New Canaan banker facing criminal charges dies in NY
NEW CANAAN — A local investment manager died after police say he plunged from a rooftop bar in midtown Manhattan two days after filing for divorce from his wife who had obtained a restraining order against him, records show.
The New York Police Department said 46-yearold Dale Cheney, a New Canaan resident, was pronounced dead Wednesday night after he was found unconscious and unresponsive at 6th Avenue and West 45th Street.
Police said he plunged to his death from Bar 54, an upscale rooftop bar at the Hyatt Centric Times Square New York.
Police said Cheney’s death appears to be a suspected suicided, but said the Office of the Medical Examiner will officially determine the cause of death. The New York medical examiner has not responded about whether Cheney’s autopsy has been completed.
Cheney was facing two misdemeanor criminal charges stemming from a domestic incident at his Old Stamford Road home on Jan. 16, records show.
New Canaan police said they were called to Cheney’s home around 3:40 p.m. that day for a domestic dispute. Police said the dispute involved “Cheney and another occupant of the residence.”
A police report describing the incident was not immediately available on Friday. But a brief summary of the incident provided by police said Cheney was charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
He was released on $25,000 bond and did not enter a plea when he appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford the next day, records show.
Stamford court records show Cheney’s wife obtained a restraining order the day after his arrest.
Cheney’s wife declined to comment when reached by phone on Thursday.
Records show Cheney filed for divorce from his wife on Jan. 23, two days before he was found dead in New York City.
The couple married in Maryland in 2000, the filing shows, and have five children.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Cheney founded T-Street Capital in 2013. The company has a mailing address on Post Road in Darien, however, an official at the building told Hearst Connecticut Media Group on Thursday that the firm has never operated there.
“I have always admired entrepreneurs,” a statement attributed to Cheney on the company’s website reads. “Whether starting from scratch or venturing into new frontiers, entrepreneurs bring energy, vision and a degree of fearlessness that is unique and enviable. The best part of this business is working with these entrepreneurs and learning about their companies and their story.”
According to his profile, Cheney graduated from the Harvard Business School and worked at Goldman Sachs from 2005 to 2007 before taking a job with Citicorp Venture Capital as an investment principal. He remained there until 2013 when he founded T-Street Capital.
Cheney’s LinkedIn profile shows he served as an interim CEO at a “distressed portfolio company in Dusseldorf, Germany,” while at Citicorp Venture Capital, “where he successfully executed a turnaround of the company.” Anyone who has thoughts of harming themselves, or seeks access to free and confidential mental health support, can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 800-273-8255 (en Español: 888-628-9454; Deaf and Hard of Hearing dial 711 and then 988) or visit 988Lifeline.org.