A South Windsor man wore a jacket marked “FBI” into a Southington 7-Eleven and demanded surveillance footage, only to come back later without the jacket, admit he wasn't a federal agent, and offer store staff $100 for access to the same video, according to police. Rocky R. Delmaro, 47, now faces charges after turning himself in to Southington police earlier this week.
According to Patch, the incident unfolded on Nov. 1 at the 7-Eleven on Queen Street, where Delmaro allegedly entered wearing a jacket displaying the letters “FBI” and claimed to be a federal agent while seeking access to the store's surveillance footage. Store staff refused the request, police said, and the incident was reported to law enforcement. Delmaro then returned without the jacket, acknowledged he was not actually an FBI agent, and offered $100 in exchange for access to the footage, per the same account. As reported by CT Insider, the store again declined, and the matter was handed to investigators.
Investigators said they reviewed surveillance footage and used the department's Automated License Plate Reader system to help identify a vehicle tied to the incident, the station's report notes. Police said they ultimately recovered the FBI jacket as evidence and obtained an arrest warrant. Delmaro turned himself in at Southington Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Nov. 4, and was released after posting a court-set $100,000 bond.
How License Plate Readers Helped Crack the Case
The role that automated license plate readers played in identifying Delmaro's vehicle points to a tool Southington police have leaned on heavily in recent years. Southington police have 32 readers installed around town, according to NBC Connecticut, and officials have credited the system with aiding a range of investigations. “We use them for all sorts of investigations, criminal investigations burglary, sexual assault investigations,” Southington police official Armack told the station.
The same report notes that Southington logged 100 stolen vehicles in 2023, 52 in 2024, and 23 so far in 2025, along with 337 burglaries in 2023, 95 in 2024, and 50 to date in 2025 — though the reporting does not establish that the license plate readers caused those changes. Separately, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Atlas of Surveillance has identified 21 Connecticut police departments that have installed or budgeted for license plate readers, not all of them through contracts with Flock Safety, according to Inside Investigator, which also reported that Flock Safety has readers installed in Southington.
State Lawmakers Weigh Limits on the Technology
The surveillance tool's growing footprint in Connecticut has drawn scrutiny at the state Capitol. Connecticut House Bill 5449, as proposed, would limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain license plate reader data to seven days, with exceptions for court proceedings and collecting certain camera fines, according to CT Mirror. The bill would also ban using the data for immigration enforcement or for investigating people who sought or received abortions or transgender care, and would confine data sharing to Connecticut agencies and agencies in New York, Rhode Island or Massachusetts that agree to the same restrictions.
At a public hearing on the measure, immigration advocates and other speakers offered broad support, while representatives of law enforcement agencies argued the restrictions could hurt their ability to solve crimes, per CT Mirror's account. Elsewhere, the technology has faced legal challenges: a federal lawsuit filed by the Institute for Justice against Norfolk, Virginia, alleges that Flock Safety's license-plate-reader system violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against warrantless searches, though that claim remains an allegation rather than a court finding.
What Comes Next for Delmaro
Back in Connecticut, Delmaro is due in New Britain Superior Court on Nov. 18. For now, police have said only that Delmaro impersonated an FBI agent and attempted to bribe a 7-Eleven for its footage — a case that moves forward later this month in New Britain.
