Abuse Tracker

March 9, 2003
By ERIC RICH, JACK DOLAN, And DAVE ALTIMARI Courant Staff Writers

Smith & Wesson, the nation's largest gun maker, faced a sharp backlash within the industry when it broke ranks and agreed to improve handgun safety in exchange for an end to threats of liability lawsuits.

Within days, authorities suspected that other gun companies were illegally colluding to punish Smith & Wesson for capitulating to government pressure. Connecticut's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, subpoenaed one firearms maker, Kimber Manufacturing, seeking potential evidence of retaliation.

So, what did Blumenthal find? Had Smith & Wesson been blacklisted? Or was the attorney general's investigation of Kimber a dead end?

Don't look for the answers in state courts. You won't find them. ...

Two suits accusing a Roman Catholic priest from the Hartford Archdiocese, Peter J. Zizka, of sexually abusing young girls in the 1970s. He continued in the ministry for more than two years with the cases pending, under seal, at Hartford Superior Court.