Conn. Town Fights Off Sun-Loving Outsiders

GREENWICH, Conn. - Folks here hate it when someone says their residents-only beach policy is a bid to keep the riffraff out of one of the nation's toniest towns.

"That just isn't so," insisted Dolores Deck, a real-estate agent who visited sandy Greenwich Point on Thursday. "We pay taxes for this beautiful beach. Why should we open it to outsiders?"

But the controversy reached a new - some say absurd - level this week as police staged an undercover operation to capture a would-be intruder who, officers said, advertised for black-market beach passes.

"I mean, to set up a sting operation - I'm sure there's other crime in Greenwich that requires their attention. It just strikes me that their resources could probably be used more effectively," said Brenden Leydon, a lawyer from neighboring Stamford who has sued Greenwich over the policy.

Greenwich is a town with resources that small countries would envy.

Homes sell for an average of $1 million, and the people who live in them play polo on ponies, not in some measly pool.

Don't live here and want to visit the beach? Find a resident to accompany you and fish out a $6 guest fee.

The town has argued that allowing outsiders would worsen a parking crunch, hurt the environment and possibly make it difficult for emergency vehicles to get around.

When Leydon's lawsuit was dismissed last year, locals celebrated

- one person said, anonymously, that he needed a "good old-fashioned spanking." But the undercover sting conducted to uphold the town's "zero-tolerance" beach policy has the outsiders again calling the insiders a bunch of rich snobs.

The caper went down like this: Victor Consoli, 34, allegedly placed an ad in the Greenwich Time newspaper seeking beach passes "For prof'l Stamford cpl w/child. $100 + expenses."

Readers complained; police set up their mark.

Detective Mark Larobina called Consoli and said he was a Greenwich resident interested in selling two passes. They arranged to meet.

Larobina said Consoli handed over $100 for the two passes.

"That's when I advised him I was, in fact, a police officer," he said.

Consoli was charged with violating an ordinance that prohibits anyone but a town resident from obtaining or possessing a beach pass. He can either pay a $60 fine or plead not guilty and request a hearing.

Consoli did not return messages, and no one answered the door at his Stamford home.

Police Capt. James Walters said his officers staged the sting because of "the level of concern for the safety and security of the beaches."

Residents, meanwhile, are applauding that the sanctity of their shore has again been upheld.

"It's so crowded now," Deck said at Greenwich Point, "if we ever let it open to outsiders, you'd never be able to come here."