Frankie Graziano
ReporterIf you read any of Frankie Graziano’s previous biographies, they’d be all about his passion for sports. But times change – and he’s a family man now.
Part of the reason for the biographical “tone-change” is a slight deviation in Frankie’s career path. In 2016, he moved over to news from the sports world. He became a Connecticut Public reporter. And that’s currently where he works as a breaking news reporter.
He’s been on-the-scene to get state residents the latest available information on major local happenings over the past four years – like the vintage plane crash at Bradley International Airport in 2019 and the recent landmark police accountability legislation that passed through the state capitol.
Other highlights from his time at Connecticut Public include some long-term storytelling he was able to do after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, which led thousands of evacuees from the island to escape to Connecticut.
Frankie also played a crucial role in the station’s continuing coverage of a police shooting in Wethersfield. Anthony Jose Vega Cruz, 18, died two days after being shot by former Wethersfield police officer Layau Eulizier Jr. on April 20, 2019. Much of this work went into Collision Course, a 2020 New England Emmy award-winning documentary produced by Vanessa de la Torre. You can also hear Frankie’s national stories on NPR -- including one that was produced out of his basement about sports in the age of COVID-19.
Prior to going to work for Connecticut Public, Frankie produced over 1,200 hours of sports content for Connecticut Public Television and CPTV Sports. There, he worked to showcase thousands of local student-athletes -- whether it be during state championship events broadcast live on television or if they’d been honored with the network’s statewide UChoose Student-Athlete of the Week. He also put together a “Tip-Off Classic” featuring Connecticut’s top boys and girls high school basketball squads.
Frankie graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and History. While in school, he created a program on UConn’s student television station. He also interned at WFSB Eyewitness News Ch. 3. He covered collegiate baseball in Torrington during the summer.
Frankie is the husband of Colleen Graziano, APRN. He’s also “Daddy” to Charlie and Annie. They live in Glastonbury; Frankie (born Francesco Graziano Jr.) is originally from Torrington. His parents are from Italia: his mother Rosa Maria emigrated to America in 1967 and his father Francesco Sr. made his move to the United States shortly after marrying “Rosie” in 1975.
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Federal lawmakers will vote in the coming days on the bipartisan Safer Communities Act that includes gun reforms championed by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy from Connecticut. It would expand background checks for people under 21, offer federal funds to help states take away guns from holders at risk of hurting themselves or others, and give the federal government more power to tackle gun trafficking. A sticking point in recent federal negotiations for gun reform was an attempt by Democratic U.S. senators to close the so-called "boyfriend loophole" that allows unmarried abusers to get guns. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut says the agreement may not close the loophole, but it will “substantially shrink” it. -
Connecticut Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy say they’ve reached a bipartisan agreement that’ll yield at least 10 Republican votes for federal gun legislation. The deal includes federal prosecution for those who make “straw” purchases, made on behalf of those who cannot legally buy them; funding for states to enact and enforce red flag laws that temporarily take guns away from high-risk owners; and an effort to give law enforcement more time to do background checks on gun buyers under 21 years old.
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Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski continues to blame Gov. Ned Lamont for inflation.
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Connecticut state trooper Brian North pleaded not guilty to a manslaughter charge Thursday. A state investigator says his 2020 use of deadly force on Mubarak Soulemane was not justified.
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Attorneys representing Infowars host Alex Jones in a lawsuit filed by some Sandy Hook families are asking to be withdrawn from the case.
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Connecticut’s two U.S. senators say their Senate colleagues are working over the next two weeks to move on gun violence legislation.
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A former Hamden police officer who shot at an unarmed Black man and woman in 2019 — wounding the woman — won’t serve time in prison.
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The Newtown Action Alliance and the Newtown Interfaith Council hosted the Thursday vigil “to stand with the Uvalde community.”
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Across Connecticut, local superintendents are telling families that additional police officers have been dispatched to schools and that counseling is available.
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Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, is a terrifying reminder for some Connecticut residents.
