Owner Of Facility Where Staff OD'd Arrested On Safety Violations

EAST HAVEN, CT — Following the drug overdoses of two on-duty staff members of Caroline Manor Assisted Living facility, and after the location was cited for numerous fire safety violations that went uncorrected, Tuesday night, East Haven police arrested and charged the home's owner Timothy Conroy, 51, of Higganum.

On Sept. 22, the only two employees working that day, were discovered unresponsive by a visiting nurse. One, a woman and the facility manager, was located on a staircase, and the other employee, a man whose role has not been made public, was located in a lower floor office. The nurse called 911. Both were suffering from fentanyl overdoses, police and fire officials said.

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There were 21 clients on their own in the facility, described by police as a "residential room and board" site.

Conroy's arrest stems from code violations discovered during a Aug. 26 inspection of the building by East Haven fire Chief Matt Marcarelli, Deputy Chief / Fire Marshal Charles A. Miller, and members of the state Department of Public Health who cited the 37 Clark Avenue facility for 19 fire safety and occupancy safety measure violations.

Marcarelli provided Patch with records documenting the violations.

CT Fire/Life Safety Hazards... by Ellyn Santiago

In a news release from East Haven Police Department Capt. Joseph M. Murgo, Marcarelli was quoted as saying that fire marshal Miller "put forth an exhaustive effort in the enforcement action, coordinating with Department of Public Health Life Safety Officials and the Ombudsman’s office."

He said that the "life safety violations, which included required exits that had been removed, were deemed serious enough to require voluntary relocation of some occupants."

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And Marcarelli said that as "no corrective action was taken since the initial inspection coupled with the recent events," meaning the overdoses, "expedited action by the housing court was necessary."

"Some occupants of the facility require assistance and may have impediments to self evacuating. Because of their conditions, adequate exits in the event of an emergency situation are a necessity," he said. "We discovered that exits were deliberately removed without going through the approval process.”

After the Sept. 22 overdoses, the fire marshal contacted the Connecticut State’s Attorney and requested the "timeline for re-inspection be moved up for safety reasons," Marcarelli said, and the office of the state's attorney "agreed."

A re-inspection was done Sept. 23 and during that review, officials learned that none of the 19 violations had been corrected and that led to the relocation of six facility residents.

Fire marshal Miller submitted an arrest warrant affidavit for Conroy, which was granted, Marcarelli said.

Tuesday night just before 8 p.m., Conroy was arrested at the East Haven facility "without incident," and was charged with Violation of Fire Safety Code in violation of state law. He was released on a $20,000 bond. Conroy is due back in court Nov. 23.