MONROE, CT — The Connecticut Department of Labor issued a stop-work order closing the Monroe Dollar Store, 483 Monroe Turnpike, after the business allegedly committed numerous violations found from a spot check Tuesday, according to police.
In addition to labor violations, Police Capt. Greg Smith said Connecticut Department of Consumer Drug Control representatives located and removed illegal products for sale and the Department of Revenue Services targeted untaxed cigarettes for sale and seized it.
“The store cannot reopen until the violations are corrected and the fines are paid,” Smith said.
The Monroe Dollar Store was still closed on Friday afternoon and the red stop-work order in the window had violations checked off including:
Failure to secure payment of worker’s compensation in violation of sections 31-284 subsection (b) by:
- Failing to obtain coverage that meets the requirements of section 31-284
- Misrepresenting employees as independent contractors – Section 31-288
- Materially understating or concealing payroll
Police said the state agency decided to do the spot check after assisting police with a search and seizure warrant at the Area 51 Smoke Shop on Main Street.
Quarrel at Stop & Shop
What began as a verbal argument between a 32-year-old Trumbull man and three male teenagers outside Stop & Shop, 470 Monroe Turnpike, Tuesday night, resulted in charges for all after the altercation turned physical.
Police said the argument was broken up by an employee outside the store, but the teenagers, all age 17, followed the man into the store, taunting him, videotaping him and challenging him to do something about it.
The man finally had enough, turned and pushed one of them, according to the report.
He was charged with second-degree breach of peace and risk of injury to a child before being released on a promise to appear in court on July 26.
The three teens, two from Easton and one from Kent, were issued juvenile summonses for breach of peace and turned over to their parents, police said.
The incident occurred around 7:23 p.m.
A fake account
A 48-year-old Monroe man told police someone used his name and Social Security number to open a fraudulent Bank of America account, transfer $900 to it from the victim’s real account, then convert it to cash via ATM withdrawals in California, according to a complaint made Thursday.
Bank of America is conducting an investigation, police said.
The identity theft victim was advised to monitor his financial accounts and notify the Social Security Administration and the three major credit bureaus of the incident.
Theft via Western Union
Three Western Union transactions were made to steal close to $7,632 from a 58-year-old Monroe man’s Chase Bank savings account, according to a police complaint made Tuesday.
Police said the victim did not authorize these transactions and is the only one with access to his account.
The bank closed his account and transferred his money to a new account and Chase Bank’s fraud department is conducting an investigation into the incident.
The victim was advised to monitor his financial accounts and to contact the three major credit bureaus about the incident.
Unemployment benefits scam
Police received 10 complaints between Monday and Thursday from residents victimized by a scam, in which someone fraudulently applied for unemployment benefits from the Connecticut Department of Labor using their names and information.
All the victims were advised to contact the three major credit bureaus, to monitor their financial accounts and to report the incidents to the Labor Department and the Social Security Administration.
All respectful comments with the commenter’s first and last name are welcome.
