Author Archives: Brian Ginsberg

A man matching the description of the perpetrator of five purse-snatchings near the Yale campus was apprehended Wednesday by New Haven police. Axel Hernandez, 33, was arrested without incident on Church Street South and charged with third-degree robbery and second-degree larceny in connection with the mugging of a Branford College junior on Aug. 30, said »

Jim Chase was a hopeless alcoholic. Twenty-four years ago, Chase could not go a day without buying, stealing or mooching everything from beer to hard liquor. He says he never started drinking without winding up completely drunk by the end of the night, or sometimes the morning. In his car, he kept a liquor bottle »

Toad’s Place, the York Street concert and party hot spot, was shut down for a week starting yesterday and must pay $25,000 in connection with an incident last year in which state Liquor Control Commission officials found several underage patrons hiding in a basement room in order to avoid the authorities. During a pair of »

The two Yale students involved in last October’s Hartford protest that generated 18 arrests struck a deal to avoid criminal prosecution, an attorney and fellow demonstrators said. But other protesters are planning to continue their fight in court, seeking to clear their names of what they say are unjust charges. Jon Scolnik ’03 and Abhimanyu »

A rash of purse-snatchings in the last five days on the Yale campus might be the work of a single perpetrator. Tuesday night, shortly before 11 p.m., Stephanie Wei ’05 was walking on York Street toward the medical school campus when a man on a BMX-style bicycle raced toward her, jostled her without braking, and »

A former employee at Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library who pleaded guilty to looting over $2.5 million in historic artifacts and documents from the library’s collection began serving his prison term this summer. Benjamin Johnson, 22, of Hamden, pleaded guilty in April to three counts each of first-degree larceny and criminal mischief to »

When it comes to getting Naples Pizza and Restaurant’s liquor license back, owner Anthony Prifitera’s pitcher of hope is by no means drained. But with the beer off tap for the foreseeable future, the restaurateur may turn to focus groups and the Internet to bring back the crowds. “Basically, I want to get 20 to »

After dropping 21 percent from 1999 to 2000, overall crime rates in New Haven remained stable in 2001, while reported crimes against persons increased almost 10 percent, according to recently released Uniform Crime Report data. The number of murders increased from 18 to 20 — after dropping consistently for four years — and robberies jumped »

Like most prospective Yale students, Amy Kaplan came to Bulldog Days to get a glimpse of the University’s academic and social scene. Thanks to a freshman and some locals, she also saw a boxing match. Kaplan said she saw Nathan Thorne ’05 and two female friends leave Lanman-Wright Hall and make their way to the »

If he gets his way, Assistant Police Chief and 30-year New Haven Police Department veteran Douglas P. MacDonald will soon be packing his bags for Providence, R.I., to become its police department’s new chief. MacDonald, who is one of five candidates for the position, interviewed in late March for the chance to lead the Providence »

Maybe next time this trio will find a legal way to make Monday a little less manic. Shortly after 7 p.m., an officer responded to a complaint that objects were being thrown out of a Vanderbilt Hall window, almost hitting people walking down Chapel Street, Yale Police Lt. Michael Patten said. When the officer arrived, »

Fresh from their morning coffee, the 95 officers who report for duty on the New Haven Police Department’s busiest shift are anxious to jump in their squad cars, hit the streets, and keep the Elm City safe. But soon they may have one thing standing between roll call and active duty: Fair Haven printer Wayne »