By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

HARTFORD >> A jury found a New York man guilty in U.S. District Court Monday of sex trafficking two minors, who were 16- and 17 years old at the time.
Edward “Fire” Thomas, 40, recruited the girls and brought them to hotels in Connecticut, including in Milford, where the teens performed sex acts in exchange for money, which they would then turn over to Thomas.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Thomas answered an Internet prostitution advertisement for a 17-year-old girl in Oregon, then enticed her to travel to New York to work for him. She eventually agreed and traveled to New York with a second girl, who was 16 years old, using bus tickets Thomas purchased.

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U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly said Thomas “preyed on the vulnerabilities of two girls whom he lured 3,000 miles away from their homes.”

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo

HARTFORD >> A tip about an online escort advertisement featuring a young-looking female prompted investigators to set up a sting that ultimately led them to Edward "Fire" Thomas, according to testimony in federal court Tuesday.
Thomas, 40, of New York, is on trial before U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford. Thomas faces two counts of sex trafficking of a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of a minor.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the two minors were 16 and 17-years-old at the time.

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By Randall Beach
Register Staff
Jeff Mitchell and I met for our interview last Wednesday morning at Yale’s Phelps Gate, a place with special meaning for this man, who has spent 16 years trying to find out who killed Yale student Suzanne Jovin.

Mitchell took me inside Yale’s “Old Campus” quad and pointed to a spot in the middle of the courtyard.
“That’s where she spoke with Peter Stein,” Mitchell noted.

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Stein, a classmate of Jovin’s, later would tell police that she told him she was going to the Yale Police substation at Phelps Gate to turn in the keys to a university car. She had used the vehicle that night to help out at a Best Buddies charity party.
Jovin, a 21-year-old senior, dropped off the keys at about 9:20 p.m. on her last night, Dec. 4, 1998.

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By Michelle Tuccitto Sullo
NEW HAVEN >> After hearing from the relatives of the victims of a New Haven fatal arson, a judge on Thursday sentenced the man convicted of acting as the getaway driver to 174 months — which amounts to 14½ years — in prison.
Three people died in the March 9, 2011, Wolcott Street fire, including Wanda Roberson, 42, her 8-year-old son Quayshaun Roberson, and her 21-year-old niece Jaqueeta Roberson.
Lynn Roberson, Wanda’s sister, told U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton the family has had to seek professional help to deal with grief.

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“My sister was my best friend — she was always smiling and laughing,” she said. “She loved her family and would do anything for you. All we have is our memories and pictures. Today, we are finally here to receive justice for our loved ones.”

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