A longtime Ridgefield resident who led the town's effort to control the deer population has died.  Tom Belote died Sunday at the age of 68 at Yale New Haven Hospital.  Belote served on the Ridgefield committee to study the deer population, and led the controlled hunt program over the past decade. 

He was an attorney who once served as an assistant US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.  He was a special assistant to the U-S Attorney General, working on counter-terrorism and prosecution of Nazi war criminals in the United States. 

He served on the boards of the Ridgefield Community Center, and the Land Conservancy of Ridgefield, and often provided legal advice to the Police Commission, Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department, American Legion, and other organizations.

Friends may call Friday, Sept. 11, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street. A celebration of his life will be scheduled at a later date.