STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Not sure if you guys are following this.. but I sure am..

I couldn't figure out why the wife didn't know anything.. this explains it.

Reports: 2 Russian men helped Smith back to quarters

 


 

By Martin B. Cassidy
Staff Writer

Published August 6 2005

Connecticut's top federal prosecutor would not confirm reports yesterday that investigators are considering two Russian men and a California teenager as possible suspects in the mysterious disappearance of a Greenwich man from a Mediter-ranean cruise ship last month.

"We feel we were pretty straightforward a couple of weeks ago when we acknowledged the investigation, but we're not going to make any comment," U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Kevin O'Connor said. "We're going to leave it at that."

In his earlier comments, O'Connor said George Allen Smith IV's disappearance appeared suspicious and was being aggressively investigated. O'Connor also expressed optimism that authorities will solve the mystery.

Yesterday morning, a legal analyst on NBC's "Today" show cited an unidentified law enforcement official who told her investigators were focusing on two Russian men and a California teenager who partied with Smith, a Glenville native, the last night he was seen, according to the transcript. The show reported the three men assisted the intoxicated Smith back into his room after his new bride, Jennifer Hagel, 25, of Cromwell, passed out in a lounge area, according to the show transcript. In addition, the segment reported investigators did not suspect Hagel of any wrongdoing.

Smith, 26, who grew up in Glenville and ran the Cos Cob Liquor store with his father, disappeared July 5 from a 12-day honeymoon cruise of the Mediterranean.

NBC legal analyst Susan Filan, a former assistant state's attorney in Bridgeport, said yesterday that because of inconsistencies between the three people's accounts, investigators believe foul play is involved.

C. Thomas Greer, a San Diego attorney representing the teenager, said his client is cooperating with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office but declined further comment.

Hagel could not be reached for comment yesterday, and a home phone number for George Allen Smith III was not in service. A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line declined to comment.

According to authorities, Smith was reported missing after the boat docked at Kusadasi, Turkey. Blood was found inside the cruise ship cabin and a bloody handprint on an outside balcony railing, and Turkish officials have turned the investigation over to the U.S. authorities.

Passengers have reported hearing a scream and other suspicious noises coming from, or nearby, the Smiths' cabin in the middle of the night.

The two Russian men are naturalized residents living in Brooklyn, N.Y., and are in their early 20s, Filan said.