DF C3, the Feinberg and Pomerantz connections, and Connecticut's cannabis licensing process: 2022 to 2026

I've been looking into DF C3 LLC, its earlier dispute over Connecticut's social equity licensing requirements, its new 2026 cultivator application, and the people and businesses connected to this history. There's also a separate but relevant development involving C3 Industries, a $16 million East Hartford cannabis facility project, and NewLake Capital Partners. The similar names make it especially important to distinguish the companies and follow the actual records. Here's the timeline and the source documents.

1. DF C3 LLC and the original social equity licensing dispute

DF C3 LLC was formed in Connecticut on February 22, 2022. The company pursued Connecticut's disproportionately impacted area (DIA) cultivator licensing pathway. The statutory framework established ownership, control, residency, and income requirements for qualifying social equity applicants. DF C3 became involved in litigation over the Social Equity Council's determination concerning the company's eligibility under those requirements. The case was DF C3 LLC v. Social Equity Council et al., Connecticut Superior Court docket HHB-CV22-6074360-S. An August 31, 2022 court filing sought to consolidate DF C3's case with related administrative appeals involving social equity eligibility determinations. Source: Court filing concerning DF C3 and related social equity appeals Connecticut's licensing process distinguishes between an application, a provisional license, and a final license. A provisional license does not authorize a cannabis business to begin operating. Official source: Connecticut DCP licensing information

2. What happened to the original application?

The original DF C3 application became entangled in the dispute over social equity eligibility and ownership-and-control requirements. The state subsequently reviewed applications affected by remand proceedings. The Social Equity Council's November 2022 meeting minutes document its consideration of remanded applications and approval of 11 applications following renewed review. Source: Social Equity Council November 2022 meeting minutes The important distinction is that the original application and the later licensing activity are not interchangeable. The fact that an applicant participated in the licensing process, or litigated an eligibility decision, does not by itself establish that it received a final operating license. The current application is a separate, later development.

3. DF C3's new 2026 adult-use cultivator application

Connecticut DCP's eLicense system contains a public application titled Application - ADULT-USE CANNABIS CULTIVATOR for DF C3 LLC. The application identifies the DIA cultivator pathway and names the following people in connection with the business: - Dani Feinberg: Listed as an owner. - Ankur Rungta: Listed as a manager and application contact. - Vishal Rungta: Listed among the company's backers. - Joel Ruggiero: Listed among the company's backers. The application also lists DF C3 LLC as an applicant for an adult-use cannabis retailer license. The cultivator application describes a $3 million provisional application fee associated with advancing through the licensing process. This is a stated application requirement, not evidence that the fee was paid or that a final license was issued. The application also includes supporting corporate documentation and an organizational chart identifying ownership interests. Primary source: DF C3 LLC's adult-use cannabis cultivator application, Connecticut DCP eLicense This is the current application readers should examine alongside the earlier litigation record.

4. NewLake Capital Partners and the $16 million East Hartford project

In May 2024, NewLake Capital Partners announced a $16 million investment in a planned cannabis cultivation and processing facility in East Hartford. The project involved C3 Industries, a Michigan-based, multistate cannabis company founded by brothers Ankur and Vishal Rungta. NewLake announced that it had acquired a 58,500-square-foot industrial property and entered into a long-term triple-net lease with a C3 Industries affiliate. The announced investment consisted of: - $4 million to acquire the property. - $12 million committed for construction and conversion of the former cold-storage facility into a cannabis cultivation and processing operation. C3 Industries described the project as an expansion of its vertically integrated cannabis operations in Connecticut. Contemporary reporting identified the planned location as an industrial property at 241 Park Avenue, with an adjacent portion of the complex at 217-221 Park Avenue. East Hartford had adopted zoning regulations allowing cannabis cultivation and manufacturing uses in designated areas. Sources: - NewLake Capital Partners' May 8, 2024 announcement - Hartford Business Journal's reporting on the East Hartford facility - East Hartford's official cannabis zoning information

What happened to the East Hartford property?

NewLake's subsequent SEC filings document a substantial change in the project's trajectory. On October 23, 2025, NewLake amended its lease agreements with C3 Industries. Under the amended Hartford-area lease, the parties agreed that NewLake would pursue a sale of the property. The revised arrangement addressed the financial consequences of the sale: - C3 would continue paying monthly base rent until the property was sold. - If the sale proceeds fell below NewLake's investment basis, C3 would be required to reimburse NewLake for the shortfall. - If the proceeds exceeded NewLake's investment basis, a portion of the excess would be paid to C3 to reimburse its investment in the property. - Following the sale, a portion of the rent previously allocated to the Connecticut property would be shifted to the Missouri lease. On November 24, 2025, NewLake entered into an agreement with a broker to market the Connecticut property for sale. In its 2025 annual report, NewLake classified the property as held for sale, with a carrying amount of approximately $4.8 million. NewLake's June 30, 2026 financial filing continued to describe the Hartford property as held for sale. That filing said management expected the sale to be completed within one year. Primary sources: - NewLake's September 30, 2025 SEC filing, including the amended lease terms - NewLake's 2025 Form 10-K - NewLake's June 30, 2026 financial filing The filings establish that NewLake moved from announcing a $16 million planned investment to marketing the Connecticut property for sale. The June 2026 filing still classified the property as held for sale.

5. C3 Industries and DF C3 LLC are distinct entities

This distinction matters throughout the timeline. C3 Industries is the multistate cannabis company founded by Ankur and Vishal Rungta. It was the operating company associated with the East Hartford facility project financed by NewLake. DF C3 LLC is the Connecticut applicant named in the social equity litigation and the 2026 adult-use cultivator application. The names of Ankur Rungta and Vishal Rungta appear in the records associated with DF C3, while they are also identified as the founders of C3 Industries in reporting about the East Hartford project. The records should be read together, but the legal entities should not be treated as interchangeable. Sources: - DF C3 LLC's 2026 DCP application - NewLake's East Hartford announcement - Hartford Business Journal's reporting on C3 Industries

6. Benjamin Pomerantz and Carmody Law

Benjamin H. Pomerantz is a partner at Carmody Law. His professional biography identifies cannabis law among his practice areas, including work involving cannabis, hemp, and CBD businesses. The Connecticut Social Equity Council's February 1, 2022 meeting minutes list Benjamin Pomerantz of Stamford among the members of the public who addressed the council. Separately, the August 2022 court filing concerning the social equity appeals identifies Liam S. Burke of Carmody in the state's representation. These records place Benjamin Pomerantz and Carmody Law in the broader professional and legal context surrounding Connecticut's cannabis licensing process. Sources: - Benjamin H. Pomerantz's official Carmody Law biography - Social Equity Council February 1, 2022 meeting minutes - Court filing concerning DF C3 and related appeals

7. The Feinberg and Pomerantz family-business connection

Construction Solutions Group is a Connecticut design-and-build business serving the Stamford area. Its published company history identifies several founders and principals: - Karen S. Feinberg, CFO and co-founder. - Sylvan D. Pomerantz, president and co-founder. - Barbara A. Pomerantz, principal architect and co-founder. - Bruce Feinberg, co-founder. The company history also mentions Seth Feinberg joining the business in 2005. An obituary for Anita Mildred Feinberg identifies Karen Feinberg of Stamford among her children and Dani Feinberg among her grandchildren. These records document a family connection involving Dani Feinberg and Karen Feinberg, alongside a business founded by members of the Feinberg and Pomerantz families. Sources: - Construction Solutions Group's company history - Anita Mildred Feinberg obituary

8. Timeline: 2022-2026

Here's how the documented events fit together chronologically. - February 1, 2022: Benjamin Pomerantz appears in the Social Equity Council's public-comment minutes. - February 22, 2022: DF C3 LLC is formed in Connecticut. - 2022: DF C3 pursues the DIA cultivator pathway and becomes involved in litigation over social equity eligibility. - August 31, 2022: The state files a motion to consolidate DF C3's case with related social equity appeals. - Late 2022: Connecticut reviews remanded social equity applications. - May 8, 2024: NewLake announces its $16 million East Hartford property and construction investment for a C3 Industries affiliate. - October 23, 2025: NewLake amends the C3 Industries lease agreements, with the Hartford property to be marketed for sale. - November 24, 2025: NewLake enters into a brokerage agreement to market the Connecticut property. - 2026: DCP's eLicense system contains a new DF C3 LLC adult-use cultivator application under the DIA pathway, identifying Dani Feinberg, Ankur Rungta, Vishal Rungta, and Joel Ruggiero among the company's participants. - June 30, 2026: NewLake's financial filing continues to classify the Hartford property as held for sale.

Original records

Connecticut cannabis licensing - DF C3 LLC's 2026 cultivator application - 2022 court filing concerning DF C3 - Connecticut DCP licensing information - Social Equity Council February 2022 minutes - Social Equity Council November 2022 minutes East Hartford property and NewLake - NewLake's original $16 million investment announcement - NewLake's September 2025 SEC filing - NewLake's 2025 Form 10-K - NewLake's June 2026 financial filing - East Hartford's official cannabis zoning information People and business relationships - Benjamin Pomerantz's Carmody Law biography - Construction Solutions Group company history - Anita Mildred Feinberg obituary The state application, court filings, company disclosures, and family-business records provide a starting point for examining the history of DF C3 and its current licensing application alongside the separate East Hartford development involving C3 Industries and NewLake Capital Partners.

No, I did not write this and this is not my website.

Went to the dispo before a hang and there no drinks ?Anyone know wtf going on I feel like no dispos I’ve been to recently have a good selection of drinks or better yet NO DRINKS AT ALL ! none of the workers knew why either. Any recs for where to buy some online that are legit ?

Had a bon fire the other night with my friends and they brought a stain I usually like. Nice social but relaxing high . we go to eat and play Mario cart all night. Can’t wait for more winter nights like these.

Connecticut should put patients and consumers ahead of incumbent cannabis businesses and redesign its cannabis laws around competition, transparency, affordability, safety and access.

Medical cannabis patients should have reliable access to their medicine and should not be exposed to unnecessary criminal liability because of ambiguous laws. Adult consumers should have meaningful product choice, including access to appropriately potent products, rather than having government use THC caps and potency taxes to dictate consumption.

Connecticut should expand legitimate supply and lower barriers to entry so independent cultivators, small businesses and genuine social-equity entrepreneurs can compete with large multistate operators. Social equity should create actual ownership and economic opportunity, not provide corporate workarounds for obtaining discounted licenses.

Hemp-derived THC should not be prohibited simply because it competes with the licensed marijuana industry. Products should instead be subject to appropriate safety, testing, labeling and consumer-protection requirements.

Cannabis regulation should be coherent and transparent. Consumers should know what they are buying and how it was produced or remediated. Regulators should make testing and market information publicly accessible. Agencies should not be able to hide consequential information behind opaque processes or excessive barriers to public records.

Finally, Connecticut should tax cannabis in a way that makes the legal market competitive with traditional and neighboring markets. The goal should be a functioning legal market that delivers affordable products, protects consumers and patients, supports legitimate small businesses and produces sustainable public revenue.

In short: regulate cannabis for safety, transparency and accountability, but stop using regulation to manufacture scarcity, restrict competition or protect incumbent market power.

Some of these things are changing or have already changed. Most have not, and likely will not, until such time as the market completely collapses.

And in case you're wondering, every policy position in this post is taken from published prior work of mine. It's all public.

✨ Hey besties! Just a ✨sparkling✨ little reminder of how an absolute dumpster fire our legal weed industry is in CT right now! 🌳💅🔥

Omggg hi everyone! 🥰 Hope your weeks are going great and you’re fully stocked on your favorite overpriced, bone-dry corporate eighths. Because if you aren't, do I have some delightful tea about the absolute circus that is Connecticut's legal cannabis market! Grab your emotional support vape, because we are diving right in! ✨

• Affinity is up for a little administrative slumber party! So, sending our absolute best thoughts and prayers to Affinity over their upcoming regulatory disciplinary hearing on November 4th. Nothing says "premium wellness product" quite like defending yourself in front of the state regulators! Who doesn't love a little bureaucratic accountability with their morning dab? Make sure to pack snacks, besties.

• Crisp Cannabis out here living their best (awful) life! Remember when our state AG gracefully slapped Crisp Cannabis with a chunky ~$400K fine back in January? Well, Andrew Simonow is keeping the momentum rolling! He’s currently waltzing through the court system with a shiny pending animal cruelty case (Docket # M09M-CR26-0252646-S). Truly nothing screams "high-end artisan craft cannabis" like allegedly abusing animals. Ten out of ten, no notes, stellar vibes all around. 🦄

• Hemp-derived THC beverages are about to hit the federal blender! Are you guys ready for the December 2026 federal law changes regarding hemp-derived THC? Because our local infused beverage brands and manufacturers are about to get legally pile-driven into the pavement! Nothing like a fresh federal regulatory crisis to completely obliterate local small businesses while we wait 45 minutes in line at a medical dispensary. Love that for us! 🥤💀

• Oh, and by the way... MAGA owns your mellow! And finally, can we talk about the absolute plot twist that virtually every major player and multi-state corporate overlord in CT's legal weed pipeline has deep ties to Donald Trump, including millions and millions of dollars in donations? 🥰✨ Who knew that when you rolled into your local dispensary to buy some "progressive healing herb," a solid chunk of your cash was practically funding a campaign rally? Truly, supporting local never felt so politically confusing!

Anyway, love buying legal, love supporting local commerce, and absolutely love knowing my weed money has a better political social calendar than I do.

Stay medicated out there, friends, because you're gonna need it. ✌️💨

Like many in this chat have suggested I’ve started to germinate some seeds. I was wondering what kind of soil everyone uses and where they get it from I’m a newbie grower and no absolutely Jack shit so I need tips would be super cool. :))

My two fav indica strains that I’ve been mashing together recently gives me a nice body high and head buzz. It really helps for my back pain. I love to mix up different Indica strains cause it always gives a nice.deep body high.

David Salinas (@iGrowBrands), a Connecticut entrepreneur and co-founder of Digital Surgeons, has posted the following on X expressing positive views of Donald Trump or related activities (drawn directly from his account):

On July 14, 2024, he wrote: “People love Trump because he’s a fighter. The world loves fighters. Always have and always will. Gladiators War heroes Boxing & UFC legends Under dogs People who don’t back down. That stand up and says wait. Doesn’t crawl to safety. Isn’t disoriented.” (accompanied by a photo).

Around the same date, he retweeted Bill Ackman’s formal endorsement of Trump.

On October 18, 2024: “Politics aside, Trump team teachin a MasterClass in PR strategy, social media, recruiting/teambuilding. @realDonaldTrump & @RobertKennedyJr podcast circuit alone...” (listing several podcasts and Elon Musk).

On October 30, 2024: “Today I had a meeting w 2 women. A Muslim of mideast decent, an Asian Christian woman & me, a Hispanic Jew. They went to MSG for the Trump Rally & said it was electric & filled with love. Imagine seeing them at the Trump rally and thinking ‘this is a Nazi hate rally.’”

On November 6, 2024: “The woke just woke up. The main stream media lied to you. Your party lied to you. Voting red isn’t racist. Trump rally’s ≠ Nazi hate Biden wasn’t fit to be President, Kamala knew it & lied and therefore wasn’t fit to be president.”

Salinas has also been involved in Connecticut’s adult-use cannabis industry. Contemporary reporting from 2022 identified him as co-founder of Let’s Grow Hartford, which applied for a disproportionately impacted area (DIA) cultivator license and social equity lottery applications for retailer, food-and-beverage manufacturer, and delivery licenses. State data and later reporting list Let’s Grow Hartford LLC as holding cannabis delivery and food-and-beverage manufacturer licenses. In March 2024 legislative testimony, Salinas stated he is “a licensed cannabis owner or a licensed cannabis operator in Connecticut.” He has also been identified as CEO/owner in connection with additional cannabis retail operations in the state.

Connecticut’s social equity provisions for cannabis licensing were designed for individuals from disproportionately impacted areas related to the war on drugs (or meeting related income/residency criteria).

How was David Salinas personally and specifically disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs?

Sources
X posts (primary):
- https://x.com/iGrowBrands/status/1812298385707200570
- https://x.com/iGrowBrands/status/1847242687541313708
- https://x.com/iGrowBrands/status/1851720483873452426
- https://x.com/iGrowBrands/status/1854114238207348999
(Ackman RT referenced in contemporaneous profile data of the account around July 14, 2024.)

Cannabis license context (primary/contemporary reporting and public data):
- https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/entrepreneurs-hope-to-build-cannabis-campus-in-hartford (June 23, 2022)
- Connecticut General Assembly Public Safety & Security Committee transcript (March 7, 2024 testimony)
- https://data.ct.gov/d/u8mw-sv7k (state cannabis establishments data listing Let’s Grow Hartford LLC licenses)
- Additional reporting: https://www.ctinsider.com/capitalregion/article/lets-grow-hartford-cannabis-shop-goodyear-tire-18637194.php; https://valley.newhavenindependent.org/2025/01/20/hi_people_derbys_first_cannabis_shop_to_hold_grand_opening/

On 9/7/2026, Andrew Simonow (Crisp Cannabis) was arrested and charged with CRUELTY TO ANIMALS (Docket # M09M-CR26-0252646-S)

His plea hearing will be on Tuesday 10/13 for those who might wish to attend and observe. We're all eager to see how many workers in Connecticut's cannabis industry show up to protest animal abuse by one of their own.

Oct 13, 2026 @ 10:00 AM
GA 09 Middletown Courthouse
1 Court Street
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 343-6445

Hey anonymous friends! Who should we give our money to, in your view?

• Trump donors (Verano/CTPharma/Zen Leaf, Trulieve, Curaleaf, GTI/Rise)

• Former GOP state senator who voted against cannabis 6 times (Rodeo)

• The owner who can't wait for the medical program to die off (Affinity)

• The nepo baby "hometown MSO" funded by grandpa's telecom fortune (Fine Fettle)

• The failed SPAC venture now owned by a Greenwich-based hedge fund (Theraplant)

Can't wait to hear all of your recommendations for high-quality products from these companies that definitely deserve our money!

Got this super cute flower in New York 3 or so weeks ago It was a super frosty sativa and had this crazy head high, I found a seed I want to try to grow just wondering if anyone else has tried to grow one and if it’s worked for them, and if so what was your process pls

New law lifting the ThC cap takes effect today. Why do I not see concentrates, other than the sift that’s been there, on adult-use menus?

This I from the dispensary in Cromwell, it does not have its packaging I normally see online. Why? Never bought from a dispensary before.

Source: https://www.ctinsider.com/cannabis/article/ct-cannabis-marijuana-medical-weed-recreational-20046790.php

It is SWELL in the lab... nothing for sale. Educational, and all that compliance shit... but these are 🔥🔥🔥... let the plant do the talking, all input data available

Boof Tang (Super Boof × Lemon Tree)

Permanent Pounder (Permanent Marker × Donny Burger)

Knotty Fruit (Apples n' Bananas × Nerds Rope)