Police: Man's Attempt to Impress Ex Endangers Darien Cops

Editor's note: This article originally was published April 21, 2010. The name of the man has been removed since there is no record of a conviction by the Connecticut Judicial Branch.

Police say one man's attempt to be a knight in shining armor ended in an arrest, after he embellished a damsel-in-distress report that sent three Darien cops on an unnecessary trek through the woods midst a ferocious Nor'easter to rescue his ex-girlfriend.

The story began on the evening of Saturday, March 13, when a near-hurricane ripped through Darien, inundating the Darien Police Department with hundreds of emergency calls from residents and motorists stranded by down trees and power lines. 

One such call came in at 10 p.m. from a 30-year-old New Canaan woman whose car was trapped between two fallen trees on Dew Lane. She was safe in her car, and sounded calm, police say. A family of three was in a similar situation, and the two cars waited side by side in a Dew Lane driveway. Both were told it would be "several hours" before emergency personnel could reach them.

Enter the ex-boyfriend, a 30-year-old resident of Wolcott, CT.

Police say the man's first call came in at about 1:50 a.m. He told police he was a "very well connected" doctor, currently on holiday in the Key West, and that his "fiancée" was trapped on Dew Lane without her medication. She has a medical condition, he said, and speaks broken English. The man demanded his fiancée be rescued right away, and when police explained the situation, he grew vulgar and threatened to inform the press.

"So we hang up," said Captain Fred Komm of the Darien Police Department.

The man called back almost immediately, and spoke to a second officer. Same story, except this time the man identified his fiancée as a diabetic in immediate danger. He grew agitated.

"So we hang up again," said Capt. Komm.

The third call heard the man threaten, once again, to "go to the press." It's a threat that Capt. Komm said hardly ruffled the feathers of the officers on duty, who at the time, were dealing with life-threatening incidents and a bust emergency communications system.

"He started using obscene language, so we hung up," said Capt. Komm.

The man's fourth call came five minutes later. He reiterated the story to a fourth officer and said his fiancée's cell phone had died and they were no long in contact. the man demanded action.

"Based on potential for a medical emergency, we decide to take extraordinary measures," said Capt. Komm.

At about 3:30 a.m., three Darien officers parked on Stephen Mather Lane, and walked nearly three quarters of a mile through the darkness. Torrential rains and 70 mph winds made the trek particularly dangerous. Trees were falling and down power lines were considered live. Nonetheless, police said it was the only way to reach the man's "fiancée."

"Ultimately we locate her, and she's safe in her vehicle in a driveway on Dew Lane, next to another family of three," said Capt. Komm.

The woman told police—in plain English—that she was not diabetic, nor was she engaged to marry the man, a chiropractor. They had been on one or two dates in the past, she said, and she had spoken with him briefly that evening at about 11:30 p.m. before her cell phone lost battery. The second family was also safe and had food and two working cell phones.

Police made the trek back through the woods, and since then, obtained a warrant for Cuculo's arrest.

"I don't know if he was trying to impress her or what," said Capt. Komm. "But this put our people in jeopardy. We're lucky nobody got hurt."

Emergency personnel were able to rescue the man's ex-girlfriend and the family of three the following morning.

The man turned himself in on Wednesday, April 14 and has a court date of April 26, where he faces charges of second-degree falsely reporting an incident and second-degree reckless endangerment.