HEROIN DEATH CASE GOES TO COURT

A Shelton man and his ex-wife charged with manslaughter in connection with
the heroin overdose death of a 13-year-old boy had their case continued
until Oct. 16 at a Milford Superior Court appearance Tuesday.

James Krasowski, 32, and his former wife, Angela Krasowski, 23, have each
been charged with first-degree manslaughter, three counts of risk of injury
to a minor, and one count each of possession of heroin, possession of
heroin with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia, interfering
with police, tampering with evidence and possession of a controlled substance.

The charges stem from the death of Frank Korondi of Shelton, who was found
dead of an apparent heroin overdose in the bathroom at James Krasowski's
home on May 6.

The boy's parents have retained a lawyer to "see that they get the right
punishment," said the boy's father, Albert Korondi.

Police investigators say young Korondi had planned to sleep over at the
Derby home of a 10-year-old friend on May 5, the night before he was found
dead. However, according to police, at some point during that Friday night,
the friend's sister, (Angela Krasowski), picked up the boys and took them
to her ex-husband's home.

The next morning, police got a 911 call from the home and arrived to find
the boy unresponsive on the bathroom floor. He was later pronounced dead at
Griffin Hospital in Derby.

The Chief Medical Examiner's office concluded in June, after weeks of
conducting toxicology tests to determine the cause of death, that the
heroin overdose of the 13-year-old boy was an accident.

Test results confirmed the boy died of "acute heroin intoxication," the
medical examiner said, and his death was ruled an accident. The autopsy
report also concluded that the boy had snorted and smoked the drug.

Both defendants continue to be held in lieu of $750,000 bond each; Angela
at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic, James at the Garner
Correctional Institution in Newtown.

Albert Korondi, a die cutter at a Bethel firm who came to America from
Hungary, said he and his wife, Agnes, have retained Milford lawyer Seth
Cohen. "These are hard times," said Korondi, who also has a son, John, 15,
who attends a technical school in Ansonia.

"It's hard for all of us," said Korondi. "He's not in public schools now. I
try to talk to John [about the tragedy], but sometimes he talks, sometimes
he doesn't."

He said he moved his family to the Shelton neighborhood on Maple Street
because there was a Boys & Girls Club right across the street, and a good
school, library and church nearby.

Cohen said he has solicited the help of prominent Milford criminal lawyer
Edmund "Ned" Collier to "guide the Korondis through the criminal case to
see that they [the defendants] get the proper punishment."

The criminal case work on the Korondis' behalf will be pro bono, Cohen
said. "This is something Ned Collier and I both see as a very worthy case,
and the best way to put our legal expertise to work. We were both moved by
the Korondis and what happened to them."

Cohen also said he hasn't decided if there'll be a civil case against the
defendants. "We did an asset search, and they have nothing. There's
certainly causation here, but there are no deep pockets. We haven't decided
yet if it even makes sense to sue. We're still investigating the
possibilities."

Cohen said he was pleased with the way State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor is
handling the case. "He's treating it as seriously as it deserves."

Only Angela Krasowksi appeared before Superior Court Judge John T. Ronan on
Tuesday, when her lawyer, Public Defender David Egan, told the judge all
parties in the matter and their lawyers agreed to an October continuance
for pre-trial procedures.

Her ex-husband, James, did not appear in court, although he reportedly was
in a holding cell at the courthouse. James Krasowski is being represented
by a private attorney, Dean Popkin.

In an interview in the courthouse hallway, the boy's father, Albert
Korondi, said he and his wife, who also was in the courthouse, were
conferring with the victim's rights advocate in an effort to recover all or
part of the $5,500 the family spent on the boy's funeral expenses.

"We tried to keep the expenses down as best we could," said Korondi. The
victim's rights advocate is trying to help us, but I don't know how it will
turn out in the end."

Asked how the process works, the victim's rights advocate said the Korondis
can make an application for victim's compensation and recover the entire
amount of the funeral expenses if it's applicable.

According to police reports, Angela Krasowski was arrested in 2005 on
drunken-driving charges after her sport utility vehicle crashed through the
front of a Shelton Laundry on Howe Avenue.

Police said she had been drinking at a social club and was trying to turn
off Howe Avenue at 1 a.m. when the accident happened. A passenger in the
vehicle was uninjured.