MONROE, CT — A dispute over the sale of a backhoe resulted in an arrest warrant after a police investigation determined $18,000 was exchanged and no backhoe was given to the buyer.
Todd Cascella, 63, of Cottage Street in Trumbull, turned himself in at the Monroe Police Department on Oct. 24, was charged with second degree larceny and released after posting seven percent of his $25,000 court set bond for an Oct. 29 court date.
On Aug. 19, the buyer told police he purchased a Caterpillar backhoe he saw on Facebook Marketplace from Cascella on June 21, 2024, but was unable to pick it up right away.
On June 25, 2024 the two men met in Monroe, where police said the buyer made a $3,000 downpayment, before paying off the full $18,000 balance by July 20, 2024.
Police said the buyer needed to get the appropriate size trailer to tow the backhoe off the Garder Road property and the seller had no problem with him leaving it there in the meantime.
In November of 2024, the buyer had obtained the proper size trailer and reached out to Cascella, but Cascella said he couldn’t come to the property due to issues with the land, according to police.
In August of 2025, police said the buyer reached out to Cascella multiple times, but received no response.
When officers spoke with Cascella he reportedly told them it was a civil issue. But because money was exchanged without a backhoe changing hands, police pursued the warrant.
DUI arrest
A 57-year-old Bridgeport man was charged with DUI after stopping at a stop sign at the intersection of Routes 111 and 34 in his 2001 Honda Accord and sitting there early Saturday morning, according to police.
Just before 1 a.m., a police officer and another driver stopped behind the Honda, when the other driver grew impatient and drove around the Honda, police said, adding the officer rolled up behind the Honda and got out to check on the driver.
The Bridgeport man told the officer he was coming from Milford and was now on Route 34 in Seymour. She noticed his eyes were glossy and his speech was slurred, police said, adding the driver admitted to having had a few drinks.
Field sobriety tests at the scene were not performed to standard and tests done at headquarters showed he had an elevated blood alcohol content, police said.
He was charged and released after posting seven percent of his $500 bond for Nov. 10 court date.
The Sun’s Policy on Using Names in Police Reports
Before the internet, newspapers routinely published names in the police blotter. The arrestees would be embarrassed for a few days, before most people forgot about it. They served their penalty and could move on with their lives. The issue with the article was archived in a library and could become an issue again if someone researched it.
Since the internet, the arrestees’ names can be searched online and the article will always come up. Even if the arrest was long ago and they are leading better, more productive lives, the report always looms over them.
Because of this, The Sun only uses names of people in police reports for some of the more serious crimes and incidents: murder, brutal beatings, child abuse, robberies, burglaries, car thefts, thefts of thousands of dollars or more, sexual assault and fatal crashes.
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