Sam Manzo, the Southington caretaker on the old Smoron farm, is still without his inheritance and still living in probate hell.I stopped by to talk with Manzo on Tuesday because it's been two years since I first heard about the elaborate scheme that sought to disinherit Manzo and take the broken down old Smoron farm from him.
The place remains a wreck -- a ramshackle collection of old machines, broken equipment, wandering cows and other debris – just off the Queen Street exit off busy I-84. With the massive old dairy barn and crumbling farmhouse, the farm is a beautiful, anachronistic mess. Amid the neighboring big box stores, it is a living link to what once was.
Josephine Smoron and her siblings lived here, Polish farmers with an independent streak, for decades. In her old age, Smoron brought Manzo in to help on the farm, where the herd of cows lived like friendly pets. The cows are still there and so is Manzo, with his billowing Z.Z. Top-style beard and dreams of creating a living farm museum – right beside a B.J.'s warehouse store.
Smoron died in 2010 left the farm to Manzo in her will. A probate judge and Smoron's court-appointed conservator didn't see it that way. A deal that would have quietly passed the farm to local churches and then to a prominent Southington developer almost went through, until Manzo cried foul.
The whole mess is now before Superior Court in Hartford, where a judge is attempting to sort out what one lawyer told me was "a circular firing squad" of competing interests. At the front is the local developer, Carl Verderame, who still wants the property. His lawyer declined to comment.
If you've got a heart, a love for the past – or a belief that legal contracts and private property rights matter – Sam is your hero. How he looks, or if his property is a mess, is irrelevant.
An eccentric old woman gave her farm to her eccentric caretaker in return for his years of work. We ought to respect at least that.
Full Article and Source:
Probate Court Mess Continues
See Also:
Rogue Lawyer Makes Smoron Probate Mess Even Messier
7 comments:
The writer tells it like it is calmly but points the finger in the right direction, just the same.
Rick Green sets an example for all reporters to follow.
An eccentric old woman gave her farm to her eccentric caretaker in return for his years of work. We ought to respect at least that.
And, she did it leagally thinking her wishes would be honored.
Probate court is a deep dark dirty bottomless pit stacked with vultures just waiting for their prey to drop in.
You're so right, Friend.
We're pulling for you, Mr. Manzo. And Rick Green, you're our hero!
Thank you for keeping on this story, Mr. Green. This case would be forgotten if not for you.
Standup is right - Rick Green is a model of what the media is supposed to be.
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