board runs Platform 2 Employment, which funds short working stints at companies in an effort to get them to hire people who have otherwise been unable to find work over a two-year stretch or more. In March, nearly 200 employers, nonprofits, colleges and economic development agencies joined a Platform 2 Employment webinar to see how to replicate the program in other places.

TD Bank hiring TD Bank is hiring to fill more than 90 new jobs in Connecticut as a result of the bank’s continued growth in the market. The jobs include customer service, financial service, sales and teller roles, which are considered both entry-level and midto-senior level positions depending on each opening. TD Bank has some 20 branches in Fairfield County, with its main local office in Wilton.

Rumble record WrestleMania broke Sun Life Stadium records en route to becoming the highest-grossing event in World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. history. A sellout crowd of 78,363 people attended WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami, with Stamford-based WWE grossing $8.9 million from the event. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. hosts WrestleMania next year.

Frontier flips switch Frontier Communications Corp. completed the conversion of all systems it acquired in its 2010 deal to take over Verizon Communications Inc. accounts in 14 states.

The Connecticut Hedge Fund Association, which until now has restricted membership to firms with a significant presence in the state, is opening its doors to members of the hedge fund community worldwide. “We are cognizant of the fact that Connecticut has the third-largest concentration of hedge funds in the world,” McGuire told the FINalternatives website. “We’re also cognizant of the fact that this is a global industry and we think it’s important to have cross-border exchanges of information.”

New boatyard Building and Land Technology announced plans for a new boatyard on Stamford’s waterfront, to serve as an interim facility at its Harbor Point development following the closing of Brewer’s Yacht Haven for environmental and safety issues. The new boatyard will be operated by Skip Gardella, owner of Norwalk Marine Contractors and whose family runs Norwalk Cove Marina and the Rex Marine Center.

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Cleaning up Backed by Brynwood Partners, High Ridge Brands Co. acquired rights to Coast soap, with Brynwood also picking up other personal care products from Dial Corp. Brynwood and High Ridge Brands, based in Greenwich and Stamford respectively, did not disclose financial terms with Dial parent Henkel, which has its North American headquarters in Rocky Hill. Brynwood also acquired rights to Henkel’s hair-care products L.A. Looks, Dep Sport, Zero Frizz and Thicker Fuller Hair as well as Soft & Dri woman’s deodorant and Pure & Natural liquid hand soap and body wash. Brynwood assigned those brands to its Golden Sun Inc. portfolio company based in Santa Clarita, Calif.

Quitting time Despite the popular belief that baby boomers will continue to work well past the traditional retirement age, those born in 1946 are retiring “in droves,” according to a new study. The Westport-based MetLife Mature Market Institute found that of the first baby boomers to turn 65 years old, 45 percent are fully retired and 14 percent consider themselves retired, though they work part-time. – Carol E. Curtis and Alexander Soule

CAN HOSPITALS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE? Hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and large medical groups have impacted the practice of health care. In this roundtable conversation, sponsored by the Business Journals, our panel of experts will address

questions like: • Where are the pockets of medical excellence? • Has increased population improved hospital care and procedures in the suburbs? • Is it perception or reality that patients still seek New York City hospitals?

Everyone has hospital and health questions. Come prepared with yours.

Panel in formation: DR. JohN CRoWE DR. SimEoN Orthopedic Surgeon and SChWARtz

President, Orthopaedic and CEO, WestMed Neurosurgery Specialists PC, Medical Group, Greenwich, Conn. Westchester County

JoN SChANDlER mikE WEBER President/CEO, President/CEO, White Plains Hospital Health Quest, Hudson Valley

APRIL 26

11:30 a.m. buffet lunch Program begins at noon at 1133 Westchester Ave. White Plains, NY Register now. Space is limited. Email Beverly Visosky at bvisosky@westfairinc.com or go to westfaironline.com/hospitals.

8 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

Startup Weekend Stamford enlivens Old Town Hall BY DOUG CAMPBELL

att Murphy warbled about his website to help people ready for a first date. A teen and his mom shared his iPod game to teach young children Chinese. Linda Woods huddled with her team over orange-juice futures. On March 30, the inaugural Startup Weekend Stamford squeezed fresh entrepreneurial juice out of Old Town Hall as 48 entrepreneurs made one-minute pitches to a sold-out crowd of 150 people. Immediately evident was the energy and enthusiasm among the mostly young professionals. People were there for the experience and were excited also about a personal need they had or product or service that would fill a hole in the market. After the initial pitches, entrepreneurs, marketers, developers, designers, mentors and generalists hashed out ideas in groups. Along with judges, each had three votes to bestow on the strongest ideas to flesh out for the finals April 1 at the University of Connecticut Stamford. The field was winnowed to a dozen winning ideas, with teams of up to eight people forming to figure out a plan of action. I was a mentor for three teams, but spent a good part of the weekend with Agricomm Weather, which took third place. Headed by Linda Woods, in town from Boston, the team included a Stamford developer, two members who worked in finance in New York City and a New York Yankees intern. Agricomm has an exclusive arrangement to provide weather information to commodity traders using 650,000 sensors, instead of the 8,000 currently used. They met Friday night, most of the day and night on Saturday, and members even studied and developed forecasts for orange

juice futures remotely and financial projections right in the classroom. The team bonded well and enjoyed the experience and said they will stay in touch. I also worked with Matt Murphy, an MBA student at Babson College, who sang his pitch. His company became LoveSquadron – the team also flirted with Date Hint – with a platform for people to get advice from friends on what to do on first dates and other life events. Harmonizing his presentation with a personal story, Murphy was the runner up. The first-place team, led by Amee Patel and Michelle Larivee from Wharton Business School, came up with an idea to help students manage their debt. Winners won legal, accounting and incubation space for their ventures. This was the fourth Startup Weekend event in Connecticut – and the best, according to Joe DeMartino, a judge and former president of the Angel Investors Forum. Other events were held in Storrs, Hartford and New Haven. “The quality of the presentations was clearly the best we have seen,” DeMartino said. “There are more developers and media savvy professionals in Stamford.” Sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation, Startup Weekend events are held each weekend in cities globally, with over 45,000 people attending since it began. In case you missed Stamford Startup Weekend (information is online at stamford.startupweekend.org), New York City will hold a similar event May 4-6 focused on music and gaming. Doug Campbell is CEO of the Success Coach, a Darien consultancy. He can be reached at doug@thesuccesscoach.com.

FAIR ARGUMENT “We’ve had approximately 33,000 voluntary disclosures from individuals who came in under several special programs we started in 2009 … We are now mining the information we have received to date and have launched our next wave of investigations on banks, bankers, intermediaries and taxpayers.” – IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman speaking to the National Press Club

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 

  





FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012

THE LIST

Accounting Firms Next list: April 23

333 Ludlow St., Stamford 06902 • 708-4000 10 Westport Road, Wilton 06897 • 761-3000 deloitte.com

McGladrey +

PwC L.L.P.

KPMG L.L.P.

BlumShapiro

850 Canal St., Stamford 06902 328-7101 • mcgladrey.com

300 Atlantic St., Stamford 06901 539-3000 • pwc.com

3001 Summer St., Stamford 06905 356-9800 • kpmg.com

2 Enterprise Drive, Shelton 06484 944-2100 • blumshapiro.com

Citrin Cooperman 37 North Ave., Norwalk 06851 847-4068 • citrincooperman.com

J.H. Cohn L.L.P.

O'Connor Davies L.L.P.

Dworken, Hillman, LaMorte & Sterczala P.C.

1177 Summer St., Stamford 06905 399-1900 • jhcohn.com

1 Stamford Landing, Stamford 06902 323-2400 • odpkf.com

4 Corporate Drive, Suite 488, Shelton 06484 929-3535 • dhls.com

Capossela Cohen L.L.C. 368 Center St., Southport 06890 254-7000 • capossela.com

Reynolds & Rowella L.L.P.

Cohen, Burger, Schwartz & Sax L.L.C.

Dylewsky Goldberg & Brenner L.L.C.

Apicella, Testa & Company P.C.

Grill & Partners L.L.C.

Martin, DeCruze & Company L.L.P.

Dempsey Partners L.L.C.

90 Grove St., Suite 101, Ridgefield 06877 438-0161 • reynoldsrowella.com

2228 Black Rock Turnpike, Suite 204, Fairfield 06825 333-2228 • cbsscpa.com

30 Oak St., Stamford 06905 975-8830 • dgbcpas.com

680 Bridgeport Ave., Shelton 06484 925-9494 • ctcpa.com

111 Beach Road, Fairfield 06824 254-3880 • grill1.com

2777 Summer St., Stamford 06905 327-7151 • mdcocpa.com

372 Danbury Road, Wilton 06897 762-5052 • dempseypartners.com

400

173 2,955

Tony Ceci tonyceci@mcgladrey.com 1926

186 6,500

5,500

Laurie Schupmann 1849

380 30,835

10,168

Ken Seel kseel@kpmg.com 1897

208 18,285

6,427

Carl Johnson info@blumshapiro.com 1980

47 180

112

Mark L. Fagan 1979

26 335

Dom Esposito CPA Chief operating officer and office managing partner, Stamford marketing@jhcohn.com 1919

150

16 600

tax services

9,280

small-business services

650 18,776

personal planning

Stephen Gallucci 1895

Services offered

management consulting

Number of partners in county, nationwide

litigation support

Number of CPAs in county, nationwide

computer consulting

Number of accounting professionals in county, nationwide

Deloitte L.L.P. (and its subsidiaries)

Managing partner(s) Email address Year company established

auditing

Name, address, phone number Area code: 203 (unless otherwise noted) Website

business planning

Rank

Ranked by number of CPAs in county; listed alphabetically in event of tie.

Fairfield County Next list: April 23 –Largest Thrifts andand Savings Thrifts SavingsBanks Banks

government accounting

Accounting Firms

estate planning

Ranked by number of CPAs in county. Listed alphabetically in event of tie.

a a a a a a a a a a

a a a

37 2,568

a a a a

22 1,784

a a a

a a a a a

10 48

a a a a a a a a a a

216

8 100

a a a a

23 892

23 445

5 175

a a a a a a a a a a

Kevin J. Keane kkeane@odpkf.com 1891

35 402

20 177

14 72

a a a a a a a a a a

Eric N. Hendlin erich@dhls.com 1990

30 30

9 9

a a

a a a a a a a

David J. Fuchs CPA info@capossela.com 1946

24 24

5 5

a a

Frank A. Rowella Jr. CPA mitchq@reynoldsrowella.com 1985

36 36

6 6

a a a a a a a

Edward P. Burger CPA eburger@cbsscpa.com 1959

17 17

5 5

a a a a

Scott M. Brenner CPA info@dgbcpas.com 1991

11 11

3 3

a a

Charlie Smith charlie@ctcpa.com 1950

15 15

4 4

a a a a

Norman Grill n.grill@grill1.com 1984

11 WND

WND

a a a a

Kathleen DeCruze kdecruze@mdcocpa.com 2001

8 8

a a

a a a a

John Dempsey johndempsey@dempseypartners.com 1982

8 30

6 WND

5 5

4 15

3 3

2 8

Questions or comments, call (914) 694-3600, ext. 3005. Note: This is a sampling of accounting firms in Fairfield County. Our full lists will be available online (westfaironline.com) through our digital edition. + McGladrey is a professional services firm providing accounting, tax and business consulting; operating in an alternative practice structure with McGladrey & Pullen L.L.P., a partner-owned CPA firm that delivers audit and attest services. Data reflects employees in both the Stamford and New Haven offices. The New Haven office is located at 1 Church St., eighth floor, New Haven 06510; telephone (203) 773-1909. WND Would not disclose.

10 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

a a a a a

a a

a a a a a

a a

a a a

a a

SPECIAL REPORT Business Accounting

Tax fraud by identity theft a growing headache BY CAROL E. CURTIS

ccurtis@westfairinc.com

surge in tax refund fraud via identity theft has grown serious enough for Congress to hold a hearing on the problem, while prompting the Internal Revenue Service to consider sharing more tax return information with police.

“Connecticut is definitely at risk,” Mike Hoffman said.

As federal officials move to control the fraudsters, one accountant with numerous Connecticut clients said that while Florida has seen the most cases, places like Fairfield

County could be a logical next target. “It is an issue of supply and demand,” said Mike Hoffman, a partner at Adeptus L.L.C., an accounting firm with offices in New York and New Jersey. “Connecticut is definitely at risk because of the affluent profile of its population.” Tax fraud via identity theft is a growing headache for accountants. Fraudsters typically steal Social Security numbers and file returns seeking tax refunds, using an abandoned home or another false address as a delivery point. If the fraudster files the return before the person holding the Social Security number, the refund will often be sent to the bogus filer. Hoffman said that this type of fraud has already been an issue with clients. He cited one case where he e-filed a return for a client, only to have it rejected by the IRS, which said that the Social Security number had already been used on someone else’s return. The problem may simply be a mistake, he said, but if not, chances are someone else used the Social Security number for fraudulent reasons. In cases like this, Hoffman said that he calls the client and reissues the return as a paper document. He also advises the client to check his or her credit report to make sure that someone has not been using the number to obtain counterfeit credit cards. “When you send in a paper file, the IRS will usually catch the discrepancy because you have a person looking at it,” he said. The IRS is currently tracking some 300,000 identitytheft cases, said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida during a March hearing of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth. While Tampa has been at the center of the problem, Nelson said it is not confined to one area of the country. He produced a chart showing that the amount of identity theft cases the IRS received between 2009 and 2011 nearly tripled. “People describe it as cocaine on a card,” he said. “It’s a lot of money and people are having parties in their homes and training others on how to commit this crime.”

In a move that could spark concerns over personal privacy, an IRS official said at the hearing that the agency is considering a pilot program in Tampa. “We are limited in what we can supply to local law enforcement,” said Steven Miller, deputy IRS commissioner for services and enforcement. While tax return information is normally kept confidential, under the program exceptions could be made, with the permission of victims of identity theft and tax refund fraud, so that bogus tax return documents could be shared with police. Nelson has introduced the Identity Theft and Tax Fraud Prevention Act, a bill that would give the IRS and

“People describe it as cocaine on a card. It’s a lot of money and people are having parties in their homes and training others on how to commit this crime.” – U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida

identity-theft victims the means to better detect and prevent tax refund fraud. Meanwhile, accountants such as Hoffman can only hope law enforcement officials get a handle on the problem soon. “This is another step in the process that I have to take time to investigate,” he said.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 11

Business Accounting

Experienced. Local. Responsive.

In brief

panies in the world. Under CEO Michael Neal, GE Capital has reduced earning assets by more than 20 percent since 2008 by divesting or running off higher risk and underperforming portfolios, while also increasing shareholders’ equity by 37 percent.

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Despite CEO Michael Neal’s efforts to reduce risk at GE Capital, Moody’s downgraded its ratings on the financial giant.

Moody’s: GE Capital still a risk Moody’s Investors Service downgraded the debt of Connecticut conglomerate General Electric Co. and its GE Capital unit, citing continued risk posed by GE’s finance arm in any major market disruption. While GE Capital has improved its liquidity and capital levels since the onset of the credit crisis, Moody’s stated, there are still material risks in its funding model. It said it still views GE Capital as one of the strongest finance com-

Connecticut is once again home to the latest “Tax Freedom Day” in the nation – May 5 – representing the hypothetical day at which point residents would have paid off their total tax burden if devoting all earnings to that purpose since the start of the year. The Tax Foundation counts federal, state and local taxes in its calculations. The Washington, D.C.-based organization set its national tax freedom day for April 17, with New York and New Jersey the next two tax-heavy states with a May 1 date. Tax Freedom Day arrived earliest in Tennessee, on March 31. Rhode Island residents fare best in the Northeast with a Tax Freedom Day of April 15.

Fresh Start for self-employed Under a new Internal Revenue Service program called Fresh Start, tax relief is available

12 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

Briefs, page 14

Included : Dedication from a Type

Personality.

Make sure to use the state’s tax credits

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INTRODUCING CERTIFIED BUSINESS BANKERS

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Our branch managers recently completed the Webster 4-Star Business Certification Program. Each one spent over 100 hours furthering their business skills through in-depth training, Moody’s Analytics classes and field experience. Now, whenever you call or visit any branch, we’re uniquely trained to help your business succeed. It’s a higher level of expertise that you’ll only find at Webster, and what you can expect from a Type W Personality. So visit your nearest branch and let us put our hard work to use for you.

ust closed the books on your 2011 taxes? Well turn the page, because this is the opportune time to get planning for the 2012 tax year. For many businesses, it is a daunting task to manage all of the company’s federal, state and local tax filing obligations. It is even more difficult to fully understand and maximize all of the tax benefits available to the company. Most business taxpayers are aware of the common major deductions, such as bonus depreciation and prepaid expense deductions, to which they are entitled; however, one area that tends to be overlooked is state tax credits. In Connecticut, there are over 30 state tax credits that can be utilized to reduce the tax liability of businesses operating in the state. These credits cover a wide range of activities and business types, from financial institutions that invest in Connecticut facilities to businesses that make cash investments in community programs. Although these credits can offer valuable cash savings, upfront planning is often required to maximize the benefits available. Understanding the incentives offered by the state is key in maximizing the benefit of state tax credits. For example, a business that expands its workforce may be eligible for substantial benefits in the form of hiring credits. Hiring credits are available for businesses that create new jobs and are willing to hire individuals trying to rejoin the workforce. Depending on the size of the business, this credit can be worth $500 a month in cash savings for up to three years. That is a total potential state tax reduction of $18,000. There are additional incentives for hiring veterans or individuals who currently receive assistance from the state. There are also several credits available to certain businesses that expand existing

locations, open new locations or relocate to Connecticut. Depending on where in Connecticut the business is based or where it is relocating, it may qualify for one of many Enterprise Zone credits. Enterprise Zones are geographical areas that the state has designated for investment incentives. These credits can provide a substantial reduction in tax, but must be considered in advance, as the credit guidelines require that a business work with the state before eligible projects are undertaken. It is important to note that many of the credits are subject to limitations based on the percentage of income or size of the business. Most credits are nonrefundable if there is no tax liability to offset. However, if your business is currently claiming the federal Research and Experimentation (R&E) credit, it may be eligible for one of the various R&E credits in Connecticut. The R&E credits are some of the only refundable credits available in Connecticut. A business with no tax liability may receive a cash refund for 65 percent of the credit amount. Since it is unusual for a credit to be refundable, R&E studies are not always performed to identify these credits for companies with operating losses. For Connecticut businesses, you need to think beyond the federal R&E credit, and determine the potential cash refund from the Connecticut R&E credit. There are many other general credits available for purchasing machinery and equipment, making investments in green building materials and even for property taxes paid for certain types of equipment. Although Connecticut offers many credits that cover a wide range of activities, it is important to start planning now in order to maximize the available benefits. It is recommended that you consult with a qualified tax professional to ensure that you meet the specific requirements.

BUS

BY SEAN KEATING

RT I F IE D

4-Star Business Certification Program W MOODY’S ANALYTICS W PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE W RIGOROUS SALES TRAINING W FIELD EXPERIENCE

Sean Keating is a CPA in the Stamford office of McGladrey & Pullen L.L.P. He can be reached at sean.keating@mcgladrey.com.

FAIR ARGUMENT “When you’re a startup, you’ve got to be very careful about making mistakes early in your hiring, and the best way to do that is to hire … people who you know.” – Rick Fernandes, Affinion Group, Stamford

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Color: 4C BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 13 MM: Joanne Renna

Business Accounting

Writing a new story under Chapter 11 By IRVE J. GOLDMAN

igoldman@pullcom.com

ompanies facing financial distress are increasingly turning to Chapter 11 to restructure their indebtedness and return to financial health. While Chapter 11 is not a panacea for all financial ailments, it can effectively be used to reduce debt, remodel operations and otherwise maintain a business as a going concern. The recent Chapter 11 filings of Kodak, Friendly’s, Hostess and Coach Transportation are examples that even the most established companies are not immune from the adversities of the marketplace or afraid to resort to Chapter 11 to effectively deal with them. Some of the more significant restructuring tools afforded to these and other companies by Chapter 11 are:

• Automatic stay. The filing of a Chapter 11 petition will, by operation of law, prohibit creditors from taking or continuing with any and all collection actions. • Freezing of pre-petition debt. Upon the filing of a Chapter 11 petition, the debtor is prohibited by law from making payments on its pre-petition debt, thus providing an immediate benefit to the cash flow of the business. • Restructuring of secured debt. Under Chapter 11, secured debt may be restructured by lowering the interest rate on the obligation, extending its maturity, or both. In certain circumstances, the amount of secured debt can be written down to the value of the creditor’s collateral. • Extending payment of tax debt. Tax

debt to the federal or state government may be paid in installments over a five-year period dating from the bankruptcy petition date. • Reducing unsecured debt. In the typical Chapter 11 case, a committee of unsecured creditors is appointed to represent the interests of all unsecured creditors. The debtor negotiates with the committee for a reduction in its unsecured debt to a manageable level and a plan for repayment on the reduced amount that is consistent with the debtor’s ability to pay. It is not uncommon for a substantial amount of debt to be forgiven with the realization that if the debtor is forced to shut down and liquidate, creditors will get a zero return. • Assuming or rejecting contracts or leases. Debtors under Chapter 11 can rid themselves of unfavorable contracts or leases,

Let’s talk capital markets.

such as equipment leases, real estate leases and long-term contracts, or assume ones that were previously in default. • Recovery of payments or repossessions and avoidance of liens. If a debtor makes payments as a result of collection pressure or has its assets liened, attached or repossessed within 90 days of a bankruptcy filing, the payments may be recovered and the liens, attachments or repossessions may be avoided as “preferential transfers.” • Selling property free and clear of liens. Debtors can use the Chapter 11 process to sell any or all of their assets whether or not they are covered by liens. The bankruptcy court has the authority to order that the sale be free and clear of any liens. Irve J. Goldman is a partner in the Bridgeport office of Pullman & Comley L.L.C., with a focus on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights.

Briefs — From page 12

for unemployed people or self-employed taxpayers whose income has dropped. Some struggling taxpayers may qualify for an offer-in-compromise, an agreement between a taxpayer and the IRS that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. Generally, an offer will not be accepted if the IRS believes the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through a payment agreement. The IRS looks at the taxpayer’s income and assets to make a determination regarding the taxpayer’s ability to pay.

Let’s talk about J.H. Cohn’s expertise. Advisors who combine industry-specific experience with deep insight into today’s complex capital markets. Unmatched integrity. Unsurpassed results. If that’s what you’re looking for in an accounting firm, talk to J.H. Cohn.

DOJ cites ITS

We t u r n e x p e r t i s e i n t o r e s u l t s .

Joe Torre

Dom Esposito Capital Markets Strategy

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The U.S. Department of Justice sued to shut down Instant Tax Service and multiple franchisees, seeking an injunction on what DOJ alleged is pervasive tax fraud by the company. Dayton, Ohio-based ITS has no Fairfield County franchise, but operates multiple locations in Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y. DOJ accuses ITS franchisees in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Indianapolis and Las Vegas of intentionally filing fraudulent tax returns to maximize their customers’ refunds, then extracting whopping “junk fees” directly from customers’ refund checks. Over the past few years, DOJ has prosecuted four individual tax return preparers affiliated with ITS franchises in Ohio and Missouri.

Other offices in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Cayman Islands

14 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

– Alexander Soule

“A hidden gem!” This is how many visitors describe Fairfield University’s Bellarmine Museum of Art (BMA) after experiencing its award-winning galleries, evocative collections and inviting temporary exhibitions for themselves. Designed by Centerbrook Architects, the BMA stewards a rich array of paintings, sculptures and decorative art objects, including its Kress Collection (gifted by the Discovery Museum) of 10 paintings from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque, a large selection of historic plaster casts after ancient Greek and Roman exemplars and a number of objects from Southeast Asia, Imperial China and PreColumbian Latin and South America. The Bellarmine also holds 20 objects on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art/The Cloisters Museum and mounts up to five temporary exhibitions each year. These shows, which embrace a wide range of subjects and disciplines, are intended to enhance the museum’s collections by examining cultural artifacts from many different perspectives. “Immortality of the Spirit: Chinese Funerary Sculpture from the Han and Tang Dynasties” is on view through June 6. The museum offers a robust schedule of outreach and educational programming, designed to complement each of its temporary exhibitions. Educational tours for students and teachers, as well as adult learners, are also available. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. while the university is in session. Summer hours are Mondays through Fridays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., excluding national holidays. For more information, visit fairfield.edu/ musem or call 254-4046.

Jill Deupi, J.D., Ph.D., Director, Bellarmine Museum of Art Member, Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County

The mission of the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County is to support cultural organizations, artists and creative businesses by providing promotion, services and advocacy.

FCBUZZ

Arts & Culture of Fairfield County

GET DOWN AND GET ELECTRO-FUNKY Fairfield Theatre Co. is hosting Sam Sparro April 20 at 7:30 p.m. at StageOne, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield. Quite unlike any other dance, pop or rock artist at the moment, Sparro has fast become the “hot pop property,” according to one English review. His self-titled debut electro-funk album debuted at No. 1 on US iTunes dance charts, selling 260,000 copies. The single “Black and Gold” climbed to No. 2 on the UK charts and helped position Sparro’s debut in the Top 5 upon its release. His style is mostly derived from contemporary R&B and he was trained as a gospel singer, but his music is very futuristic sounding. Hailing from Australia, Sparro dove headfirst into the international music scene and soon was signed to Island Records in the United Kingdom. Tickets are $19 for members and $22 for nonmembers. For more information or to buy tickets, call 259-1036 or visit fairfieldtheatre.org.

A TWISTED CLASSIC A 25th anniversary production of the imaginative, fractured-fairy-tale musical “Into the Woods” by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim will be staged at the theater where Sondheim was an apprentice in 1950, Westport Country Playhouse, May 1- 26. Directed by Mark Lamos, the playhouse artistic director, the musical will open the theater’s 82nd season. It is co-proRICHARD ANDERSON

Bellarmine Museum of Art

For more information, visit CulturalAllianceFC.org or email infoCulturalAllianceFC.org or call 256-2329. For events lists, visit FCBuzz.org. From left, Lauren Kennedy, Erik Liberman and Danielle Ferland in “Into the Woods” at Westport Country Playhouse.

duced with Baltimore’s Centerstage. A multiple Tony Award winner, “Into the Woods” takes the audience to a beguiling and dark place inspired by Grimms’ fairy tales. Among the classic characters that wander the woods searching for fulfillment of their wishes are Cinderella and her wicked stepsisters, Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, Rapunzel and her Prince, and Jack of the Beanstalk fame. As their fanciful tales intertwine, they are forced to confront the harsh reality of what actually happens after “happily ever after.” “Fairytales are the bedrock of dreams, psychosis and creativity. They lodge in our fantasies and nightmares,” Lamos said. “Here they spring to witty, gorgeous life through Sondheim’s stunning music and lyrics and Lapine’s spellbinding book.” Performances are Tuesdays at 8 p.m., Wednesdays at 2 and 8 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $30, but subject to change based on availability. For more information or tickets, call the box office at 227-4177 or toll-free at (888) 927-7529 or visit westportplayhouse.org.

Visit FCBuzz.org for more information on events and how to get listed.

Presented by: Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County

FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 15

Leadership Fairfield County: Fairfield County Welcomes the Travelers Championship Launches April 26 Celebrating the Travelers designated

Championship’s new office grand beneficiaries, Leadership Fairfield County, now in its opening in Stamford, a reception The Hole in 21st professional development 2012 Topic Snapshots was year, held is ataTrump Parc Stamford on the Wall Gang program that offers exposure ato special the reMarch 2nd, and featured Camp and State Government: Unified engion’s important from issues, presented guest most appearance PGA TOUR the and Greater ergized. Effective and affordable? by an exceptional faculty of business, professional Billy Andrade. Har tford Infrastructure: The Foundation The Travelers Championship is J a y c e of e sa . government, non-profit and educational 21st Century Connecticut Connecticut’s only PGA TOUR event more Economy. than Is130 other leaders, in a class of accomplished, high Also, From left to right: House Minority Leader Larry Cafero, House Majority Leader J. Brendan Sharkey, Senate Competitive orcharities Crumbling? and is looking to expand par ticipated Minority Leader John McKinney, Senate President Donald Williams and Joe McGee, BCFC, moderator. performing peers selected fromits 20 reach differ- Connecticut Readiness and Resilience: A New This event is part of The Business Council’s Democracy Works! program, which seeks to increase public intocompanies Southernand Connecticut with the in tournament fundraisers in 2009 ent organizations. Imperative for State Government awareness of the most important issues facing the state. We are delighted to thank Purdue Pharma L.P. for its opening of anFairfield office at 707 serves Summer help generate dollars for their and speLeadership County to to its generous support for this initiative. Residents? Street in Stamford. The office space cific causes. In 2009, the Travelers broaden the perspectives and expand the Bridgeport, Norwalk and was generously by ofThe donated $1.08 million professional network donated development its Championship Stamford: Are our Cities Cool, ComAshforth Company and the tourna- to non-profit organizations throughparticipants, through its interactive topic petitive or Challenged? ment has also partnered with The out the state. Health Care: Trends and Choices, sessions facilitated roundtables with Businessand Council of Fair field to help “We are excited for the opporProgress or Chaos? C-suite executives from major companies with the expansion. tunity to be a part of the Fair field Education: Heading for Yale - or throughout region. the Travelers County The Business Council hosted its an- economic growth, government perfor“We the welcome said Travelers Jail? community,” Public education in the state Get access to to the the Fair overfield 300 County execu- Championship nual State Legislative Leadership Break- mance and fiscal responsibility. Championship Tournament Director withannuthe largest The achievement gap andH. Wheeler, The Business Council ofLeadership Fairfield&County 2010 Travelers Walter Jr. Leadership nessand Council. HeWhile has actively engaged his coltives whosaid have participated area,” Chris Bruhl, in President Nathan Grube. “The fast convening the Democratic ReConnecticut has long been greatest income equality in the nation ally anthe exceptional leader regional Award will be presented to Richard E. Taber, Chairleagues in community service opportunities, worked Fairfield County in past two decades, CEO,recognizes The Business Council. “Theirof the Championship is a premier statewide publican leadership of the House and the among the leaders in workforce qualInnovation & Entrepreneurship make connections with the decibusiness community. man of the to Board & CEO, Senate First County BankWhile on tax tirelessly for access affordable housing, and has philanthropy reaches allregion’s corners of event, and we’re eager continue in March. policy, the ity, wetoare losing our competitive edge. theThrough state and wishH. them great have a great partnership with sion makers and involve yourself in theJr. to the we Walter Wheeler, Leadership Tuesday, October 5th.the been deeply through achievement personal leaderbudget deficit and transportation strat- supportive, Starkly uneven levels success as Business they their pres- businesses, charities and field for more information: 203- egy issues impacting theincrease region. Award, The Council demonstrates itsCounty com- volunteers, Mr. Taber is a respected community leader and the Bank’s community investments, in exwere among thecondozenship of questions among students from different racial and ence in the region.” fans Connecticut. Without them, 359-3220 or www.businessfairfield.com. Contact Businessleadership Council of and Fair- offers posed the audience – and debatededucational by ethnicopportunities groups and income levels can be mitment toThe volunteer aofrole tributing his time and leadership toby a variety of area panding for all children. The tournament donates 100% of the success of this tournament would panel –Development there was much discussion found at allon points education model for all businesspeople emulate. award, non-profits including the the Housing For more information this along year’sthe Walter H. net proceeds ever y year totoits two The not be possible.” around the Governor’s plans to reform continuum. In fact, Connecticut’s worstnamed after the visionary Pitney Bowes leader, cel- Fund, Stamford Partnership, the United Way, the Wheeler Jr. Leadership Award Dinner, please conin the state. in-nation achievement gap is nothing ebrates corporate leadership in our community. Downtown Special Serviceseducation District, and The Busi- tact The Business Council at 203-359-3220. short of a full-blown crisis. The Business Council has provided The Business Council’s testimony in support of Senate Bill 24 2012 Legislative – An Act Concerning Educational ComRecommendations: The petitiveness and House Bill 5350 - An Act Year of Education Reform Concerning Achieving Universal Literacy Leadership Fair field leadership development As Connecticut slowly emerges from by Grade Three, recognizing that reform County is a professional activities. Participants March 24, 2010 the prolonged nationalBreakfast recession,Program: a wide 8:00 is critical if the state to remain competinon-profit representatives. For more information development program that encouraged to actively Registration: 7:45am – 9:30am Human Capital Council leadership areand Employee wellness is ais business range of issues are before the General tive in the global economy. contactpresenters Elizabeth Bradley broadens succession the skills andannounced engage in dia- at ebradley@businessfairCost: $45 members; $55 non-members – and Business Council - issue. The Business 2012 perspectives of organiza- Susan Johnson, Vice logue and take advantage Assembly. field.com. More information on executives our LegislaStamford Plaza Hotel andCouncil’s Conference Center In 2007 and 2009, a team of member focus is on action in four priority areas: tional leaders and provides of their expertise by asking For more information, please call 203-359-3220 tive Recommendations can be found at President, Strategic Talconducted “Healthy Workplace” employer recognition education and workforce development, the region with individuthoughtful andNew thought pro- forming? www.businessfairfield.com. group ent Management & Diverprograms which celebrated the accomplishments of als who are prepared to voking questions. Twelve “trusted advisors,” leaders of firms who peer-selected employers and shared their experiencsity Leadership for Pitney ami, 8 nights first class hotel accomserve as catalysts for posiMonthly sessions, begin- have come together for a advise business leaders, Bowes Inc., has been ning in events and publications. These were among the modations, 19 meals (7esbreakfasts, tive change. Established in March and concludof dialogues facilitated by Business Council best received events we’ve ever presented. named Chair of the Human ingseries 7 lunches, 5 dinners), Cuban Travel in 1992 by the Business in November, last from director Lucy Baney, CEO of Access Technologies Capital Council. Susan three hours Council of Fairfield County, to a full day, visa, transportation by deluxeMembers air-con- involved in our Health Care Council and Group. have shared perspectives on the Chief Human Resources Officers Roundtable have succeeds Cathy Candland, with “Leadership” has served the Participants majority running ditioned motor coach, and professional between and client, discussed expressed interest in holding another program later CEO, more than 300 executives fromAdvantage 80+ fromHuman 8:00 a.m.relationship to 1:00 p.m. All will advisor be Cuban peer bilingual guides. to Hathe potential of forming an ongoing group, and Travel Resourcing, held this year, but believe that the opportunity to improve companies, non-profit organizations andwho held on the Fridays. vana and Trinidad include visits to Old explored ways which their unique sets of knowl- wellness position for two years. may government agencies. Sites visited will be in in Stamford, Havana, Museo Fine Arts, Cathedral be larger than can be met in a single edge and experiences can be efficiently SPEAKER OF THE shared HOUSE with HOUSEevent MINORITY SENATE PRESIDENT PRO SENATE MINORITY TheprofesCouncil provides orCaspublication. Each year, mid to Newtown, Hartford and Cultural travel forsenior U.S. level citizens to Bridgeport, travel exchange. de la Havana, Cienfuegos, Jagua CHRISTOPHER DONOVAN CAFERO TEMPORE LEADER PRO TEMPORE the broader Business Council leadership network.LEADER A LARRY the Board of Directors Later this month, fifteen of the most knowledgesionals are selected by their organizaNorwalk and will include city halls, a Cuba has resumed after years of restricJoining our colleagues at the Bridge- tle, Church of Trinidad, Sugar Mill Val- DONALD WILLIAMS JOHN MCKINNEY lively LinkedIn Group Discussion is also underway. tions to participate in this educational transportation center, a waste water with ongoing analysis of Business Council and the ley, Hemingway’s Farm/Finca ableLaindividuals from our most “wellness-active” tion. port Regional Vigia, The group expects to make and announce program. Class sizeais50-year-old limited toeco25. treatment public and of public charLegislative leaders decifrom the Connecticut General Assembly will participate regional human capital is-facility, members will meet to explore potential additional in acWhile maintaining Chambers of Commerce Danbury, Cojimar Fishing Village. sions mission, criteria forand participation and serParticipants receive exposure to the aster schools, the Stateon Capitol, a hospital, a moderated discussion of the primary issues facing the State. Moderated by sues, serves a steering tivities and roles for The Business Council. nomic embargo, the Obama Administra- Greater Norwalk and Stamford, The For moreinformation information check vicesfacility, over the nextothers. 4-6 weeks. more critical issues Fairfield County a correctional among theFor Business Council’s VPplease of Public Policy, Joeaction McGee, we will use our famous committee for facing related Business Counciland programs A report, with recommendations, will be tion has authorized select travel organizBusiness Council is offering a 9-day trip, out the travel itinerary and FAQs posted through on-siteprovides visits, moderated interIfpracticyou would like Lynn to find out more at lspreadbury@businesscontact Spreadbury “straight to the questions”presented format to to bethe followed by moderated And our and services, a forum for peer best Board of Directors atQ&A. its September ers to legally offer travel to Cuba. beginning September 27, for $3,499. on our website - www.businessfairfield. action with working professionals, about this program please contact promise: No speeches. Really. fairfield.com. es exchanges acts publiclecpolicy advocate. For more information contact Tanya Court Be one of a and select fewastoaembark on Tanya TheCourt $3,499 per person double rate com or contact us with anymeeting. questions at tures, discussion groups, and other at 203-359-3220. It is comprised of business, academic, government at tcourt@businessfairfield.com. this unique person-to-person cultural includes round-trip airfare from Mi- 203-359-3220.

CT’s Legislative Leadership Focuses on the Key Issues this Session Honoring

Richard E. Taber, Chairman of the Board & CEO, First County Bank

Leadership Fairfield County: Access. Connections. Solutions.

LEADERSHIP NETWORK SNAPSHOTS

Save the Date: Legislative Leadership Breakfast

Discover Cuba – yes, Cuba – this September

The Business Council of Fairfield County thanks The Community’s Bank for their support of our communication efforts. 16 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

on the record Attachments

Building Permits

Ryders Partners L.L.C. and Robert Sbriglio, Stratford. $24,293 in favor of Superior Products Distributors Inc., Plantsville. Property: 35 Surrey Lane, Stratford. Filed Caldwell & Walsh, Sandy Hook, March 5. contractor for Marc Peyser. Perform interior alterations at an existing commercial building, Bankruptcies 778 Long Ridge Road, Stamford. The following petition was filed Estimated cost: $130,000. Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Bridge- March 16. port. Chapter 11 indicates the filer intends to submit a plan of reor- CE Bethel L.L.C. Fit out an existganization to the court. Chapter 7 ing commercial space for tenant indicates a liquidation of assets. Dollar Tree Stores at 83B Stony Hill Road, Bethel. Estimated cost: Donald Wood-Smith M.D. P.C., $74,300. Filed March 6. 830 Park Ave., New York City. Chapter 7, filed April 3, case no. 12- Deluca Construction, Stamford, 50626. Assets: $50,000 to $100,000. contractor for Stamford HospiLiabilities: $500,000 to $1 million. tal. Perform interior alterations Creditors: Lelia Wood-Smith, at an existing commercial build$369,929; Philip Wood-Smith, ing, 30 Shelburne Road, Stam$369,127; Mentor Corp., $73,055; ford. Estimated cost: $90,000. Abdel Abadir MD, $30,000; How- Filed March 16. ard Diamond MD, $45,000;. Type of business: professional company. Debtor’s attorney: Barbara Diggs Construction L.L.C., H. Katz, Law Office of Barbara H. Hartford, contractor for Stampar Associates L.L.C. Perform inteKatz, Trumbull. rior alterations at an existing commercial building, 30 Commerce Road, Stamford. Estimated cost: $165,000. Filed March 19.

Commercial

CORRECTION Rick’s Main Roofing Ltd., Norwalk, was contractor for Consortium Properties for replacing a roof at 106 Federal Road, Danbury. Information in the March 19 on the record section contained incorrect information. Items appearing in the Fairfield County Business Journal’s On The Record section are compiled from various sources, including public records made available to the media by federal, state and municipal agencies and the court system. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this information, no liability is assumed for errors or omissions. In the case of legal action, the records cited are open to public scrutiny and should be inspected before any action is taken. Questions and comments regarding this section should be directed to: Bob Rozycki c/o Westfair Communications Inc. 3 Gannett Drive, Suite G7 White Plains, N.Y. 10604-3407 Phone: (914)694-3600 Fax: (914)694-3680

Nexlink Global Services Inc., Blue Bell, Pa., contractor for Target Stores. Install wireless communications antennas at an existing commercial building, 7 Stony Hill Road, Bethel. Estimated cost: $200,000. Filed March 6. Piece Management Inc., New Hyde Park, N.Y., contractor for Paul McNamara. Perform interior renovations at an existing commercial building, 90 Danbury Road, Ridgefield. Estimated cost: $80,000. Filed March 7. RSC Construction, Ridgefield, contractor for Louis Price. Construct a new storage structure at 29 Prospect St., Ridgefield. Estimated cost: $115,000. Filed March 1. Saugatuck Construction Group, Stamford, contractor for Reckson Division of SL Green. Perform interior renovation at an existing commercial building, 1055 Washington Blvd., Stamford. Estimated cost: $92,015. Filed March 16.

Residential

Pelham Homes L.L.C., Ridgefield, contractor for Lars Sorensen. Construct an addition at an existing single-family residence, 120 Mountain Road, Ridgefield. Estimated cost: $200,000. Filed March 6.

Autozone Northeast Inc., et al., Bridgeport, et al. Filed by Rosetta Alexander, Troy, N.Y. Plaintiff’s Berkshire North L.L.C. Conattorney: Perkins & Associates, struct a new single-family resiWoodbridge. Action: The plaintiff dence at 3 Galloping Hill Road, alleges that she fell while a busiBethel. Estimated cost: $225,000. ness invitee on premises owned or Filed March 6. otherwise under control of the defendants as the result of an unsafe Rockwood Construction Co., condition arising from negligence Breakwater Renovation and De- Greenwich, contractor for Lois and on the part of the defendants, sign, Middlebury, contractor for Albert Leon. Construct additions their agents and employees, which Rachel and Christopher Brown. and perform interior alterations at caused her to suffer serious, painPerform interior renovations at an existing single-family residence, ful injuries and to incur substanan existing single-family resi- 131 Dolphin Cove Quay, Stam- tial medical expenses. The plaintiff dence, 12 Aunt Patty’s Lane East, ford. Estimated cost: $298,500. seeks damages in excess of $15,000 Bethel. Estimated cost: $50,000. Filed March 28. plus applicable costs and reasonFiled March 8. able attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 21. Smith-Miller Construction Case no. CV126025426. Classic Connecticut Homes L.L.C., Newtown, contractor for L.L.C., Ridgefield, contractor for James Davis. Construct an addi- Caribbean Cruise Line Inc., et al., Walfrido Martinez. Construct an tion at an existing single-family Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Filed by Julie addition at an existing single-fami- residence, 61 Rock Road, Ridge- Billings, et al., Easton, et al. Plainly residence, 135 Nod Road, Ridge- field. Estimated cost: $110,000. tiff’s attorney: Paul J. Ganim, Fairfield. Estimated cost: $231,000. Filed March 2. field. Action: The plaintiffs allege Filed March 7. that the defendant made false, misT&M Lawn and Landscaping, leading statements regarding the Gregory Builders of Fairfield Danbury, contractor for Tim quality of package-tour accommoCounty, Bethel, contractor for Bri- Draper. Perform interior renova- dations, which caused the plaintiffs an Franz. Perform interior renovations at an existing single-family to incur a substantial financial loss tions at an existing single-family residence, 3 Taylor Road, Bethel. and to suffer emotional stress. The residence, 65 Peaceable St., Ridge- Estimated cost: $131,040. Filed plaintiffs seek damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and field. Estimated cost: $140,000. March 15. reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Filed March 16. Feb. 14. Case no. CV126025268. Thomas J. Westlake, Woodbury, LC Contracting L.L.C., Norwalk, contractor for Christopher Mccontractor for Joann and Robert Caffrey. Construct an addition Carlson Construction L.L.C., et Frangione. Perform alterations at at an existing single-family resi- al., Bridgeport, et al. Filed by The an existing single-family residence, dence, 14 Willow Court, Ridge- Mackenzie Company L.L.C., et 55 Slice Drive, Stamford. Estimat- field. Estimated cost: $64,000. al., Stratford. Plaintiff’s attorney: Law Office of V. Michael Simko Filed March 21. ed cost: $59,000. Filed March 21. Jr., Shelton. Action: The plaintiffs allege that they provided construcMessing, Roy. Construct addition services to the defendants and Court Cases tions and perform alterations at that amounts relating to those seran existing single-family residence, vices remain outstanding and past 260 Silver Spring Road, Ridgefield. due from the defendants despite Estimated cost: $200,000. Filed repeated requests for payment by March 20. the plaintiffs. The plaintiff seeks repayment of all outstanding amounts plus interest, costs and Nikollaj, Pren and Al Nikollaj. American Home Mortgage reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Construct an addition at an ex- Servicing Inc., Coppell, Texas. Feb. 14. Case no. CV126025204. isting single-family residence, 48 Filed by Lynn and Ronald MarMaher Road, Stamford. Estimated vin, Weston. Plaintiff’s attorney: Richard T. Florentine, Branford. The Home Depot USA Inc., cost: $54,000. Filed March 22. Action: The plaintiffs allege that Norwalk, et al. Filed by Ramsey the defendant failed to provide a Martinez, Bridgeport. Plaintiff’s Oak Street Design and Construc- timely release of their mortgage attorney: Robert M. Kaufmann, tion Inc., Newtown, contractor for within 60 days subsequent to re- Westport. Action: The plaintiff Stephanie and Brendan Kolnick. payment and that they are there- alleges that he was struck by fallConstruct an addition at an exist- fore eligible to receive the statutory ing merchandise while a business ing single-family residence, 15 Ra- penalty of up to $5,000 that applies invitee on premises owned or mapoo Road, Ridgefield. Estimat- in such cases. The plaintiffs seek a otherwise under control of the deed cost: $250,000. Filed March 23. court order awarding them the fendants as the result of an unsafe statutory penalty of up to $5,000 condition arising from negligence Pachwicewicz, Lukasz. Construct plus applicable costs and reason- on the part of the defendants, an addition at an existing single- able attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 21. their agents and employees, which caused him to suffer serious, painfamily residence, 23 Marian St., Case no. CV126025399. ful injuries and to incur substanStamford. Estimated cost: $53,000. tial medical expenses. The plaintiff Filed March 21. seeks damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 21. Case no. CV126025461.

Bridgeport Superior Court

IND L.L.C., et al., Bridgeport, et al. Filed by Nick’s Carting Inc., Bridgeport. Plaintiff’s attorney: Goldblatt Marquette & Rashba P.C., Hamden. Action: The plaintiff alleges that prior to the date of this action it delivered goods and/or services to the defendants and that $15,467 relating to those deliveries remains outstanding and past due from the defendants despite repeated requests for payment by the plaintiff. The plaintiff seeks repayment of all outstanding amounts plus interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 14. Case no. CV126025196. Ingersoll Rand Co., et al., Piscataway, N.J., et al. Filed by Richard Parker, Millinocket, Maine. Plaintiff’s attorney: Embry & Neusner, Groton. Action: The plaintiff alleges that the defendants negligently exposed him to asbestos in the workplace despite extensive evidence of the dangers of such exposure and that, as a result of this exposure, he suffered serious and painful disorders and has incurred substantial continuing medical expenses. The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 6. Case no. CV126025051. Kool Smiles Dentistry P.C., Hartford. Filed by Yulissa Berrios, et al., Bridgeport. Plaintiff’s attorney: Ventura Ribeiro & Smith, Danbury. Action: The plaintiffs allege that the minor plaintiff Yulissa fell while a business invitee on the defendant’s premises as the result of an unsafe condition arising from negligence on the part of the defendant, its agents and employees, which caused her to suffer serious, painful injuries and to incur substantial medical expenses. The plaintiffs seek damages in excess of $15,000 plus interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 15. Case no. CV126025275. Park Cemetery Association, Bridgeport. Filed by Miguel Cruz, Bridgeport. Plaintiff’s attorney: Marc A. Krasnow, Bridgeport. Action: The plaintiff alleges that the defendant made false and misleading statements regarding interment arrangements for his wife and subsequently misplaced her burial site, causing him to suffer extreme emotional stress. The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 17. Case no. CV126025393.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 17

on the record Stop & Shop Supermarket Company L.L.C., et al., Quincy, Mass. Filed by Joseph Gaymon, Bridgeport. Plaintiff’s attorney: Goldstein & Peck P.C., Bridgeport. Action: The plaintiff alleges that he fell while a business invitee on premises owned or otherwise under control of the defendants as the result of an unsafe condition arising from negligence on the part of the defendants, their agents and employees, which caused him to suffer serious, painful injuries and to incur substantial medical expenses. The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 21. Case no. CV126025462.

Danbury Superior Court B&B Home Improvements L.L.C., et al., Newtown. Filed by Ford Motor Credit Co., Livonia, Mich. Plaintiff’s attorney: Nair & Levin P.C., Bloomfield. Action: The plaintiff alleges that prior to the date of this action it extended business credit to the defendant B&B Home Improvements, for which payment was guaranteed by a co-defendant, and that $6,942 relating to those deliveries remains outstanding and past due from the defendants despite repeated requests for payment by the plaintiff. The plaintiff seeks repayment of all outstanding amounts plus interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed March 15. Case no. CV126008995. Christmas Tree Shops Inc., et al., Union, N.J. Filed by Joseph Strucky, Danbury. Plaintiff’s attorney: Ventura Ribeiro & Smith, Danbury. Action: The plaintiff alleges that he was struck by falling ceiling tiles while a business invitee on premises owned or otherwise under control of the defendants as the result of an unsafe condition arising from negligence on the part of the defendants, their agents and employees, which caused him to suffer serious, painful injuries and to incur substantial medical expenses. The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed March 15. Case no. CV126008994.

U.S. District Court

El Rancho De Pancho L.L.C., et al. Filed by Mount Vernon Fire Insurance Co. Plaintiff’s attorney: Jeffrey F. Gostyla. Action: claim filed in connection with a declara454 Life Sciences Corp. Filed tory judgment. Filed March 26. by Genetic Technologies Lim- Case no. 12CV00459. ited. Plaintiff’s attorney: Todd P. Blakley, Robert R. Brunelli and Hiwot M. Covell. Action: claim Equitable Life Insurance Co. filed in connection with patent Filed by Christine Virgadamo. infringement. Filed March 26. Plaintiff’s attorney: Patrick J. Day. Action: claim filed in connecCase no. 12CV00461. tion with a contract dispute. Filed March 22. Case no. 12CV00433. Advance Coating Co., et al. Filed by SRSNE Site Group. Plaintiff’s attorney: Curtis A. Connors, GD Diner of New Haven Inc., et Roy P. Giarrusso and Karen A. al. Filed by Hilda Solis. Plaintiff’s Mignone. Action: claim filed in attorney: Kelly M. Lawson. Action: Neumade Products Corp., NewJeff’s Cuisine L.L.C., et al., Stam- connection with environmental claim filed under the Fair Labor town. Filed by Voigt Machine ford. Filed by TBF Financial L.L.C., clean-up expenses. Filed March 23. Standards Act. Filed March 26. Company Inc., Colden, N.Y. Case no. 12CV00458. Deerfield, Ill. Plaintiff’s attorney: Case no. 12CV00443. Plaintiff’s attorney: Sugarmann Greene Law P.C., Farmington. Ac& Sugarmann, New Haven. Action: The plaintiff alleges that Darien Air Systems Inc., et al., tion: The plaintiff alleges that the Graphic Arts Mutual InsurDarien. Filed by Plimpton & Hills defendant Jeff’s Cuisine failed to Anstro Manufacturing Inc. Filed ance Co. Filed by VP Electric Inc. prior to the date of this action it Corp., Hartford. Plaintiff’s attorby Robert Danialan. Plaintiff’s atobserve payment terms of a May delivered goods and/or services to Plaintiff’s attorney: Timothy J. the defendant and that $2,758 re- ney: Blackwell Davis & Spadaccini, 2007 equipment lease among the torney: Robert Danialan pro se. Lee. Action: claim filed in conlating to those deliveries remains Manchester. Action: The plaintiff parties, for which payment was Action: claim filed in connection nection with breach of an insuroutstanding and past due from alleges that prior to the date of this guaranteed by a co-defendant, with job discrimination. Filed ance contract. Filed March 26. the defendant despite repeated action it delivered goods and/or and that $11,906 relating to this March 28. Case no. 12CV00475. Case no. 12CV00453. requests for payment by the plain- services to the defendant Darien agreement remains outstanding Airs Systems, for which payment and past due from the defendants Cardiology Associates Of Fairtiff. The plaintiff seeks repayment of all outstanding amounts plus was guaranteed by a co-defendant, despite repeated requests for pay- field County P.C. Filed by Ki- Green Valley Oil L.L.C., et al. interest, costs and reasonable at- and that $5,811 relating to those ment by the plaintiff. The plaintiff sha Young. Plaintiff’s attorney: Filed by United Dealers of Contorneys’ fees. Filed March 14. deliveries remains outstanding seeks repayment of all outstanding Thomas W. Bucci. Action: claim necticut. Plaintiff’s attorney: John and past due from the defendants amounts plus interest, costs and J. Morgan. Action: claim filed Case no. CV126008989. despite repeated requests for pay- reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed filed in connection with job dis- under the Petroleum Marketcrimination. Filed March 27. ment by the plaintiff. The plaintiff Feb. 23. Case no. CV126013066. ing Practices Act. Filed March 28. Case no. 12CV00470. Newtown Main L.L.C., et al., seeks repayment of all outstanding Case no. 12CV00474. Hartford. Filed by EF&G Con- amounts plus interest, costs and struction Inc., Plainville. Plain- reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed M. Lato Excavating & Tree Ser- Chase Home Finance L.L.C., et vice L.L.C., et al., Norwalk. Filed by al. Filed by Sara Sabbagh. Plain- Jump Higher Connecticut L.L.C. tiff’s attorney: Zagorsky Zagorsky Feb. 23. Case no. CV126013069. John Yuille, Norwalk. Plaintiff’s at- tiff’s attorney: Sara Sabbagh pro Filed by Angela Hayn. Plaintiff’s & Galski P.C., Plainville. Action: torney: Lattarullo Law Firm L.L.C., se. Action: claim filed in connec- attorney: Theodore W. Heiser. AcThe plaintiff alleges that prior to the date of this action it delivered HNS Management Company Norwalk. Action: The plaintiff al- tion with breach of contract. Filed tion: claim filed in connection with notice of removal of an existing acgoods and/or services to the defen- Inc., et al., Hartford. Filed by Vera leges that the defendants’ faulty March 23. Case no. 12CV00449. tion to an alternative venue. Filed dants and that $96,155 relating to Viola, Stamford. Plaintiff’s at- execution of an August 2010 conMarch 23. Case no. 12CV00444. those deliveries remains outstand- torney: The Berkowitz Law Firm, struction contract among the paring and past due from the defen- Stamford. Action: The plaintiff ties damaged his premises, despite Cisco Systems Inc. Filed by Gerdants despite repeated requests alleges that she fell leaving a bus full payment by the plaintiff, and ald Hayden. Plaintiff’s attorney: for payment from the plaintiff, owned or otherwise under control that the defendants refuse to re- James F. Sullivan. Action: claim Lanza’s Restaurant & Capri regarding which the plaintiff filed of the defendants as the result of mediate the damages. The plaintiff filed in connection with a peti- Lounge L.L.C. Filed by Broadcast a mechanic’s lien during Sep- an unsafe condition arising from seeks damages in excess of $15,000 tion for removal of an existing Music Inc., et al. Plaintiff’s attortember 2011. The plaintiff seeks negligence on the part of the de- plus applicable costs and reason- Civil Rights Act action to an al- ney: Michael J. Rye. Action: claim repayment of all outstanding fendants, their agents and employ- able attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 23. ternative venue. Filed March 27. filed in connection with copyright infringement. Filed March 27. Case no. 12CV00464. amounts plus interest, costs and ees, which caused her to suffer se- Case no. CV126013070. Case no. 12CV00466. rious, painful injuries and to incur reasonable attorneys’ fees, including without limitation, by means substantial medical expenses. The of foreclosure of the mechanic’s plaintiff seeks damages in excess of Omnibus Restaurant Corp., CVS Pharmacy Inc. Filed by Win- Monroe Muffler Brake Inc. lien subject to interests of senior- $15,000 plus applicable costs and et al., Greenwich, et al. Filed by klevoss Consultants Inc. Plaintiff’s Filed by Vincent Etwaroo. Plainsecured creditors. Filed March 19. reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Advanceme Inc., Kennesaw, Ga. attorney: Howard K. Levine. Ac- tiff’s attorney: Emanuele R. CicFeb. 22. Case no. CV126013049. Plaintiff’s attorney: Schechtman tion: claim filed in connection with Case no. CV126009007. Halperin Savage L.L.P., Pawtucket, a petition for removal of an exist- chiello. Action: claim filed in R.I. Action: The plaintiff alleges ing breach of contract suit to an connection with age-related job that the defendant Omnibus Res- alternative venue. Filed March 28. discrimination. Filed March 26. Case no. 12CV00460. taurant Corp. illegally collected Case no. 12CV00471. credit-card receipts that had been factored to the plaintiff, which People’s United Bank. Filed by caused the plaintiff to suffer a fi- Doncasters Inc. Filed by Car- Latonya Whitley. Plaintiff’s attornancial loss of $35,703, for which los Romero. Plaintiff’s attorney: ney: Christine D. Benham. Action: payment was guaranteed by a Patrick J. Day. Action: claim filed claim filed in connection with job co-defendant. The plaintiff seeks under the Family and Medi- discrimination. Filed March 23. repayment plus interest, costs and cal Leave Act. Filed March 26. Case no. 12CV00448. reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Case no. 12CV00457. Feb. 24. Case no. CV126013079. GMRI Inc., Cheshire. Filed by Elizabeth Kapteina, Danbury. Plaintiff’s attorney: Alan Barry & Associates, Danbury. Action: The plaintiff alleges that she fell while a business invitee on the defendant’s premises as the result of an unsafe condition arising from negligence on the part of the defendant, its agents and employees, which caused her to suffer serious, painful injuries and to incur substantial medical expenses. The plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $15,000 plus applicable costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed March 15. Case no. CV126008992.

Norbert E. Mitchell Company Inc., Danbury. Filed by Kemper Independence Insurance Co., Jacksonville, Fla. Plaintiff’s attorney: Robert M. Singer L.L.C., Hamden. Action: The plaintiff alleges that the defendant’s negligent operating procedures damaged its insured’s premises and effects, for which it was obliged to reimburse its insured. The plaintiff seeks recovery of amounts paid to its insured or this event in its role as subrogee or the insured plus interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed March 14. Case no. CV126008981.

Jamieson Investment L.L.C., et al., Westport. Filed by Putnam Leasing Company Inc., Stamford. Plaintiff’s attorney: Schechtman Halperin Savage L.L.P., Pawtucket, R.I. Action: The plaintiff alleges that prior to the date of this action it delivered goods and/or services to the defendants and that $11,690 relating to those deliveries remains outstanding and past due from the defendants despite repeated requests for payment by the plaintiff. The plaintiff seeks repayment of all outstanding amounts plus interest, costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees. Filed Feb. 24. Case no. CV126013081.

Stamford Superior Court

18 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

on the record Credits, Clients and Awards Webster Bank has received the United Way of Greater Waterbury “Spirit of Excellence Award.” The honor is presented annually to a company or organization that completes a well-organized, effective campaign that yields a positive and enduring legacy for years to come. News 12 Connecticut was recently honored by The New York Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with seven New York Emmy Awards. The awards were presented last night at the 55th Annual New York Emmy Awards Ceremony at The Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York City.

Newsmakers

Nancy Navarretta has been appointed chief operating officer for Liberation Programs Inc., a provider of services to help individuals and families overcome addiction. Most recently, Navarretta was with Cornell Scott-Hill Center in New Haven. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College and a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Fordham University. Liberation Programs Inc. has sites in Greenwich, Stamford and Bridgeport. Vern M. Findley II, a retired lieutenant general of the United States Air Force, has joined Southern Air Holdings Inc. as a department of defense and business development board advisor. Southern Air Holdings Inc. is a global cargo carrier headquartered in Norwalk. Findley holds master’s degrees in business administration from the University of North Dakota and national security resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Brian Charlebois of Cheshire has been named first vice president, commercial team leader at The Bank of New Canaan. Charlebois has more than 20 years in the financial and commercial loan industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree at the University of Connecticut.

James M. Driscoll, has been named senior vice president of development at LCOR, a real estate investment and development company. Driscoll will lead LCOR in development activities in New Jersey, Westchester County, N.Y.; and Fairfield County. Most recently, he served as vice president of Urban Housing at M/I Homes based in Columbus, Ohio. Driscoll holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland.

Matthew Fair of Westport has been appointed to the Brokers, Agents & Navigators Advisory Committee of the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange (the Exchange). Fair serves as regional sales director at Pierson & Smith, a subsidiary of First Niagara Risk Management. The Exchange, established by the Connecticut Legislature in 2011, works to expand access to health coverage and improve health care for Con-

On the Go: Business, Etc. Wednesday, April 18 Bridgeport Regional Business Council “Open House,” 8 to 10 a.m., 10 Middle St., 14th floor, Bridgeport. For information, call 335-3800. Stamford Business Group networking meeting, 7:29 a.m., Cafeteria at 9 W. Broad St., Stamford. For information, call 975-2950 or visit stamfordbusiness.com.

Thursday, April 19 The Fairchester Business Resource’s meeting features Carol Schiro Greenwald on “Targeting Clients for Referral Gold,” 7:30 to 9:30 a.m., Darien Community Association, 274 Middlesex Road, Darien. $25 nonmembers; $20 registrants paid in advance before noon April 18. To register, visit fairchesterbusinessresource.org.

Monday, April 23 Professional Women of Connecticut Networking Event on “The Ins and Outs of LinkedIn,” 6 to 9 p.m., Norwalk Inn, 99 East Ave., Norwalk. $35.To register, visit professionalwomenofconnecticut.com.

necticut residents.

Snapshot

Elizabeth A. Higgins has joined BlumShapiro, an accounting, tax and business-consulting firm based in New England with offices in Connecticut and Massachusetts, as director of business development. Higgins holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Tampa. She will be based out of the firm’s Shelton office.

Hana Hulinska, a specialist in rheumatology, has joined the medical staff at Masonicare at Newtown. Hulinska, who is board certified in rheumatology and internal medicine, received her medical degree from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Most recently, Hulinska was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut.

La Bella Vista, a new catering venue located on the premises of the Pontelandolfo Community Club in Waterbury recently opened for business.

From left, Joe Carolan; Andrew Razz, Mayor of Waterbury Neil O’Leary; Tony D’Elia, La Bella Vista co-owner; Linnea D’Elia; Jamie Razz; and Tracy Carolan

Information for these features has been provided by the subjects or their delegates FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 19

on the record Price Chopper Inc. Filed by Mark Ackerman. Plaintiff’s attorney: James V. Sabatini. Action: claim filed in connection with personal injury. Filed March 26. Case no. 12CV00456.

L.L.C., Bethesda, Md. Property: 80 Newtown Road, Danbury. Amount: $2.2 million. Filed March 19.

Homeclear PRW Ventures L.L.C., Greenwich. Seller: 55 Post Rightway Partners L.L.C., et Road West L.L.C., New York City. al. Filed by James VinZant, et Property: 55 Post Road West, al. Plaintiff’s attorney: David Westport. Amount: $8.5 million. M. S. Shaiken. Action: claim Filed March 1. filed in connection with breach of contract. Filed March 28. Laurel Cooper L.L.C., Ridgefield. Case no. 12CV00472. Seller: Peter Authier, Ridgefield. Property: 158 Danbury Road, Southwest Credit Systems L.P. Suite 8, Ridgefield. Amount: Filed by Melanie Osuch. Plaintiff’s $209,000. Filed Feb. 22. attorney: Angela K. Troccoli. Action: claim filed under the Fair Debt Collection Act. Filed March 27. RJR Holdings L.L.C., Danbury. Seller: Albert Salame III, Danbury. Case no. 12CV00468. Property: Lot 6, Danbury town map 11263, Danbury. Amount: Target Corp., et al. Filed by $215,000. Filed March 22. Madge Ward. Plaintiff’s attorney: Paul S. Ranando. Action: claim filed in connection with RKMB L.L.C., Milford. Seller: personal injury. Filed March 22. LM&D Associates, Stratford. Property: 1516 Barnum Ave., Stratford. Case no. 12CV00431. Amount: $250,000. Filed March 5. Williams Scotsman Inc. Filed by James Vaill. Plaintiff’s attorney: Marc P. Mercier. Action: claim filed in connection with a petition for removal of an existing action to an alternative venue. Filed March 22. Case no. 12CV00436.

Sir-3 Peters L.L.C., Westport. Seller: Louise and Robert Despres, Westport. Property: 3 Peters Lane, Westport. Amount: $572,500. Filed March 15.

Deeds

Twin Circle L.L.C., Norwalk. Seller: Virginia Pils, Westport. Property: 5 Twin Circle Drive, Westport. Amount: $700,000. Filed March 8.

Commercial 191 Ridgebury Road L.L.C., Ridgefield. Seller: Fairfield University, Fairfield. Property: 191 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $2.7 million. Filed March 16.

Two Roads Brewing Company L.L.C., Greenwich. Seller: U.S. Baird Corp., Stratford. Property: 1526 and 1700 Stratford Ave., Stratford. Amount: $2.9 million. Filed March 20.

Residential

BFM III L.L.C., Bethel. Seller: The Masonic Temple Association of Bethel Inc., Bethel. Property: 84 Greenwood Ave., Bethel. Amount: Agostini, Laura, Westport. Seller: Betty Dorfman, Westport. Prop$275,000. Filed March 23. erty: 303 Lansdowne Road, Westport. Amount: $645,000. Filed Coastal Construction Group March 15. L.L.C., Westport. Seller: the estate of Evelyn Monahan, Westport. Property: 10 Caccamo Lane Exten- Archibald, Elizabeth and Joseph sion, Westport. Amount: $943,000. Archibald, Darien. Seller: Margaret and Jurgen Stoop, Ridgefield. Filed March 7. Property: 115 Sleepy Hollow Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $750,000. French Post Road East L.L.C., Filed March 20. Stamford. Seller: Lemle Westport L.L.C., Danbury. Property: 50 Post Road East, Westport. Amount: $9 Axel, Ilyssa and Jacob Axel, New York City. Seller: Elizabeth and Mimillion. Filed March 1. chael Tardif, Norwalk and Westport, respectively. Property: 4A HI Danbury Loding L.L.C., Old Cherry Lane, Westport. Amount: Bridge, N.J. Seller: 80 Newtown $1.5 million. Filed March 9. Road Holding

Brodows, Catherine and Scott Brodows, Westport. Seller: Sir17 Rayfield L.L.C., Westport. Property: 17 Rayfield Road, Westport. Amount: $1.4 million. Filed March 2. Calixte, Philomise and Rollin Calixte, Danbury. Seller: Patrick Murphy, Danbury. Property: 48 Sleepy Hollow Drive, Danbury. Amount: $250,000. Filed March 19.

Giardina, Louise and Regina Frate, Easton. Seller: Lee Gulash, Stratford. Property: 50 Harbour View Place, No. 11, Stratford. Amount: $305,000. Filed March 9. Gravelle, Susanne and Jeffrey Gravelle, Norwalk. Seller: Deborah Laurino, Westport. Property: 4 Marvin Place, Westport. Amount: $2.1 million. Filed March 1.

Marcucio, Anna and Brian Marcucio, Westport. Seller: Evelyn Coghlan and Floyd Conlin, Westport. Property: 185 Cross Highway, Westport. Amount: $760,000. Filed March 15.

Santoro, Chastity and Peter Santoro Jr., Westport. Seller: Bluewater Minuteman L.L.C., Westport. Property: 1 Minute Man Hill, Westport. Amount: $5.2 million. Filed March 5.

Mathis, Carolyn and Scott Mathis, Ridgefield. Seller: Tracey Coatanroach, Ridgefield. Property: 12 Wooster St., Ridgefield. Amount: $490,000. Filed March 20.

Santoro, Joseph, New Canaan. Seller: Carolyn and Scott Mathis, Ridgefield. Property: 341 Wilton Road East, Ridgefield. Amount: $660,000. Filed March 20.

Grobarcik, Jeffrey, Danbury. Seller: Jay Glassman, trustee, DanCaron, Jennifer and Kenneth bury. Property: 1401 Larson Drive, McCann, Ramona, Kew Gardens Caron, Ridgefield. Seller: Debo- Danbury. Amount: $270,000. Filed Hills, N.Y. Seller: Bethel Danbury Two L.L.C., White Plains, rah Sward, Ridgefield. Property: March 26. N.Y. Property: 1 Bainbridge Blvd., 6 Old West Mountain Road, Bethel. Amount: $447,780. Filed Ridgefield. Amount: $607,500. Hallgarten, Rosemary, Westport. Feb. 29. Filed March 6. Seller: Amy Matton and Craig Edwards, Westport. Property: 219 Chen, Hang and Shan Rong Compo Road South, Westport. McGee, Valerie and Edward McYou, Danbury. Seller: Blackstone Amount: $695,000. Filed March 7. Gee, Brookfield. Seller: Elizabeth and Thomas Reilly, Danbury. Estates L.L.C., Brookfield. PropProperty: 1002 Eaton Court, Danerty: 5 Blackstone Court, Danbury. Amount: $439,900. Filed Hausmann, Jeanette and Robert bury. Amount: $300,000. Filed Hausmann, Danbury. Seller: Pru- March 22. March 19. dential Relocation Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. Property: 18 Ironwood Drive, Cowperthwaite, Amy and Ryan Danbury. Amount: $549,000. Filed Molony, Jennifer and Richard Mark, Bethel. Seller: Susan and Tweedie, Stratford. Seller: Wil- March 19. Douglas Suhr, Bethel. Property: liam McGee, Stratford. Prop51 Whippoorwill Road, Bethel. erty: 153 Woodcrest Ave., Stratford. Amount: $260,000. Filed Huynh, Ngan and Matthew Mc- Amount: $264,000. Filed March 9. Gee, Ridgefield. Seller: the estate March 21. of Maureen Flanders, Ridgefield. Property: 75 Hobby Drive, Ridge- Moraes, Rafaela and Marcelo YaCurran, Anne, Waterbury. Seller: field. Amount: $315,000. Filed mano, Danbury. Seller: Peter Sullivan, Stamford. Property: 8 TurPaul Barriere, Danbury. Prop- March 7. key Plain Road, Bethel. Amount: erty: 22 Hollandale Road, Dan$396,000. Filed March 12. bury. Amount: $260,000. Filed Huynh, Nhu and Douglas EsMarch 19. tadt, Ridgefield. Seller: Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Frederick, Md. Proper- Naddeo, Diana and James Dalamagas, John, Westport. ty: 78 Sherwood Road, Ridgefield. Naddeo, Bethel. Seller: Sharon and Seller: Janet Robinson, Westport. Amount: $474,900. Filed March 5. Joseph DiBuono, Bethel. Property: 14 Country Way, Bethel. Amount: Property: 21 Stoneboat Road, $480,000. Filed March 23. Westport. Amount: $590,000. Jackson, Sheila and Michael Filed March 14. Jackson, Ridgefield. Seller: Megan and Frank Hwang, Ridgefield. Paccione, Mary and Jorge IcaDodwell, Alexandra and James Property: 264 N. Salem Road, suriaga, Danbury. Seller: GTC Dodwell III, Rowayton. Seller: Ridgefield. Amount: $605,000. Property Investment & Development L.L.C., Danbury. PropRobert Utzler, Westport. Property: Filed Feb. 28. erty: 2 Brushy Hill Road, DanLot 6, Westport town map 9908, bury. Amount: $345,400. Filed Westport. Amount: $1.4 million. Jackson, Wendy and Troy Jack- March 19. Filed Feb. 29. son, Danbury. Seller: Barbara and William Costello, Ridgefield. PropElliott, Monique and Michael El- erty: 61 Bobby’s Court, Ridgefield. Redniss, Andrea and Jesse liott, Dallas, Texas. Seller: Karleen Amount: $735,000. Filed March 1. Redniss, Stamford. Seller: Cynthia Shuck, Westport. Property: and Thomas Strayer, Ridgefield. 9 Riverview Road, Westport. Property: 161 High Ridge Ave., Ridgefield. Amount: $855,000. Kelleher, Joseph, Brookfield. Amount: $1.4 million. Filed Seller: Carmella and Donald Metz, March 13. Filed Feb. 29. Danbury. Property: 43 Blackberry Road, Danbury. Amount: Rivera, Sarah and Raymond Feng, Yiwei and Zhong Guan, $280,000. Filed March 19. Rivera, New York City. Seller: Danbury. Seller: Toll CT III L.P., Robert Vanbatenburg, Westport. Newtown. Property: 184 Warrington Round, Danbury. Amount: Lasky, Roxanne and Stuart Property: 17 Indian Hill Road, Lasky, Ridgefield. Seller: Toll CT II Westport. Amount: $549,000. $325,545. Filed March 15. L.P., Newtown. Property: 39 Briar Filed March 19. Ridge Drive, Bethel. Amount: Gabler, Jennifer, Westport. Seller: $474,353. Filed March 22. Rizza, Kimberly, trustee, West93 Morningside L.L.C., Westport. port. Seller: Lisa and Richards SanProperty: 6 Stony Brook Road, chez, Lafayette, Calif. Property: Lot Westport. Amount: $3.2 million. 38, Westport town map 292, WestFiled March 16. port. Amount: $2.1 million. Filed March 15.

20 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

Sarup, Rajat, Danbury. Seller: Anna Moskwa, Ridgefield. Property: 59 S. Salem Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $622,000. Filed March 6. Schatz, Christine and Scott Schatz, Greenwich. Seller: Margaret Krakowiak, Westport. Property: 14A Marion Road, Westport. Amount: $1.7 million. Filed March 6. Sherman, Kathryn and Eric Sherman, Stamford. Seller: Laura and Patrick Misciagna, Ridgefield. Property: 11 Woodcock Lane, Ridgefield. Amount: $599,000. Filed March 21. Steckler, Jamie and Jonathan Steckler, Ridgefield. Seller: Robin and Peter Kingsbury, Ridgefield. Property: 165 Mamanasco Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $600,000. Filed March 12. Supernois, Eileen and William Villa, Stratford. Seller: Cynthia and William Stevens, Stratford. Property: 249 Park St., Stratford. Amount: $265,000. Filed March 15. Tarlton III, Ellis, Danbury. Seller: Catherine and Stephen Castagneto, Ridgefield. Property: 463 Silver Spring Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $425,000. Filed Feb. 29. Vargas, Immaculada and Omar Vargas, Springfield, Va. Seller: Dorilee and John Vallis, Ridgefield. Property: 46 Minuteman Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $770,000. Filed March 16. White, Patricia and James White, White Plains, N.Y. Seller: Chastity and Peter Santoro Jr., Westport. Property: 34 Edgewater Hillside, Westport. Amount: $3.4 million. Filed March 5. Winter, Jeremy, Ridgefield, N.J. Seller: Nina Dell Aquila, Ridgefield. Property: 51 Douglas Lane, Ridgefield. Amount: $300,000. Filed Feb. 21.

on the record Foreclosures

Biscow, Adam, Bethel. $2,067 in favor of Capital One Bank (USA) N.A., Richmond, Va., by Russell L. London. Property: 19 Kristy Drive, Bethel. Filed March 23.

1835 Post Road East L.L.C., et al. Creditor: ECP Westport L.L.C. Property: 1835 Post Road East, Westport. Mortgage default. Filed Bueno, Gabriel, Danbury. $468 in favor of the Danbury Office of March 15. Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 107 Almonte, Marco, et al. Creditor: Coalpit Hill Road, Danbury. Filed Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., March 19. trustee. Property: 79 Coalpit Hill Road, Unit 1, Danbury. Mortgage Carrano, Diane, Stratford. default. Filed March 19. $2,326 in favor of Midland Funding L.L.C., San Diego, Calif., by Asobayire, Paul, et al. Creditor: Stephen A, Wiener. Property: 75 National City Mortgage Co. Prop- Rockland Ave., Stratford. Filed erty: 23 Oak Ridge Road, Bethel. March 19. Mortgage default. Filed Feb. 28.

Hammershoy, Thomas, Bethel. $1,425 in favor of the Danbury Office of Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 65 Benedict Road, Bethel. Filed March 16. Hayles, Andre, Danbury. $8,401 in favor of Wells Fargo Financial Bank, Des Moines, Iowa, by Gary J. Greene. Property: 29 Highview Terrace, Danbury. Filed March 15. Haymes, Geneva, Stratford. $13,447 in favor of Midland Funding L.L.C., San Diego, Calif., by Adam J. Olshan. Property: 16 Franklin Ave., Stratford. Filed March 12.

Martinez, Salomon, Stratford. $8,647 in favor of Asset Acceptance L.L.C., Warren, Mich., by Joseph M. Tobin. Property: 231 Connors Lane, Stratford. Filed March 8. Meadows, Diane, Bethel. $368 in favor of the Danbury Office of Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 15 Long Hill Road, Bethel. Filed Feb. 29. Mendence, Caroline, Bethel. $22,025 in favor of Discover Bank, New Albany, Ohio, by Kevin M. Hughes. Property: 62 Ridgedale Road, Bethel. Filed Feb. 24.

Edelson, Neal, Westport. $2,456 in Capital Avenue Tarragon L.L.C., favor of Mazda American Credit, et al. Creditor: Paradigm East Ha- Livonia, Mich., by Nair & Levin ven L.L.C., et al. Property: Units P.C. Property: 15 Sturges Com2 and 3, Merritt Eight Corporate mons, Westport. Filed March 12. Park, Stratford. Mortgage default. Filed March 15. Ferrara, Todd, Stratford. $8,013 in favor of CACH L.L.C., Denver, Dasilva, Roney, et al. Creditor: Colo., by Joseph M. Tobin. PropHSBC Bank (USA) N.A. Property: erty: 198 Summer St., Stratford. 59 Payne Road, Bethel. Mortgage Filed March 8. default. Filed March 16.

Hefferon, Antoinette, Bethel. $1,004 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 6 Quaker Ridge, Bethel. Filed March 2.

Moran, Heather, Bethel. $530 in favor of the Danbury Office of Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 222 Old Hawleyville Road, Bethel. Filed March 16.

Flood, Livia, Ridgefield. $375 in favor of the Danbury Office of Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Adam J. Olshan. Property: 169 Mimosa Circle, Ridgefield. Filed March 12.

Izzo, Bernard, Westport. $74,859 in favor of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Des Moines, Iowa, by Gary J. Greene. Property: Lot 4, Westport town map 5149, Westport. Filed March 1.

Nguyen, Duoc, Danbury. $579 in favor of the Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 11 Blaine St., Danbury. Filed March 20.

Kalasardo, Michael, et al. Creditor: Beneficial Financial I Inc. Property: 65 Colony St., Stratford. Mortgage default. Filed March 9.

Pratt, John, et al. Creditor: Newtown Savings Bank. Property: 19 Galvez, Joann, Stratford. $1,530 in Springside Ave., Danbury. Mort- favor of LVNV Funding L.L.C., Las gage default. Filed March 22. Vegas, Nev., by Julie B. Solomon. Property: 1170 South Ave., StratPrimo, Jose, et al. Creditor: JPM- ford. Filed March 14. organ Chase Bank N.A. Property: 10 Griffing Ave., Unit A, Danbury. Garcia, Giovanni, Bethel. $3,764 Mortgage default. Filed March 22. in favor of Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Des Moines, Iowa, by Gary J. United Guaranty Residential Greene. Property: 8 Whitlock Ave., Insurance Company of North Bethel. Filed Feb. 28. Carolina, et al. Creditor: Bank of America N.A. Property: 100 Yale Graziano, Mark, Stratford. $4,161 St., Stratford. Mortgage default. in favor of Everlast Construction Filed March 14. L.L.C., et al., Derby, by Robert C. Mirto. Property: 61 Knowlton St., Stratford. Filed March 19.

Judgments

Argueta, Glenda and Walter Argueta, Stratford. $1,919 in favor of Women’s Health Care of Trumbull, Trumbull, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 125 Albright Ave., Stratford. Filed March 16. Belardinelli, Fortunata, Bethel. $435 in favor of Barbara Silva, Bethel, by Randall J. Carreira. Property: 21 Roberts Drive, Bethel. Filed Feb. 27.

Haber, Donna, Danbury. $644 in favor of Danbury Ambulance Service Inc., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 12 Grove Place, Danbury. Filed March 19. Haber, Kenneth, Danbury. $555 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 15 Rose Lane, Danbury. Filed March 19.

Porzio, Lawrence, Westport. $26,747 in favor of American Express Centurion Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah, by Kevin M. Hughes. Property: 328 Post Road West, Westport. Filed March 12. Reifschneider, Darlene and Scott Reifschneider, Bethel. $1,072 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 46 Quaker Ridge Road, Bethel. Filed March 16. Ruiz, Don, Stratford. $1,661 in favor of Santa Energy Corp., Bridgeport, by Janine M. Becker. Property: 934 Longbrook Ave., Stratford. Filed March 9.

Whalley Avenue Sunoco L.L.C. and Marwan Sayyed, Stratford. $2,349 in favor of Core-mark Midcontinent Inc., New Haven, by Steven A. Sugarmann. Property: 109 Breakers Lane, Stratford. Filed March 19. Wilson, Veronica, Stratford. $741 in favor of R. Resnick DMD and D. Shoenthal DMD, Stratford, by Joseph P. Latino. Property: 168 Wainwright Place, Stratford. Filed March 8. Wood, Joseph, Ridgefield. $413 in favor of the Danbury Office of Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 6 Lookout Drive, Ridgefield. Filed March 16.

Schaefer, Mary, Bethel. $28,152 in favor of U.S. Equities Corp., South Salem, N.Y., by Linda Strumpf. Leases Property: 45 Bethpage Drive, Bethel. Filed Feb. 29. Design Builders & Remodeling Inc., by David Adams. LandHernandez, Lorena, Danbury. Nguyen, Duoc, Danbury. $1,522 Smith, Ludell, Stratford. $1,148 lord: G&K L.L.C. Property: 904 $6,929 in favor of Danbury Hos- in favor of the Danbury Office in favor of Milford Hospital, Mil- Ethan Allen Highway, Ridgefield. pital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. of Physicians Services P.C., Dan- ford, by Joseph P. Latino. Proper- Term: five years and three months, Property: 165 Triangle St., Dan- bury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: ty: 435 Reitter St., Stratford. Filed commencing Feb. 15, 2012. Filed March 8. bury. Filed March 19. 11 Blaine St., Danbury. Filed March 8. March 19.

Kealey, Kathryn, Stratford. $1,156 in favor of Kaufman Fuel, Bridgeport, by William G. Reveley. Property: 338 N. Abram St., Stratford. Filed March 15. Lebovitz, James, Danbury. $590 in favor of the Danbury Office of Physicians Services P.C., Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 2A Jeanette St., Unit 7, Danbury. Filed March 19. Lewis, William, Danbury. $1,500 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Stephen A. Wiener. Property: 10 Tilden Road, Danbury. Filed March 19. Louzada, Elaine, Danbury. $2,247 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 4 Moody Drive, Danbury. Filed March 20. Manzano, Francisca, Danbury. $467 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 14 Abbott Ave., Unit A, Danbury. Filed March 20.

Sousa, Elizabeth, Danbury. $697 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: 1 Michaud Road, Danbury. Filed March 20.

Liens

Federal Tax Liens – filed

St. Pierre, Marcel, Danbury. $882 Anton, David, 16 Goodhill Road, in favor of Danbury Hospital, Apt. 15, Bethel. $137,780, responsiDanbury, by Robert L. Peat. Prop- ble corporate officer. Filed March 12. erty: 19 E. Pembroke Road, Danbury. Filed March 19. Brushworks Inc., P.O. Box 868, Bethel. $34,755, FICA and emSullivan, Sheryl and John Sul- ployee withholding tax. Filed livan, Danbury. $927 in favor of March 12. Oliva, Manuel, Danbury. $886 in Danbury Hospital, Danbury, by favor of Danbury Hospital, Dan- Robert L. Peat. Property: 68 King bury, by Robert L. Peat. Property: St., Danbury. Filed March 19. Datin Brothers Inc., 10 Fieldstone 25 Purcell Drive, Danbury. Filed Drive, Newtown. $13,038, corpoMarch 19. rate income tax. Filed March 5. Toledo, Ulimer, Danbury. $408 in favor of Danbury Hospital, Padua, David, Stratford. $8,094 Danbury, by Robert L. Peat. Kish, Julia, 1110 Chapel St., Stratin favor of American Express Property: 9 Eighth Ave., Dan- ford. $24,059, responsible corpoBank F.S.B., Salt Lake City, Utah, bury. Filed March 19. rate officer. Filed March 19. by Kevin M. Hughes. Property: 85 Margherita Lawn, Stratford. Filed Uscilla, Victor, Westport. $1,033 Kish, Julia, 1110 Chapel St., StratMarch 9. in favor of Asset Acceptance ford. $24,825, responsible corpoL.L.C., Warren, Mich., by Jo- rate officer. Filed March 19. Peters, Keara and Keith Peters, seph M. Tobin. Property: 158 Bethel. $580 in favor of Holcomb Long Lots Road, Westport. Filed South Street Chiropractic Fuel, Winsted, by William G. Reve- March 8. Center, 15 South St., Danbury. ley. Property: 3 Brookwood Drive, $24,736, FICA and employee withBethel. Filed Feb. 28. Vitale, Richard, Stratford. holding tax. Filed March 20. $1,887 in favor of Credit ManPinckney, Peter, Danbury. $2,264 agement Corp., Madison, by in favor of Putnam Self Storage, John N. Rich. Property: 155 South Street Chiropractic CenDanbury, by Robert L. Peat. Prop- Short Beach Road, No. B312, ter, 15 South St., Danbury. $9,622, Federal unemployment tax, FICA erty: 30 Stadley Rough Road, Dan- Stratford. Filed March 19. and employee withholding tax. bury. Filed March 19. Filed March 20. Nicholls Bakery and Grill L.L.C., et al., Stratford. $24,283 in favor of HSBC Bank USA, Buffalo, N.Y., by Raymond G. LeFoll. Property: 1545 James Farm Road, Stratford. Filed March 8.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 21

on the record Federal Tax Liens-released

Dichiora, Nancy and Richard Georgs, Ridgefield. Filed by John Gallo Construction, Ridgefield, by John Gallo. Property: 202A Minuteman Road, Ridgefield. Amount: Law Offices of Brian MacCarthy, $6,400. Filed Feb.22. 33 Silver Brook Road, Ridgefield. $37,943, Federal unemployment tax, FICA and employee withhold- ILO Enteprises L.L.C., Seymour. ing tax. Filed Feb. 21. Filed by The Ring’s End Inc., Darien, by Kelvin Tyler. Property: vicinity of Rose Street, Danbury. McFaden, Wanda, 34B Catoonah Amount: $39,835. Filed March 15. St., Ridgefield. $24,773, FICA and employee withholding tax. Filed March 19. RGGN Realty L.L.C., Danbury. Filed by Ryer Associates Commercial Real Estatee Inc., Danbury, P. Hutton & Son Inc., 15 Bailey by M. Jeffers Ryer. Property: 27 Ave., Ridgefield. $28,119, FICA Mill Plain Road, Unit 4, Danbury. and employee withholding tax, Amount: $18,191. Filed March 20. 1120. Filed Feb. 21. Paradise Pizza L.L.C., 3610 Main St., Stratford. $36,298, Federal unemployment tax, FICA and employee withholding tax and Section 6721 of the Internal Revenue Code. Filed March 5.

Balasic, Alan, et al., Ridgefield, et al. Filed by Bendett & McHugh P.C., Farmington, for JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Jacksonville, Fla. Property: 251 Great Hill Road, Ridgefield. Action: to foreclose a delinquent mortgage in the original principal amount of $330,000 dated August 2006. Filed Feb. 22.

Iannucci, Anthony, et al., Bethel, et al. Filed by Gerald Hecht, Danbury, for Crestview Condominiums Inc., Bethel. Property: Unit 8, Crestview Condominiums, Bethel. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 5.

Ninivaggi, Vito, et al., Bethel, et al. Filed by David Dobin, Bridgeport, for Kingswood II Condominium Association Inc., Bethel. Property: Unit 24, Kingswood II Condominium, Bethel. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 1.

Baldwin, K. Lesley, et al., Ridgefield, et al. Filed by Christopher K. Leonard, Danbury, for Quail Ridge Condominium Association Inc., Ridgefield. Property: Unit 51, Quail Ridge, Ridgefield. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed Feb.24.

Kom, Samneang, et al., Danbury, et al. Filed by Gregg A. Brauneisen, Danbury, for Parker Street Condominium Association Inc., Danbury. Property: 8 Parker St., Unit J110, Danbury. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 15.

Pisano, Kenneth, et al., Stratford, et al. Filed by Enrico Costantini, Milford, for the town of Stratford, Stratford. Property: 537 Bruce Ave., Stratford. Action: to foreclose on the property to recover delinquent municipal taxes. Filed March 12.

Biro, Tamas, et al., Danbury, et Umansky, Jack, Westport. Filed al. Filed by Walter M. Spader Jr., by Angelo Altomari, Stamford, North Branford, for American by Angelo Altomari. Property: Tax Funding L.L.C., Jupiter, Fla. 20 Cross Highway, Westport. Property: 2-8 Mill Plain Road, Amount: $310. Filed March 6. Danbury. Action: to foreclose on the property to recover delinquent municipal taxes assigned to the plaintiff or collection. Filed March 20.

Krasiejko, Paul, et al., Stratford, et al. Filed by Hunt Leibert Jacobson P.C., Hartford, for Onewest Bank F.S.B., Pasadena, Calif. Property: 200 Light St., Stratford. Action: to foreclose a delinquent mortgage in the original principal amount of $480,000 dated July 2006. Filed March 8.

Mechanic’s Liens—released

Pickle Barrel L.L.C., 1889 Main St., Stratford. $3,151, FICA and employee withholding tax. Filed March 19. Cupheag Construction Company L.L.C., Stratford. Filed by Kitchen Advantage L.L.C., North Stone Resources of Connecticut Haven, by Joseph Smith. Property: L.L.C., 6 Cole Place, Danbury. 37 Summit St., Stratford. Amount: $24,117, FICA and employee with- $10,454. Filed March 13. holding tax. Filed March 19.

Mechanic’s Liens-filed 20-22 Old Ridgebury Road Associates L.L.C., Danbury. Filed by Infra-Metals Co., Wallingford, by David Whitehead. Property: 2022 Old Ridgebury Road, Danbury. Amount: $8,938. Filed March 22. Berkshire Industrial Corp., Bethel. Filed by Infra Metals Co., Wallingford, by David Whitehead. Property: Parcels 8 and 9, Berkshire Industrial Park, Bethel. Amount: $20,882. Filed March 20. Boehringer Ingleheim Inc., Ridgefield. Filed by Steeldetailers Inc., Holyoke, Mass., by Bernard Deorocki. Property: 900 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield. Amount: $12,200. Filed March 2. Danbury Mall L.L.C., et al., Danbury. Filed by Rick’s Plumbing Services Inc., Milford, by Rick Jurzyk. Property: 7 Backus Ave., Danbury. Amount: $21,042. Filed March 19.

Krisciunas, Irene, et al., DanBuzik Jr., John, et al., Stratford, et bury, et al. Filed by Juda J. Epstein, al. Filed by Hunt Leibert Jacobson Bridgeport, for Plymouth Park P.C., Hartford, for GMAC Mort- Tax Services L.L.C., Whippany, gage L.L.C., Horsham, Pa. Prop- N.J. Property: 151 Great Plain erty: 357 Parkway Drive, Stratford. Road, Danbury. Action: to foreAction: to foreclose a delinquent close on the property to recover mortgage in the original principal delinquent municipal taxes asamount of $190,000 dated Febru- signed to the plaintiff or collecRoss, Lucie and Philip Ross, ary 2007. Filed March 12. tion. Filed March 15. Westport. Filed by Hobbs Inc., New Canaan, by Scott Hobbs. Property: 10 Moss Ledge Road, Cartledge, Robert, et al., Strat- Melo, Lilian, et al., Bethel, et al. Westport. Amount: $116,579. ford, et al. Filed by Paul L. Otzel, Filed by Lawrence M. Garfinkel, Milford, for Nationstar Mortgage West Warwick, R.I., for The Bank Filed March 8. L.L.C., Lewisville, Texas. Property: of New York Mellon, trustee, New 5 Crown St., Stratford. Action: to York City. Property: 22B Diamond Utting, Barbara and Kenneth foreclose a delinquent mortgage Ave., Bethel. Action: to foreclose a Utting, Westport. Filed by Jes- in the original principal amount of delinquent mortgage in the origisup Plumbing & Heating Inc., $231,840 dated November 2006. nal principal amount of $200,000 Ridgefield, by Alvah Jessup. Prop- Filed March 14. dated November 2006. Filed erty: 8 Manitou Court, Westport. March 15. Amount: $19,483. Filed March 13. Finch, George, et al., Stratford, et al. Filed by John J. Moranski, Fair- Michlin, Sally Ann, et al., Westfield, for Short Beach Condomin- port, et al. Filed by Adam J. Cohen Lis Pendens ium Association Inc., Stratford. and Assaf Z. Ben-Atar, BridgeProperty: Unit B210, Short Beach port, for Harvest Commons The following filings indicate a legal Condominium, Stratford. Action: Condominium Association Inc., action has been initiated, the out- to foreclose on the unit to recover Westport. Property: 206 Harvest come of which may affect the title to delinquent common charges due Commons, Westport. Action: to the property listed. the association. Filed March 15. foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 19. Antoine, Marie, et al., Stratford, Gold, Kerrie, et al., Stratford, et et al. Filed by the Law Office of al. Filed by Bendett & McHugh Martha Croog L.L.C., Hartford, P.C., Farmington, for Everbank, Mustafa, Abdelwhab, et al., Stratfor Wells Fargo Bank N.A., trustee, Jacksonville, Fla. Property: 2252 ford, et al. Filed by Hunt LeibBloomington, Minn. Property: Broadbridge Ave., Stratford. Ac- ert Jacobson P.C., Hartford, for 175 Peace St., Stratford. Action: to tion: to foreclose a delinquent Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., foreclose a delinquent mortgage in mortgage in the original principal trustee, Los Angeles, Calif. Properthe original principal amount of amount of $91,350 dated Septem- ty: 55 Ryan Ave., Stratford. Action: $241,000 dated August 2006. Filed ber 2008. Filed March 7. to foreclose a delinquent mortgage March 9. in the original principal amount of $186,180 dated November 2006. Filed March 12.

Provey, Roger, et al., Ridgefield, et al. Filed by John P. Regan, Stamford, for Ridgefield Bank Mortgage Corp., Ridgefield. Property: 312 Rippowam Road, Ridgefield. Action: to foreclose a delinquent mortgage in the original principal amount of $600,000 dated November 2006. Filed March 20. Santana, Rogerio, et al., Danbury, et al. Filed by Christopher K. Leonard, Danbury, for The Enclave Association Inc., Danbury. Property: Unit 36, Building 5, The Enclave, Danbury. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 15. Scales, Dennis, et al., Ridgefield, et al. Filed by Bendett & McHugh P.C., Farmington, for Citimortgage Inc., O’Fallon, Mo. Property: 29 Harvey Road, Ridgefield. Action: to foreclose a delinquent mortgage in the original principal amount of $689,185 dated May 2008. Filed March 5.

Telford, Amanda, et al., Bethel, et al. Filed by Lawrence M. Garfinkel, West Warwick, R.I., for Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., trustee, Los Angeles, Calif. Property:, 43 Deer Run, Unit 46G, Bethel. Action: to foreclose a delinquent mortgage in the original principal amount of $207,000 dated June 2005. Filed March 15. Wise, Michael, et al., Ridgefield, et al. Filed by Gregg A. Brauneisen, Danbury, for Fox Hill Ridgefield Condominium Association Section III Inc., Ridgefield. Property: 1 Orange Lane, Ridgefield. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 2.

Mortgages 3241 Stratford L.L.C., Stratford, by Zane Saul and Goran Miljkovic. Lender: Gordon Saul, Jenkintown, Pa. Property: 3241 Main St., Unit B, Stratford. Amount: $500,000. Filed March 19. Alliance Energy L.L.C., Waltham, Mass., by Edward Faneuil. Lender: Bank of America N.A., Boston, Mass. Property: 485 Post Road East, Westport. Amount: $200 million. Filed March 5. Alliance Energy L.L.C., Waltham, Mass., by Edward Faneuil. Lender: Bank of America N.A., Boston, Mass. Property: 2816 Main St., Stratford. Amount: $200 million. Filed March 5.

Alliance Energy L.L.C., Waltham, Mass., by Edward Faneuil. Lender: Bank of America N.A., Boston, Mass. Property: 2632 Broadbridge Schilz, Isandra, et al., Ridgefield, Ave., Stratford. Amount: $200 milet al. Filed by Hunt Leibert Ja- lion. Filed March 5. cobson P.C., Hartford, for Bank of America N.A., Charlotte, N.C. Alliance Energy L.L.C., Waltham, Property: 20 Hamilton Road, Mass., by Edward Faneuil. Lender: Ridgefield. Action: to foreclose a Bank of America N.A., Boston, delinquent mortgage in the origi- Mass. Property: 31 Danbury Road, nal principal amount of $751,200 Ridgefield. Amount: $200 million. dated August 2007. Filed March 9. Filed March 6. Smith, Donna, et al., Danbury, et al. Filed by Alan P. Rosenberg, West Hartford, for Lakewood Condominium Association Inc., Danbury. Property: Unit 2-13, Lakewood Condominium, Danbury. Action: to foreclose on the unit to recover delinquent common charges due the association. Filed March 19.

22 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

Bethel Health & Rehabilitation Center L.L.C., Bethel, by Roland Butler. Lender: Opppenheimer Multifamily Housing & Healthcare Finance Inc., North Wales, Pa. Property: 13 Parklawn Drive, Bethel. Amount: $26.3 million. Filed March 20. Coastal Construction Group L.L.C., Westport, by Joseph Feinleib and Ryan Moran. Lender: Fairfield County Bank, Ridgefield. Property: 10 Caccamo Lane Extension, Westport. Amount: $1.4 million. Filed March 7.

on the record French Post Road East L.L.C., Stamford, by Timon Malloy. Lender: The Bank of New Canaan, New Canaan. Property: 500 Post Road East, Westport. Amount: $6.1 million. Filed March 1.

Two Roads Brewing Company L.L.C., Greenwich, by Peter Doering. Lender: JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A., Shelton. Property: 1700 Stratford Ave., Stratford. Amount: $3 million. Filed March 20.

HI Danbury Lodging L.L.C., Old Bridge, N.J., by Jitendria Lodhia. Lender: Republic Bank, Philadelphia, Pa. Property: 80 Newtown Road, Danbury. Amount: $2.5 million. Filed March 19.

Yeungâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Realty L.L.C., Shelton, by Ming Hua Pan. Lender: The Bank of Fairfield, Fairfield. Property: 215 Laurel Ridge Health Care CenBoston Ave., Stratford. Amount: ter, 642 Danbury Road, Ridgefield 06877, c/o Lawrence Santilli. Filed $350,000. Filed March 12. March 9.

New Businesses Laurel Cooper L.L.C., Ridgefield, by Angelo Tartaro. Lender: Union Savings Bank, Ridgefield. Prop- The Business Journal is not responerty: 158 Danbury Road, Suite 8, sible for typographical errors conRidgefield. Amount: $167,200. tained in the original filings. Filed Feb. 22. Maxwell, Patricia and Robert Maxwell, Ridgefield, by Patricia and Robert Maxwell. Lender: Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Property: 638 Danbury Road, Unit 43, Ridgefield. Amount: $180,000. Filed March 7. Pootatuck Yacht Club, Stratford, by Ralph Bershefsky. Lender: TD Bank N.A., Cherry Hill, N.J. Property: 100 Housatonic Ave., Stratford. Amount: $174,563. Filed March 5. Property Edge L.L.C., Chicago, Ill., by Jason Flint. Lender: Pinnacle Financial Services L.L.C., Lantana, Fla. Property: 156 Plymouth St., Stratford. Amount: $200,000. Filed March 16.

Integrity Motors L.L.C., 217 White St., Danbury 06810, c/o Tony El-Hayek. Filed March 19. Interior Redesign, 1 Meadow Lane, Ridgefield 06877, c/o Susan Starritt. Filed March 7.

The Look on Main Street, 2408 Main St., Stratford 06615, c/o Jessica Skartsiaris. Filed March 21. Love This Space, 120 Limestone Road, Ridgefield 06877, c/o C. April Noll. Filed Feb. 23.

Akoya Asian Cuisine, 2410 Main St., Stratford 06614, c/o Ying Lin. Filed March 20. Luma Rouge, 6 Bushy Ridge Road, Westport 06880, c/o Andrea Selby. Filed March 15. Alexandra Davis Mary Kay Independent Consultant, 172 Thompson St., Stratford 06615, Mariel Cristofar Jewelry, 54 Danc/o Alexandra Davis. Filed bury Road, No. 401, Ridgefield March 9. 06877, c/o Mariel Cristofar. Filed Feb. 23. Bailey Kitchens and Fine Cabinetry for the Home, 904 Ethan Matok Candy, 145 North Ave., Allen Highway, Ridgefield 06877, Westport 06880, c/o Judi Rada. c/o David Adams. Filed March 19. Filed March 9. Easy Way Transport L.L.C., 112 Northstar Consumer Products Sedgewick Ave., Stratford 06614, L.L.C., 10 Saugatuck Ave., Westc/o Tiago Silva. Filed March 13. port 06880, c/o John Linderman. Filed March 5.

Embodied Spirit Massage, 19 Crest Road, Ridgefield 06877, Ofaia Catering, 22 E. Gate Road, c/o Lucy Peralta-Hayes. Filed Danbury 06811, c/o Manuel Pinto. March 14. Filed March 21.

RKMB L.L.C., Milford, by Richard LoCicero. Lender: State Farm Bank F.S.B., Bloomington, Ill. Prop- Fleeting Moments Photography, Pink Sumo, 8 Church Lane, Westerty: 1516 Barnum Ave., Stratford. 28 Beacon St., Stratford 06614, c/o port 06880, c/o Chun Yiu Kwok. Filed March 19. Amount: $200,000. Filed March 5. Denise Pressman. Filed March 5. Turtle Rock Realty L.L.C., West Garcia Distribution, 860 HonWarwick, R.I., by Mark Guss. eyspot Road, Stratford 06615, c/o Lender: Union Savings Bank, Dan- Cesar Garcia. Filed March 13. bury. Property: 6 Francis J. Clarke Circle, Bethel. Amount: $625,000. Generation Realty, 638 Stratford Filed March 16. Ave., Stratford 06615, c/o Katrina Blomberg. Filed March 21. Twin Circle L.L.C., Norwalk, by Jonathan Schwartz. Lender: Geomatrix Installations Inc., 17 2058484 Ontario Limited, Cana- Hockanum Road, Westport 06880, da. Property: 5 Twin Circle Drive, c/o Eric Wright. Filed March 20. Westport. Amount: $500,000. Filed March 8. Hamilton Ladd, 724 Danbury Road, Ridgefield 06877, c/o Lori Twin Circle L.L.C., Norwalk, by Brunelle. Filed Feb. 23. Jonathan Schwartz. Lender: Steven Ciardiello, trustee, Hamden. Property: 5 Twin Circle Drive, West- Harry Ellam Real Estate, 10 port. Amount: $1 million. Filed Overland Drive, Stratford 06614, c/o Harold Ellam. Filed March 20. March 8.

PS Photoshotz, 129 Carol St., Danbury 06810, c/o Sonja Gruber. Filed March 19. Rock Solid Video, 395 Wilbar Drive, Stratford 06614, c/o Lee Canapetti Jr. Filed March 22. Shears to You, 723 Branchville Road, Ridgefield 06877, c/o Gerard Ventrella. Filed March 14. Soho Bedding, 14 Francis J. Clark Circle, Bethel 06801, c/o Johnny Ty Choi. Filed March 22. Sourberry, 76 Ann Terrace, Stratford 06614, c/o Nicholas Moreno. Filed March 21. Sue Smith Prime Health Style, 285 North Ave., Westport 06880, c/o Susan Smith. Filed March 5.

Contextual similarity measures for objects and retrieval, classification and clustering using same. Patent no. 8,150,858 issued Annular adhesive structure. to Florent C. Perronnin, France Patent no. 8,146,791 issued to: and Yan Liu, France. Assigned to Michael J. Bettuchi, Middletown; Xerox Corp., Norwalk. David N. Fowler, Cheshire; Frank J. Viola, Sandy Hook; Christopher J. Criscuolo, Branford; Danyel J. Control signal memorization in Tarinelli, Middletown; Robert Ca- a multiple instruction issue mipella, Shelton; Kevin Sniffin, Dan- croprocessor. Patent no. 8,151,092 bury; and Ahmad Robert Hadba, issued to: Erik Richter Altman, Wallingford. Assigned to Tyco Danbury; Michael Karl Gschwind, Healthcare Group L.P., Norwalk. Chappaqua, N.Y.; Jude A. Rivers, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.; Sumedh W. Sathaye, Lagrangeville, N.Y.; Antagonist anti-Notch3 an- John-David Wellman, Hopewell tibodies and their use in the Junction, N.Y.; and Victor V. prevention and treatment of Zyuban, Yorktown Heights, N.Y. Notch3-related diseases. Patent Assigned to International Busino. 8,148,106 issued to: Sek Chung ness Machines Corp., Armonk, Fung, Houston, Texas; Kang Li, N.Y. San Diego, Calif.; Yucheng Li, San Diego, Calif.; Sanjaya Singh, Sanparameter/requiredy Hook; and Bin-Bing Stephen Critical Zhou, Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J. Assigned ments management process to Genentech Inc., South San and environment. Patent no. 8,145,671 issued to: Charles D. Francisco, Calif. Rizzolo, Fairport, N.Y.; Ronald E. Stokes, Fairport, N.Y.; Louis F. LaBooklet maker with spaced Vallee, Webster, N.Y.; Charles M. crease rollers. Patent no. 8,146,903 Gardiner, Fairport, N.Y.; William issued to Jeffrey W. Ryan, Great R. Smith, Webster, N.Y.; Kathy Britain. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Cupo, Pittsford, N.Y.; Richard S. Norwalk. Pagano, Webster, N.Y.; Joel S. Cornell, Pittsford, N.Y.; Barry P. ManBowl. Patent no. D656,792 issued del, Fairport, N.Y.; Ralph E. Simpto Laura B. Sink, Norwalk and son, Rochester, N.Y.; and John T. James Andrew Sandor, Trumbull. Potter, Pittsford, N.Y. Assigned to Assigned to Conair Corp., Stam- Xerox Corp., Norwalk. ford. Cross-linked siloxane outmost Chemical compositions and layer having aromatic siliconmethods of making them. Pat- containing compounds for phoent no. 8,148,563 issued to Jose toreceptors. Patent no. 8,148,039 E. Ramirez, Trumbull and Joseph issued to: Yu Qi, Canada; NanFaryniarz, Middlebury. Assigned Xing Hu, Canada; John F. Graham, to JR Chem L.L.C., Key West, Fla. Canada; Timothy P. Bender, Canada; Ah-Mee Hor, Canada; Yvan Gagnon, Canada; and Cheng-Kuo Color printing. Patent no. Hsiao, Canada. Assigned to Xerox 8,149,454 issued to: Meng Yao, Corp., Norwalk. West Linn, Ore.; Michael T. Stevens, Aloha, Ore.; Paul W. Philippi, Sherwood, Ore.; and Michael D. Data fusion using consensus agStevens, Portland, Ore. Assigned to gregation functions. Patent no. 8,150,793 issued to Julien Ah-Pine, Xerox Corp., Norwalk. France. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Compression pin with opposed threaded regions. Patent no. 8,147,531 issued to:; Ernie Corrao, Distributed printing system Bethel; Rebecca Hawkins Wahl, with improved load balancing. Escondido, Calif.; and Alan G. Tay- Patent no. 8,149,438 issued to Jalor, Memphis, Tenn. Assigned to vier A. Morales, Irondequoit, N.Y. and Michael E. Farrell, Webster, Tornier Inc., Edina, Minn. N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Content delivery system and method. Patent no. 8,151,313 issued to Michael Martin Murray, Greenwich.

Patents

Electronic device with magnetic attachment. Patent no. 8,143,983 issued to: Andrew Lauder, San Francisco, Calif.; Matthew D. Rohrbach, San Francisco, Calif.; Daniel J. Coster, San Francisco, Calif.; Christopher J. Stringer, Woodside, Calif.; Florence W. Ow, San Francisco, Calif.; Jiang Ai, Cupertino, Calif.; Jonathan P. Ive, San Francisco, Calif.; Elvis M. Kibiti, San Francisco, Calif.; John P. Ternus, Redwood City, Calif. and Sean D. Lubner, Trumbull. Assigned to Apple Inc., Cupertino, Calif. Expected time to collect a print job. Patent no. 8,149,441 issued to: Guillaume Bouchard, France; Stefania Castellani, France; and Maria Antonietta Grasso, France. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Fluorescent organic nanoparticles and a process for producing fluorescent organic nanoparticles. Patent no. 8,147,714 issued to: Gabriel Iftime, Canada; Daryl W. Vanbesien, Canada; Jordan H. Wosnick, Canada; Shigang S. Qiu, Canada; Kelly Zhou, Canada; and Valerie M. Farrugia, Canada. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Foldable accessory device. Patent no. 8,143,982 issued to: Andrew Lauder, San Francisco, Calif.; Matthew D. Rohrbach, San Francisco, Calif.; Daniel J. Coster, San Francisco, Calif.; Christopher J. Stringer, Woodside, Calif.; Florence W. Ow, San Francisco, Calif.; Jiang Ai, Cupertino, Calif.; Jonathan P. Ive, San Francisco, Calif.; Elvis M. Kibiti, San Francisco, Calif.; John P. Ternus, Redwood City, Calif.; and Sean D. Lubner, Trumbull. Assigned to Apple Inc., Cupertino, Calif. Garment display device. Patent no. 8,146,784 issued to Patricia D. Calanca, New Canaan and Paul L. Aston, Santee, Calif. Assigned to Patricia D. Calanca, New Canaan. Glove having a cuffed portion. Patent no. 8,146,174 issued to: Rosemary F. Knuth, Congers, N.Y.; Ross Steven Randolph, Rockaway, N.J.; Joseph C. Hourihan, Cedar Grove, N.J.; and Gerald Merovitz, Dover, Del. Assigned to Playtex Products Inc., Westport. Home or fabric care compositions comprising certain dyepolymer complexes. Patent no. 8,148,318 issued to: Zhiqiang Song, Newtown; Bingham Scott Jaynes, New City, N.Y.; Joseph Anthony Lupia, Monroe, N.Y.; and Xian-Zhi Zhou, Leonia, N.J. Assigned to BASF SE, Germany.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL â&#x20AC;˘ Week of April 16, 2012 23

Kisco

on the record Increased throughput for largescale production of low melt organoamine stabilized silver nano-particles. Patent no. 8,147,908 issued to: Mahya Mokhtari, Canada; Roger E. Gaynor, Canada; and Marko D. Saban, Canada. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk.

Knowledge-based content subsetting method for variable information printing. Patent no. 8,149,442 issued to Dale E. Gaucas, Penfield, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk.

Launcher for tube-cleaning projectiles. Patent no. 8,146,193 Ink stick for a phase change ink- issued to Joseph J. Franzino, Redjet printer. Patent no. D656,983 ding and George M. Cruz , Norissued to: Brent Rodney Jones, walk. Assigned to Goodway TechSherwood, Ore.; Jonathan R. Rit- nologies Corp., Stamford. ter, Cupertino, Calif.; Brian Walter Aznoe, Sherwood, Ore.; and Christopher R. Gold, Tigard, Ore. Liquid-handling system with Assigned to Xerox Corp., Nor- electronic information storage. Patent no. 8,150,549 issued walk. to: Kevin T. O’Dougherty, Arden Hills, Minn.; Robert E. Andrews, Ink stick for a phase change ink- Hudson, Mass.; Tripunithura V. jet printer. Patent no. D656,984 Jayaraman, North Kingstown, R.I.; issued to: Brent Rodney Jones, Joe Menning, Prior Lake, Minn.; Sherwood, Ore.; Jonathan R. Rit- and Christopher A. Baye-Wallace, ter, Cupertino, Calif.; Brian Wal- Anoka, Minn. Assigned to Adter Aznoe, Sherwood, Ore.; and vanced Technology Materials Christopher R. Gold, Tigard, Ore. apparel Inc., Danbury. exclusive Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. sparkling jewelry Low-voltage- to high-voltagelevelshoes translation using capacitive buttery-soft Integrated diagnostic test sys- coupling. Patent no. 8,149,017 tem. Patent no. dangerous 8,147,426 issued issued to David L. Knierim, Wildenims to: Gary T. Neel, Weston, Fla.; sonville, Ore. Assigned to Xerox Brent E. Modzelewski, Norwalk. the Brookfield; newestCorp., boots and Cameron Scott Casterline, intimates Pembroke Pines,sexy Fla. Assigned to Nipro Diagnostics Inc., Fort Lau- Mailing machine transport system with integral scale for weighluxe accessories derdale, Fla. ing mail pieces where the contact force on the take-away rollers is classic men’s shirts Intelligent data network with reduced to eliminate oscillations cozycapabiliouterwear power management of the weighing platform. Patent ties. Patent no. 8,150,424 issued no. 8,148,650 issued to Chiping chic furs to: Norbert Ohlenbusch, Ando- Sye, Stamford. Assigned to Pitney ver, Mass.; Joseph Wronski, Jef- Bowes Inc., Stamford. beautiful ferson, Mass.; Paul J. Gaudet, Dra- basics cut, Mass.; Thomas P. Blackadar, Natick, Mass.; and Steven R. Oliver, Attleboro, Mass. Assigned to FitSense Technology Inc., Shelton.

Mapping an out-of-gamut color to a surface of a color gamut. Patent no. 8,149,459 issued to Lalit Keshav Mestha, Fairport, N.Y. and Alvaro Enrique Gil, Rochester, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Method and apparatus for saving power in an image-production device. Patent no. 8,150,290 issued to: Michael A. Demuren, Rochester, N.Y.; David Lee Everhart, Spencerport, N.Y.; Linda P. Lafrance, Pittsford, N.Y.; and Franley H. Sanchez, Rochester, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk.

Multiplayer gaming device and methods. Patent no. 8,147,322 issued to Jay S. Walker, Ridgefield and Robert C. Tedesco, Fairfield. Assigned to Walker Digital L.L.C., Stamford.

Ray-based compression mapping in a color management system. Patent no. 8,150,153 issued to Lalit Keshav Mestha, Fairport, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk.

Multiple color fluorescence security imprint. Patent no. 8,147,900 issued to Jay Reichelsheimer, Shelton and Bertrand Haas, New Haven. Assigned to Pitney Bowes Inc., Stamford.

Retail system for selling products based on a flexible product description. Patent no. 8,150,735 issued to: Jay S. Walker, Ridgefield; Peter Kim, Stamford; James A. Jorasch, Stamford; Magdalena Mik, Greenwich; Daniel E. Tedesco, Westport; Russell Pratt Sammon, Stamford; Andrew P. Golden, New York City; Raymond J. Mueller, Weston; Keith Bemer, New York City; and Kathleen Van Luchene, Norwalk. Assigned to Groupon Inc., Chicago, Ill.

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Personal care compositions comprising certain dye-polymer complexes. Patent no. 8,147,814 issued to: Zhiqiang Song, NewMethod and system for ag- town; Bingham Scott Jaynes, New gregating print jobs. Patent no. City, N.Y.; Joseph Anthony Lupia, 8,149,439 issued to Javier A. Mo- Monroe, N.Y.; and Xian-Zhi Zhou, rales, Irondequoit, N.Y. and Mi- Leonia, N.J. Assigned to BASF SE, chael E. Farrell, Webster, N.Y. As- Germany. Shoe having an air-cushioning signed to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. system. Patent no. 8,146,268 issued to Salvo Farina, Brooklyn, Portable chemical oxygen gen- N.Y. and Steve Weston, New CaMethod and system for minimiz- erator. Patent no. 8,147,760 issued naan. Assigned to Sears Brands ing nonuniformities in output to Gary Huvard, Chesterfield, Va.; L.L.C., Hoffman Estates, Ill. images using halftone correction Richard Imbruce, Westport; and patches. Patent no. 8,150,283 is- Kevin R. Ward, Glen Allen, Va. Stacker cart. Patent no. 8,147,175 sued to Paul A. Hosier, Rochester, issued to Charles R. Brewer III, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Printer characterization, moni- Farmington, N.Y. and Thomas C. Norwalk. toring and diagnosis using dy- Palumbo, Rochester, N.Y. Assigned namic test patterns generated by to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Method of forming solid-ink sensing and analyzing customer stick with coded mark. Patent no. documents. Patent no. 8,150,106 8,147,052 issued to: Anthony John issued to: Wencheng Wu, Web- Sticky baffle. Patent no. 8,147,055 Peters, Great Britain; Richard Marc ster, N.Y.; Rajinderjeet Minhas, issued to: Mark A. Cellura, Webster, Watson, Great Britain; and Bren- Churchville, N.Y.; and Meera Sam- N.Y.; Antonio St. C. L. Williams, nan Grantley John Miles, Great path, Rochester, N.Y. Assigned to Wilsonville, Ore.; and Richard P. Germain, Webster, N.Y. Assigned Britain. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Xerox Corp., Norwalk. to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Norwalk. Multicompany business accounting system and method for same, including journals. Patent no. 8,150,745 issued to Roy Howard Gelerman, Weston. Assigned to Hantz Group Inc., Southfield, Mich.

Printing system scheduler methods and systems. Patent no. 8,151,267 issued to: Steven Robert Moore, Pittsford, N.Y.; Barry Paul Mandel, Fairport, N.Y.; and Saurabh Prabhat, Webster, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk.

System and method for characterizing color separation misregistration. Patent no. 8,149,482 issued to Jon McElvain, Manhattan Beach, Calif. and Charles Michael Hains, Altadena, Calif. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Systems and methods for determining an optimal defibrillation shock waveform. Patent no. 8,150,511 issued to Michael R. Pittaro, New Canaan. Assigned to Pacesetter Inc., Sylmar, Calif. Systems and methods for playing games of chance or skill using an alternate method of entry. Patent no. 8,147,325 issued to: Steven N. Kane, Brookline, Mass.; Dow Hardy, Marlborough, Mass.; Mark E. Herrmann, Wellesley, Mass.; Paul LaRocca, Westport; Stuart Roseman, Boston, Mass.; Bijan Sabet, Sudbury, Mass.; and Jason Yanowitz, Amherst, Mass. Assigned to Scientific Games Holdings Limited, Ireland. Toner mass sensing precision by normalization to substrate reflectance and adjusted for toner mass level. Patent no. 8,150,653 issued to: Aaron Michael Burry, Ontario, N.Y.; Eric Michael Gross, Rochester, N.Y.; Palghat Ramesh, Pittsford, N.Y.; and Robert E. Rosdahl Jr., Ontario, N.Y. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk. Trash-collecting device. Patent no. D657,107 issued to James R. Fitzpatrick, Stratford and John V. Goodrich, Stratford. Assigned to Garbo Grabber L.L.C., Stratford.

Surgical instrument with safety mechanism. Patent no. 8,146,790 issued to Keith Milliman, Bethel. Assigned to Tyco Healthcare Group L.P., North Haven. Waste phase change ink recycling. Patent no. 8,147,049 issued to: Steven Van Cleve Korol, Dundee, Ore.; Steven Ross Slotto, Camas, Wash.; and Britton T. Pinson, Vancouver, Wash. Assigned to Xerox Corp., Norwalk.

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BUSINESS JOURNAL

February 13, 2012 • Vol 48, No. 7

FROM SKY BLUE TO BIG BLUE? BY ALEXANDER SOULE casoule@westfairinc.com

lancing up at a massive, aging skylight, Chris Van Buiten declared there would be no helicopter landing pad on top of the century-old, Old Town Hall in Stamford. Sky’s the limit after that, the Sikorsky Innovations head suggested.

In a stealth operation worthy of its newest secret helicopters, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. swooped in to embed a high-tech incubator at the new Stamford Innovation Center, with the Stamford iCenter itself launching with a half-dozen startups in house, while hosting a Stamford Startup Weekend March 30 and April 1. At the same time, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy confirmed he met in late

January with IBM Corp. managers, without specifying the purpose of that meeting to include whether any deal is in the works to get the Armonk, N.Y.-based company to expand in Connecticut. In one fell swoop initially engineered by Malloy aide Kip Bergstrom, Stamford finds itself with what it thinks will be a vibrant entrepreneur “hotel,” while iCenter, page 2

Cloud covered Small businesses learning to

embrace off-site data backup

A day before the U.S. Commerce Department revealed that the economy added 243,000 hris Tella made it through the October nor’easter jobsand in January, state Comptroller Thomas Tropical Storm Irene relatively intact – but notDiNapoli in the warned that hiring in New York nor’easter of March 2010 when a 65-foot tree toppled and the Hudson Valley has lagged over the onto his Greenwich house. past six months. cloud-serThrough it all, the roof never caved in on his cloud-ser Between December 2009 and December vices provider UFlexData and parent company Mandragore, 2011, the state’s private sector regained with Tella able to access all his company’s critical data and 183,600 – or 58 percent – of the jobs that software from mobile devices. were lost during the recession. As small businesses get increasingly comfortable with During that same period the state as a the idea of running their information technology out of the whole cloud – housing applications and data on remote servers run saw the return of 46 percent of all jobsser that were lost, well above the national serby others – a building formation of relatively small cloud average of 34 percent, DiNapoli noted in his vice providers like UFlexData is selling those services locally.

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Marc Lotti and Chris Tella are helping area small businesses elevate their IT into the cloud.

A functional cloud system for many small-business needs comes in at half the cost of many mobile phone plans, according to Tella, CEO of UFlexData. Yet many businesses still associate the cloud with a sky-high bill up front and going forward.

February 13, 2012 | VOL. 48, No. 7

ArchrivAls feud And sue At Archie comics BY JOHN GOLDEN jgolden@westfairinc.com

rchie and Jughead, Veronica and Betty and their forever-young comicbook gang at Riverdale High might blush at the storylines written in lawsuits by their creators’ clashing heirs at Archie Comic Publications Inc. in Mamaroneck. The real-world scripts, contained in state Supreme Court filings in Manhattan and Westchester County, include several employees’ claims last year that they were sexually harassed and threatened by Nancy Silberkleit, co-CEO of the comics publishing company since 2009 and widow of Michael Silberkleit, the former chairman and publisher of Archie

Comics. The company last summer asked a state judge to prevent Silberkleit from working at the company’s offices at 325 Fayette Ave. in Mamaroneck and to bar her from contacting company employees and vendors. In January, Jonathan Goldwater, who shares the co-CEO title and company director duties with Silberkleit and is the brother of Michael Silberkleit’s late business partner and co-publisher, filed a second lawsuit in Manhattan seeking her removal as company director and officer. If she stays, Goldwater said, the “iconic American company” is in danger of failing and being liquidated. Silberkleit, a Rye resident, that same week went to state Supreme Court in White Archie, page 9

Infighting and lawsuits between co-CEOs have shaken Archie Comics since the death of its former publisher and chairman Michael Silberkleit, shown here in 2007 at company headquarters in Mamaroneck.

State comptroller warns of weak job market BY PATRICK GALLAGHER pgallagher@westfairinc.com

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Good news

westfaironline.com In keeping with the state of New York’s focus on regional economic development, this issue of the Westchester County Business Journal marks the debut of its sister publication, HV Biz, within its pages. We bring together preneurs, anyway. the counties that make up the The Stamford iCenter comcom Hudson Valley, with its twomenced operations in Stamford’s million population, and proOld Town Hall with a half-dozen vide business and economic startups already enrolled, ranging news helpful to shaping a from Arsanis Biosciences GmbH, regional identity. HV an Austrian company hoping powerful to Biz news will appear biweekdevelop treatments for cancer ly,2 broadening the reach of Dotting, page all local businesses while strengthening knowledge and marketing opportunities.

Dotting the ‘i’ In time, Barry Schwimmer and his cohorts might enable military aircraft to change color at the push of a button or a dotcom to support a “community of drink explorers.” In time, the Stamford Innovation Center hopes to be the ultimate enabler – for entre-

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Feb. 2 report. However, the state’s private-sector employers posted a net loss of 11,200 jobs since last July, triggering what DiNapoli described as a noticeable slowdown. “After a strong first half of 2011, job growth in New York was markedly weaker during the second half of the year, raising concerns about the pace of the recovery in 2012,” DiNapoli wrote. The region that includes Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties ranked among the lowest of the state’s metropolitan areas in the proportion of jobs recovered since the recession. After losing 28,800 jobs between July 2008 and December 2009, the lower Hudson

Valley added a net 4,000 jobs in the two years since, with the region’s job recovery rate of 13.8 percent ranking far behind the state and

The region that includes Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties ranked among the lowest of the state’s metropolitan areas in the proportion of jobs recovered since the recession. New York City, which recovered jobs that were lost during the recession at rates of 46.3

Back to the drawing Board • 18

percent and 51.6 percent, respectively. In the three-county region, “Gains in education, health services and tourism have been partially offset by sizable losses in government, construction and manufacturing,” DiNapoli wrote. Unemployment in the region fell to 6.4 percent last December from 7.2 percent in December 2009; however, the report noted that much of that decline was due to a drop in the state’s labor force rather than employment increases. Compounding the slow recovery, the financial securities industry, which DiNapoli called “the state’s economic engine” and which accounts for a third of the state’s gross State, page 9

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL • Week of April 16, 2012 25

faces&places Liza with a Z The legendary Liza Minnelli performed at The Stamford Center of the Arts (SCA) Third Annual Palace Theatre Gala to an enthusiastic crowd of 1,200 guests March 30. Following a set of hits like “Liza with a Z” and new jazzstyle songs, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal stepped onstage to present Minnelli with the Arts Legacy Award. Connecticut residents Moira K. Lyons and Michael L. Widland were also honored with the Arts Ovation Award for their dedication to SCA. All photograph identifications are from left unless noted otherwise. — Photographs by Zoë Zellers and Tim Coffey

1. Seated guests at The Palace Theatre. 2. Elissa O. Getto, SCA’s executive director, David Archer, director of marketing communications. 3. Maureen Pavia, member of SCA’s gala committee. 4. Sandy Goldstein, member of SCA’s gala committee. 5. Honorees Michael L. Widland and Moira K. Lyons, and Gov. Dannel Malloy. 6. Andrew McDonald, general counsel to Gov. Malloy. 7. Emmanuel (EJ) Couloucoundis, Emerging Young Artist Scholarship recipient 8. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Bruce Zellers of Zellers Design. 9. Liza Minnelli.

26 Week of April 16, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Business Publications • www.westfaironline.com

Business ConneCtions Issues & PolIcIes

InsIde the CapItol

State Aims to Increase Business Use of Renewable Energy

Connecticut’s Freefalling Graduation Rate

he need for real education reform in Connecticut is readily apparent. The alarming results of a new study on graduation rates only highlight the urgency for real reform.

BEST

New York

Connecticut’s graduation rate showed the second largest decline of any state between 2002 and 2009, according to a new study, Building a Grad Nation.

Alabama

8.1% 7.8%

Kentucky

7.8%

-1.7% -2.2% -2.6% -4.3

-15.6%

Only Nevada, where the rate declined 15.6 percent, fared worse than Connecticut. We’re one of just 10 states where the rate declined. Tennessee led the country with a 17.8 percent gain, followed by New York, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, and Vermont. Massachusetts, which years ago adopted many of the reform initiatives proposed this year by Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, recorded a 5.7 percent increase in high school graduates.

California Arizona New Mexico Connecticut

WoRST

The state’s losing battle runs contrary to national trends. While the U.S. graduation rate increased 3.5 percent, Connecticut’s rate dropped 4.3 percent to 75.4 percent.

13%

South Carolina

Nevada

onnecticut is moving forward with two new energy programs designed to increase the use of renewable power by businesses and reduce energy use in homes across the state. The Public Utility Control Authority (PURA) recently announced its approval of a new program to provide incentives for the installation of renewable energy at small, midsize, and large businesses in Connecticut.

17.8%

Tennessee

Changes in U.S. Graduation Rates (2002-2009) Source: Building a Grad Nation

declining trend. Over the last 20 years, while other states acted, we ignored education reform. This year, the Governor’s proposals, as outlined in Senate Bill 24, promised to address decades of inaction until the legislature’s Education Committee stripped the bill of its key components.

That state now graduates 83.3 percent of its students. Vermont, where nine out of 10 students graduate high school, leads the region.

The Building a Grad Nation report says that If each state had a graduation rate of 90 percent, 580,000 additional students would have graduated in the class of 2011, increasing the GDP by $6.6 billion and generating $1.8 billion in additional revenue as a result of increased economic activity.

Connecticut faces a monumental struggle to reverse this

➤ Read more at gov.cbia.com

Businesses will be able to work with renewable energy providers (including wind, fuel cells, solar, and biofuel) to develop a renewable proposal for their facility. The proposal would include a determination of how much of a financial credit (known as a renewable energy credit, or REC) the facility would need to obtain from its utility company to make the project economically viable. The project, along with other such projects from around the state, would then be submitted as a bid for the limited number of RECs available, and the utilities would award RECs, in the form of 15-year fixed-price contracts, for those qualified projects requiring the fewest amount of RECS—in essentially a reverse-auction type of process. These reverse auctions would occur at regular intervals through a request-for-proposals (RFP) process coordinated by the utilities. It is estimated that over the next 22 years, up to a $1 billion would be available for the program. The first RFP will likely be used later this spring. ➤ Read more at cbia.com

Issues & PolIcIes

Judiciary Committee Approves Trial Attorney Bill

he state legislature’s Judiciary Committee went right down to the wire, approving several measures of interest to Connecticut’s business community.

wrongful death actions.

Final language (including amendments) on some bills was not yet available, but one proposal in particular is harmful in that it needlessly raises litigation costs.

Under HB 5545, judges and juries in personal injury and wrongful death cases will hear evidence of all medical bills charged by healthcare providers rather than the actual amount of bills paid to establish the value of the claim.

HB 5455 irresponsibly increases damage awards and trial attorney fees in lawsuits. The bill drastically expands the scope of “reasonable and necessary” costs allowed as evidence in personal injury and

Healthcare providers often charge insurers and selfinsurers based on highly inflated estimates of patients’ medical bills from a variety of factors not always related to actual medical treatment.

Once those charges are billed, medical providers and insurers, or lawyers for the injured party, negotiate that amount to reflect what is actually paid. This negotiation is at the heart of insurance reimbursement and it controls health system costs for everyone. This bill, however, would discard that control to advantage trial attorneys and their clients. ➤ Read more at gov.cbia.com

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