
A notice on the Cornwall Bridge USPS collection box warns patrons to avoid putting mail in the box after the last posted pick-up time.
Debra A. Aleksinas
A notice on the Cornwall Bridge USPS collection box warns patrons to avoid putting mail in the box after the last posted pick-up time.
CORNWALL — Jim Young didn’t think twice when, on the evening of Dec. 23, he dropped a letter containing a $3,884 check into the iconic blue collection box outside the Cornwall Bridge Post Office.
It was addressed to the Housatonic Valley Rug Shop Inc., located roughly 100 feet away. The check never made it that far.
Instead, a crafty crook, likely under the cloak of darkness, fished that letter, and potentially others, out of the Postal Service drop box. A week later the altered check was cashed in Jamaica, New York.
Young, who owns Sharon Auto Body, wrote a replacement check to cover the purloined one but he is now mired in red tape trying to get reimbursed from his bank, NBT, for his nearly $4,000 loss. He is angry. And he is not alone.
Check fraud is a hot topic these days on a Cornwall neighborhood discussion site.
And in nearby Warren, more than a dozen residents have been victimized by mail theft from home mailboxes and the blue USPS box in the town center, according to First Selectman Greg LaCava, who, last month, posted warnings to residents via the town’s website.
LaCava said he has also been making rounds to the senior center in town to alert seniors and has been conferring with the Connecticut State Police.
One victim, he noted, had deposited mail at the Cornwall Bridge mailbox. In another case, the dollar amount on a check was changed from $500 to $15,000.
“The more I talk about it, the more I hear of other people with the same problem,” Young noted. What angers him the most, he said, is that “the U.S. Post Office has known this has been going on for three months, and they have done zero about it.”
Craig Drozd, postmaster at the Cornwall Bridge Post Office, declined to comment except to confirm that the matter is being handled by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS).
The recent spate of Litchfield County mail thefts is under investigation, said Danielle Schrage, a USPIS inspector and public information officer for Connecticut.
Her agency is the law enforcement and security arm of the United States Postal Service.
“I spoke with the investigators covering those complaints. They are aware and working very closely with the post offices to replace the standard blue collection boxes in those areas,” with newer, high-technology boxes, she reported Jan. 19.
“If there is a blue box with a pull-down handle, a lot of those are being phased out and replaced with newer ones with thinner slots to prevent fishing,” the Schrage noted. “It hasn’t happened yet but will be happening.”
In the meantime, she suggested that postal patrons bring their mail inside the Post Office, or hand it to a carrier on the street. If they must use the blue box, Schrage suggested making the deposit as close to daily pick-up times as possible.
“Don’t let your mail sit in there a minute longer than it needs to. Unfortunately, in this world, we have to give up a little convenience for security,” said the postal inspector. “We don’t live in 1950s Mayberry. We have to be a lot more savvy.”
Schrage advised victims of mail fraud to immediately contact the USPIS at www.uspis.gov/report and fill out a complaint online, or call 877-876-2455, so that the agency can track in real time when and where thefts are taking place and can gather information for criminal prosecution.
“I have been screaming from the rooftop, but a lot of people don’t know we exist as an agency,” said Schrage.
She warned that small, rural towns are easy targets for criminals.
“In some of the bedroom communities, people are a little more complacent. The criminals are not from Litchfield County, they’re coming in and looking for communities that are less savvy” about check fraud.
While check fishing is an age-old crime, it has been surging since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, said postal officials.
The USPS defines check fishing as a line, often with a sticky end, typically rodent glue traps, lowered into a postal box to snag letters and fished back out.
Fraudsters ditch all but the checks, which are then “washed” by changing the payee names, and often the dollar amounts, by removing the ink using chemical agents.
However, in Young’s case, his check was not washed, but completely reprinted with the bank routing number, check number, dollar amount and signature onto a different background.
After about a week of waiting for the check to reach its destination, Young said he went to NBT to void the missing check, only to find out that the $3,884 check had cleared in his account.
According to a recent report by the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, check fraud at depository institutions more than tripled between 2018 and 2022, up 201.2% between those years.
While fishing for checks is a lucrative catch for criminals, it is a nightmare for banks, said Steven Cornell, president and CEO of National Iron Bank (NIB), which has a branch in the Cornwall Bridge section of Cornwall.
Cornell confirmed a “big uptick” in customers from Cornwall reporting check fraud.
“We resolve every one of them very quickly. We go back to all the banks and work with them to get the money back, and except for the big banks, most are very good about it.”
Cornell explained that the Cornwall Bridge branch manager has devoted countless hours helping customers close out breached accounts and opening new ones.
He said it is frustrating that the postal service is unable to secure mail at the expense of the banks:
“It takes a lot of time for us to do this, but there is nothing we can do but resolve it for our customers. They’re doing the right things by using the mail and paying their bills, and then this happens to them. It’s a terrible situation.”
Cornell said one way for customers to deter fraud is to switch from using checks to utilizing the bank’s secure electronic bill-pay system or debit cards. “Everybody who has moved to bill-pay is happy with it.”
Those who can’t part with checks are advised by the USPS to write in permanent ink, which can’t be erased as it penetrates the paper’s fibers.
Young said it could be months before he recoups his loss, but that’s not his main concern.
What he does worry about is that until the blue boxes are secure, his neighbors run the risk of scammers emptying their bank accounts.
Young said he has taken it upon himself to tape laminated warning signs to the Cornwall Bridge USPS collection box, but they are taken down as fast as he posts them.
“Meanwhile, people are putting checks in that box today. It’s that complacency that drives me crazy.”
Amanda Freund of East Canaan will appear on the television show "Shark Tank" on April 4 to pitch CowPots.
CANAAN — Fans of the television show “Shark Tank,” stay tuned. On Friday, April 4, Amanda Freund of East Canaan will be facing the panel, imploring members to invest in her unique product: cow poop.
Freund and her father Matthew Freund produce and market CowPots, which are made from the abundance of manure found on their dairy farm. Matthew Freund, realizing cows were producing more manure — 100 pounds per cow per day — than was needed for fertilizing fields for crops, came up with the concept of the pots. Years of trial-and-error experimentation finally resulted in success. In 2006 he began selling the biodegradable pots using 100% composted manure to local stores. Now the pots can be found in outlets across the country, as well as internationally.
Amanda Freund — after graduating from Cornell University’s School of Agriculture, doing a stint working as a legislative aide and spending two years in Zambia as part of the Peace Corps — returned to the farm and now heads up the marketing part of the business.
Freund recently spoke about the USDA Rural Development Value Added Producer Grant they received. As part of that, the business is supported through Berkshire Agricultural Ventures, which helps get grants for investing in marketing. One of the consultants they deal with sent in a submission for appearing on “Shark Tank.”
“I guess they were intrigued enough to take it to the next step,” Freund said.
The program is an American reality business series dating back to 2009. Contestants seek investments and in return give up equity in their enterprises. They may receive offers for the amount being requested, multiple offers, an amount too low or nothing at all.
Freund had a phone introduction with the show’s representatives last June and had meetings with producer teams almost every week after that. Upon submitting reams of documents, including business analyses and digital content, she flew out to SONY Studios in Los Angeles in September to tape the program. “I was told I wouldn’t know if the segment would air until three weeks before,” she said, “and to the day, that’s when I heard.”
Freund smiled, remembering how she was trying to figure out ways to “make a splash about poop” on the show and thought about bringing a live cow onto the stage. But that endeavor proved to be “udderly expensive,” so she opted for an inflatable one. She said she watched a lot of previous broadcasts to get a sense of what the panelists, known as “sharks,” were looking for and determined they each seemed to have a particular interest. She decided to focus her presentation on environmental sustainability, promoting the idea of providing an alternative to plastic and peat.
“It felt very grass roots being able to get that exposure on a national stage,” she said. “I felt solid in my conviction of being able to share our product with millions.”
Freund said the show also gave her an opportunity to showcase the packaging aspect of the business which they are seeking to increase, since CowPots have a limited seasonal demand. She showed an example of the product that can be used to ship wine bottles.
“Shark Tank” isn’t the first time CowPots were featured on a syndicated television show. In 2007, Matthew Freund appeared on an episode of “Dirty Jobs” with Mike Rowe, which was well received.
“Shark Tank” airs on ABC at 8 p.m.
LAKEVILLE — The Hotchkiss School opened the girls varsity lacrosse season with a big win in the snow against Kingswood Oxford School.
The Bearcats won 19-0 in a decisive performance March 26. Twelve different players scored for Hotchkiss, led by Coco Sheronas with four goals.
Coco Sheronas scored four goals for Hotchkiss in the snowy 2025 season opener.Photo by Riley Klein
Kingswood Oxford is in the process of rebuilding its girls lacrosse program after some time without a team. The first game of the season gave the Kingswood coaches a chance to see their team play and rework position assignments.
At gametime, Downing Field became enshrouded in a veil of snow flurries. Players kept moving to stay warm with the temperature around 39 degrees.
The mercy rule kicked in during the second quarter when the lead entered double digits, causing a running clock to tick for the rest of the game.
Eleanor Helm scored once against Kingswood Oxford.Photo by Riley Klein
In addition to four goals by Sheronas, MaryHelen Cooey and Charlotte Dorman scored three each and the following players scored once: Eleanor Helm, Lily Lavigne, Lilah Crispino, Kailyn Willa, Marygrace Lawry, Lila Snow, Harper Semlies, Allison Wick and Emma Ohler.
Hotchkiss will play the next two games on the road before hosting Canterbury School April 9 at 3 p.m.
Allison Wick, left, and Kailyn Willa rejoice after a goal March 26.Photo by Riley Klein
FALLS VILLAGE — Principal Ian Strever announces the second quarter marking period Honor Roll at Housatonic Valley Regional High School for the 2024-2025 school year.
Grade 9: Parker Beach (Cornwall), Mia Belter (Salisbury), Lucas Bryant (Cornwall), Addison Green (Kent), Eliana Lang (Salisbury), Alison McCarron (Kent), Katherine Money (Kent), Mira Norbet (Sharon), Abigail Perotti (North Canaan), Karmela Quinion (North Canaan), Owen Schnepf (Wassaic), Federico Vargas Tobon (Salisbury), Emery Wisell (Kent).
Grade 10: Sophia Camphouse (Sharon), John DeDonato (Salisbury), Adelyn Diorio (North Canaan), Sydney Howe (North Canaan), Daniel Lesch (Cornwall), Finian Malone (Sharon), Meadow Moerschell (Kent), Jackson Olson (Salisbury), Logan Padelli (North Canaan), Ishaan Tantri (Salisbury), Ivy Zheng (North Canaan).
Grade 11: Lily Beurket (Cornwall), Olivia Brooks (Salisbury), Mollie Ford (Falls Village), Anna Gillette (Salisbury), Neve Kline (Salisbury), Alexa Meach (North Canaan), Ibby Sadeh (Falls Village), Celeste Trabucco (Kent) Silas Tripp (Falls Village), Alex Woodworth (Salisbury).
Grade 12:Tyler Anderson (Sharon), Zachary Bezerra (Kent), Bernice Boyden (Sharon), Daniela Brennan (North Canaan), Amelia Dodge (North Canaan), Madison Gulotta (Sheffield), Harper Howe (North Canaan), Tess Marks (Salisbury), Manasseh Matsudaira (Cornwall), Lola Moerschell (Kent), Diana Portillo (North Canaan), Olivia Robson (Salisbury), Gabriela Titone (Salisbury).
Grade 9: Krystin Ackerman (North Canaan), Travis Barber (Cornwall), Max Bochnovich (Salisbury), Nico Bochnovich (Salisbury), Logan Bronson (Cornwall), Zaira Celso-Cristobal (Sharon), Sadie Chapell (Salisbury), Tess Churchill (Salisbury), Niki Clark (Salisbury), Caitlin Devino (North Canaan), Louise Faveau (Salisbury), Celestia Galvin (Sharon), Samuel Garcia Pulido (North Canaan), Beatrice Gifford (Kent), Madeline Johnson (Salisbury), Marlow LaPointe (Falls Village), Ayden Lemmy (Falls Village), Paul Losh (Falls Village), Chase Lowell (North Canaan), Lily McCabe (Salisbury), Logan Miller (Falls Village), Bridger Rinehart (Salisbury), Vilija Salazar (Salisbury), Camila Sanchez Guerrero (Cornwall), Camdyn Tallon (North Canaan), Schuyler Thompson (Falls Village), Juliette Trabucco (Kent), Payton Wagner (North Canaan), Jessica Watkins (Kent), Olivia Whitney (North Canaan).
Grade 10: Bennett Wyatt Bayer (Salisbury), Selena Black (Cornwall), Georgie Clayton (Salisbury), Christian DeDonato (Salisbury), Natasha Dennis (North Canaan), Layla DiDomenico (Kent), Carmela Egan (Salisbury), Kellie Eisermann (Salisbury), Levi Elliott (Millerton), Lydia Fleming (North Canaan), Grace Graney (Falls Village), Alexa Hoadley (Kent), Jonas Johnson (North Canaan), Aiden Krupa (Torrington), Makenzie Lidstone (Salisbury), Francisco Mendoza Ratzan (North Canaan), Daniel Moran (Norfolk), David Nam (Sharon), Gustavo Portillo (North Canaan), Rivers Richard (North Canaan), Darwin Wolfe (Falls Village), Nathan Zani (Ashley Falls).
Grade 11: Elizabeth Allyn (Salisbury), Steven Barber (Cornwall), Victoria Brooks (Salisbury), Katherine Crane (North Canaan), Richard Crane (North Canaan), Arianna Danforth Gold (Cornwall), Mia DiRocco (Cornwall), Shanaya Duprey (North Canaan), Allegra Ferri (North Canaan), Elizabeth Forbes (Wassaic), Maureen Graney (Falls Village), Taylor Green (Kent), Chloe Hill (Salisbury), Adam Hock (Kent), Hannah Johnson (North Canaan), Madelyn Johnson (North Canaan), Delanie Keeley (New Marlboro), Madison Melino (Austerlitz), Ayden Wheeler (Amenia).
Grade 12: Lucas Caranci (North Canaan), Sidney Crouch (Cornwall), Dylan Deane (North Canaan), Tessa Dekker (Falls Village), Cole Dennis (North Canaan), Leah Drislane (North Canaan), Sara Huber (Salisbury), Dustin Kayser (North Canaan), Rosemary Koller (North Canaan), Kylie Leonard (North Canaan), Katelin Lopes (Falls Village), Khyra McClennon (Amenia), Jassim Mohydin (Salisbury), Patrick Money (Kent), Mason O’Niel (Salisbury), Tristan Oyanadel (Falls Village), Wendy Santiago-Leyva (Salisbury), Elinor Wolgemuth (Salisbury).
Grade 9: Edwin Alonzo Alonzo (North Canaan), Robert Boyden (Sharon), Peyton Bushnell (Falls Village), Winter Cheney (Cornwall), Ayva Fenn (Torrington), Luca Floridis (Salisbury), Angel Gonzalez (Salisbury), Kogan Lawrence (Amenia), McKenzie Lotz (Ashley Falls), Dany Martinez (North Canaan), Wyatt Merwin (Salisbury), Nathan Young (Cornwall).
Grade 10: Byron Bell (Cornwall), Sofia Bindley (Cornwall), Karen Chavez-Sanchez (Salisbury), Braeden Duncan (Salisbury), Wiley Fails (Salisbury), James Flores (Kent), Jasper Oyanadel (Falls Village), Marlene Perez (North Canaan), Carson Riva (North Canaan), Ryan Segalla (Salisbury), Alanna Tatro (North Canaan).
Grade 11: Peter Austin (Kent), Everet Belancik (Cornwall), Carlos Castellanos Cruz (Falls Village), Ashton Cooper (Salisbury), Christopher Crane (North Canaan), Nicholas Gonzalez (Cornwall), Kierra Greene (North Canaan), Marc Hafner (Falls Village), Abram Kirshner (Kent), Riley Mahaffey (Amenia), Simon Markow (Cornwall), Isabella Pugo Dominguez (North Canaan), Deiby Romero Gualan (North Canaan), Gabriele Rooney (Falls Village), Melanie Rundall (Kent), Ava Segalla (Salisbury), Lauren Sorrell (North Canaan).
Grade 12: Brandt Bosio (Salisbury), Jake Bosio (North Canaan), Madeline Collingwood (South Egremont), Ian Crowell (North Canaan), Madison DeWitt (North Canaan), Rose Fitch (Cornwall), Ava Gandarillas (North Canaan), Abigail Hogan (North Canaan), Antonis Karampasis (North Canaan), Ellanor Karcheski (North Canaan), Jonathan Leal-Santiago (North Canaan), Kyle McCarron (Kent), Ledvia Orellana-Lemus (North Canaan), Olivia Peterson (Sharon), Taylor Terwilliger (North Canaan), Emil Urbanowicz (Cornwall), Jayme Walsh (Salisbury), Abigail White (North Canaan), Junxin Zhang (Kent).
ANCRAMDALE — Thomas Ditto of Ancramdale, born Thomas David DeWitt Aug. 11, 1944 in New York City changing his surname to Ditto at marriage, passed peacefully on Pi Day, March 14, 2025. He was a husband, father, artist, scientist, Shakespeare scholar, visionary, inventor, actor, mime, filmmaker, clown, teacher, lecturer, colleague, and friend. Recipient of numerous grants, awards and honors in both the arts and sciences, a Guggenheim and NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts fellow, he was a creative genius beyond his time. In addition to authoring scores of papers, he held several patents and invented the first motion capture system and the Ditto-scope, a radically new kind of telescope. He was a pioneer in computer generated video, film, and performance.
When not hard at work, he was always there to help when needed and he knew how to bring smiles to faces. He loved his family and pets and was supportive of his wife’s cat rescue work.
He is survived by wife Beverly (Botto), son David, sister Alice Pero and nieces and nephews in the extended family. He was predeceased by his parents David and Madlyn Dewitt and sister Peggy.
Memorial contributions may be made to any of the following non-profits.
Collaborative Cats Inc. PO Box 88, Ancramdale, NY 12503 www.collaborativecats.org
eba inc. dance theatre company, PO Box 145, Albany, NY 12201 www.eba-arts.org
Wave Farm transmission arts WGXC 90.7 FM PO Box 13 Acra, NY 12405 www.wavefarm.org
American Astronomical Society 1667 K Street NW, Suite 800 Washington DC 20006 www.aas.org
American Cancer Society 2678 South Road, Suite 103, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601. www.cancer.org
A Celebration of Life memorial service will take place at a future date and will be announced on the funeral home website.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Scott D. Conklin Funeral Home, 37 Park Ave., Millerton, NY 12546. To send an online condolence visit www.conklinfuneralhome.com