The Truth About the ‘Candlewood Lake Mall’ 14 Years Later

Have you ever wondered how the 'Candlewood Lake Mall' scam was concocted and what kind of fallout I-95 suffered because of 2 morning show idiots?Yes, I was one of those two idiots who carried out a rather convincing story about how Candlewood Lake was going to be drained to make way for a mega-mall. This took place around 2002 or 2003 and my partner in crime was Steve Normandin, known as 'Omelette' on the air. The 'Candlewood Lake Mall' debacle began with Omelette's brother posing as a Connecticut state official who had drafted a press release which read much like an official government document. The 'document' stated that after 12 months of meetings between zoning officials, attorneys, and other town and state government officials in the 5 towns surrounding the lake which included Danbury, Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford, and Sherman, that a final decision had been reached regarding the draining of Candlewood Lake and then eventually building the largest shopping mall in the world surrounded by communities of private homes and condos.

If I remember correctly, the fake 'document' stated that all watercraft must be removed from Candlewood Lake by midnight on a specific date. After this so called 'state official' read the fake press release on the air, all hell broke loose! The studio lines and the front office phones lit up like Clark Griswold's house in 'Christmas Vacation,' and they didn't stop for 2 straight hours. Many of the calls were from listeners who either weren't buying what we were selling or wanted some sort of official verification. Other calls came in from business owners, from marinas to restaurants to let us know they were being flooded with calls from panicky customers. I'll never forget one woman who called and was actually crying as she said,

"Please tell me this is a joke! I won't be mad at you if you tell me. Do we really have to have our boat out by midnight?! This can't be happening. Please tell me you're making this up!"

I never imagined in my wildest dreams that so many hundreds of individuals would believe that what Omelette and I were dishing out had any validity whatsoever. But believe they did. Obviously there was never any mention whatsoever of this 'Candlewood Lake Mall' story in any media outlet. I mean really, think about it - "Candlewood Lake to Be Drained in Favor of a Mega-Mall." How could that possibly be?!

Was there anything positive that resulted from this radio stunt? The only plus that I can think of is the 'quotability factor' for the morning show because I still have listeners who still bring it up after 14 years. In hindsight, I feel the two of us failed to take into consideration how a stunt like this would affect homeowners and business owners on Candlewood Lake. Our biggest mistake was that we didn't bring the stunt to a conclusion, which meant we left everyone guessing about whether it was a hoax or whether it was true, and I feel that was wrong. If you were offended or inconvenienced, please accept my apology.

Listen to Ethan Carey on the Ethan & Lou Show weekdays from 5:30-10AM on 95.1 FM. You can listen online at i95rock.com/listen-live/ or by downloading the radioPup app for your mobile device.