Last year I was initially critical when a curfew was imposed on city youth. I thought it was going to be a total waste of time, as well as one more burden placed on an already understaffed and over burdened police depoartment. If Hartford Police officers couldn't handle their basic calls for service, how could they now take on the additional task of baby sitting minors walking the streets?
Well, in the end I think most would agree that if nothing else, the curfew was another tool to be used by police officers to identify and move potential problem youth off of the street corners before problems occurred. It also sent a message that HPD was being proactive and addressing the violence problem on a street by street basis,
As of now I have not heard any talk or the curfew beginning this year, Wouldn't it make sense to start a curfew enforcement now, set the ground rules for the game before the bodies of young men killed in another summer of violence start piling up?
As Hartford residents and business owners prepare to attend Tuesday nights budget hearing at Bulkeley High, it seems as those lining up to feed at the pig trough we know as Hartford City Hall haven't heard the message that there is a severe economic crisis facing the City of Hartford.
Since the early days of the Perez regime,"spend,spend,spend," seems to be the mantra coming from Perez's office. Much of this spending seems to benefit political cronies and those beholding to the Gospel of Perez, Whether it is Evelyn Mantilla and her $70,000 plus job at the Health Department after her "consultant" contract expired in the Mayor's Office, Kelvin Roldan's $120,000 plus a year job at the Board of Education, our new "energy czar" at a $100,000 plus a year, the "capital improvements" director at $165,000 a year plus his luxury SUV city car, the former "capital improvements" director enjoying his $85.00 an hour "retirement" job in the Mayor's Office, and let's not forget Lew Brown, the Mayor's courthouse shadow. I could go on and on with the list of cronies rewarded for allegiance to Perez as he navigates his troubled waters, also known as an ever growing and expanding corruption investigation. And I can't forget that wonderful 311 system that everyday rewards incompetence on the part of City employees who need another layer of insulation from resident complaints. Do we really need 311 to make sure city employees are doing their jobs? Isn't that why we pay the numerous levels of supervisors, Director's, Deputy Director's, Assistant's to the Directors and Deputy Director's? If a phone is on a desk and a resident calls, is it too much to expect that employee to pick up the phone when it rings, answer it politely and deal with the caller on the other end? I guess that can only work if it is a 311 operator equipped with a special software,(software purchased in a no-bid deal from the neighbor of another political crony) locked away in a special office answering every call to a city hall phone number to justify the number of calls. It seems to me that if thousands of phone calls to 311 monthly only result in a couple of hundred actual "case numbers", the service is not needed or justified by the results. In March 2009, 8690 calls were received, but only 627 required action or a "case number. Does that mean less than 8% of the calls were necessary to be handled by 311?
Since Perez has become Mayor, his budgeted spending has increased over $125 million dollars. Many would argue that any correlation between increased spending and increased services is non-existent. Streets are in the worst shape many people have seen in years, hiring of Police Officers and increases in the number of officers promised in election years by Perez have been put on hold , crime is still a major problem, failing schools are still a major problem, job losses under Perez's tax and spend policies are a major problem, employers moving out of Hartford are a major problem and if Weaver High School is any indication, many of our schools are in deplorable condition, Where is the money going Mayor Perez?
City spending increasing in a period when every suburb around us are freezing and cutting spending, shows that Perez and his band feeding from the pig trough have no clue. Whether it's use of city vehicles, trips to Ireland at the city's expense, fruitless lawsuits and court appeals to reward John Rose's buddies, or the multitude of wasteful items of spending, it all adds up. Senseless appeals of court decisions, FOI decisions, Labor Board decisions have added,and promise to add much more, in lawsuit decisions to the city's budget .
A perfect example was handed to me this morning by a city resident who had received a mailing from Councilwoman Rosezina Winch (aka known as rJo by her followers). A letter which was in a City of Hartford envelope, on City of Hartford stationery, and according to the post office, using a City of Hartford postage meter, was sent out by Rosezina soliciting donations for an upcoming convention to be held in Hartford. The person that gave me the information questioned if this was even legal for an elected official of the City of Hartford to be using city resources to raise money for a political group. I guess that is a very valid point , we'll have to wait for an explanation from the Councilwoman. I don't suggest that anyone hold their breath waiting for that explanation to come. Another interesting point that shows the mindset of wasteful spending at City Hall though is that apparently every letter that was sent had double the postage it needed. Rather than the 42 cent stamp that the USPS said was required for the 3 page mailing, apparently every envelope had 83 cents worth of City of Hartford postage on it. I know it seems small in comparison to next years projected $40 million deficit as a result of Perez's incompetence , but it all adds up. How many mailings were sent with double the postage needed, 100? 1000? 10,000?
It just makes you wonder what shape the budget might be in if someone was actually managing the city finances, rather than trying to figure out how to keep themselves out of prison on corruption charges .
Read Rosezina's fundraising plea and see the money wasted on the postage below.
As documents continue to surface regarding the hiring of recent Hartford firefighters, the picture seems to becoming clearer for most people viewing the documents and listening to the facts. Dan Nolan's contentions that he was terminated after he refused to force unqualified recruits through the Hartford Fire Academy also seems to gain more credibility each day. The recent revelations that disgraced Hartford firefighter John Thomas used the dishonorable Mayor Eddie A. Perez as a reference on his job application was interesting, but the documents that show Thomas was also a paid consultant on Perez's campaign in 2001 raise even more questions. According to sources close to Perez and his campaign stated that Thomas was very upset after the election when Perez didn't offer Thomas a "city" job.
Most of us at one time or another have been used as a reference by someone seeking a job. I know I can honestly say that I have recommended people for employment, only to realize later that I may have not known the person well enough to do that. maybe a person that you know on a casual friendship level and then realize that you knew very little about their work ethic or reliability when their hiring didn't "work out". If Eddie Perez was a man of integrity, he could have stood up and admitted that he knew John Thomas, pushed for his hiring, but realized now that it was a mistake. Instead he threw Hartford's Fire Chief Charles Teale under the bus and blamed Teale for Thomas's hiring and said the sole responsibility was Teale's. For anyone that thinks that Perez didn't use any pressure or exert any influence to hire Thomas, especially when Thomas's references and background were checked , must also believe that Perez is innocent of his criminal charges. The facts are the facts in both cases and speak for themselves.
The part that bothers me though is that most people would agree that Chief Teale is, or was, an honorable man. To allow Perez to throw the entire blame for Thomas on Teale's back is wrong and Perez had no problem throwing him under the bus. I think most would agree that Teale loves his job, but sooner or later you have to ask yourself, at what price are you willing to sell out your reputation and integrity and continue to be a Perez puppet.
Chief Teale, a simple question after our conversation Monday night, who is the one being used now ? I still believe in the stand I've taken, do you?
On Monday night I had a conversation with Chief Teale of the Hartford Fire Department. The Chief was standing in City Hall outside the Council Chambers when I was exiting and Teale said hello to me and extended his hand for a handshake. Whatever your thoughts about the Chief, he always conducts himself as a gentleman. I made an off the cuff remark that I was surprised that he was still talking to me after the postings about Deputy Chief Dan Nolan. Chief Teale said no, he understood , but that I was being used, I assume he meant by Nolan. I will make the same offer again to Chief Teale or anyone else, provide me with documentation of wrongdoing by Nolan, and it will be posted here. So far, no one has been able to do that, but the evidence supporting Nolan's version of the reasons behind his termination continues to surface. One of the basic assertions on Nolan's part is that his suspension and eventual termination were the result of his unwillingness to "push" recruits through the Hartford Fire Academy. Nolan's contention was that some of these recruits were not capable or suitable to be Hartford firefighters but due to connections, political or otherwise, they were being shuttled through the academy. When Nolan refused to allow this, he was placed on paid administrative leave and in February of this year Nolan was terminated. I realize there are two sides to every story, but so far the only side that appears to be credible is Nolan's version. The following documents seem to strengthen Nolan's version.
For those who have been following my blog, the name John Thomas has surfaced several times in the past couple weeks. Thomas was a Hartford Firefighter who was arrested on March 28, 2009 for DUI after he ran a pedestrian down at the intersection of Main and Westland Streets and left her lying in the street. Thomas was a probationary member of the Hartford Fire Department with less than a year on the job. The victim of Thomas's actions was quoted in news reports, and im paraphrasing here, as saying that she always thought firefighters were supposed to help people, not leave them for dead in the street. In support of Chief Teale and his actions in this matter, after the information came to light and was broadcast in the media, on April 6, 2009 Thomas was terminated by Teale for "conducting himself in a manner to bring serious discredit upon the department".
Although Teale's actions were swift by Hartford's standards, many people have questioned how John Thomas ever was hired in the first place. The first clue came to light today when I received John Thomas's original job application, and even more questions were raised by his background investigation completed by the Hartford Police Department before Thomas was hired. Nolan's claim that some recruits were unfit for duty in the Hartford Fire Department, yet politically connected seems to be shown quite clearly in John Thomas's application which is posted below.He lists Eddie A. Perez, Mayor of Hartford as a reference. Apparently Thomas was also a staff member working on Perez's 2001 Mayoral Campaign. Aside from Thomas's criminal background report that is also attached, Thomas admitted to the investigator, Sergeant Winston Brooks, that he was approximately $60,000 to $80,000 behind on child support payments. Most would call individuals in that situation a "deadbeat dad", yet Chief Teale chose to hire Thomas, questionable background and all, as one of Hartford's bravest. It would be an interesting question to have answered as to what influence Perez's reference played in Thomas's hiring, yet I don't see that response coming anytime soon.
And the offer remains, anyone that has another theory and can prove it, I'm willing to listen, but Nolan's case seems to get stronger and become clearer with every document I receive.
This past Saturday on the Hartford Public Access program that myself, J.Stan McCauley, Bishop John Selders and Angel Morales hosted, we interviewed students and parents from Weaver High School. As part of the program, Stan McCauley produced and edited a great piece narrated by Hartford resident June Lyons graphically portraying the deplorable conditions that exist at Weaver, a school that has seen no substantial renovations since it was built in 1974. Graphic pictures portrayed the awful conditions including water damage, missing cinder blocks in walls, shower rooms in total disrepair, hardware on emergency exits missing or broken and students detailed the presence of rats and roaches in classrooms and the cafeteria. Many residents also called in to express their dismay at the condition of the school.
Although there was apparently no mention of major repairs at a PTO meeting held last week, after the program aired Saturday night, on Tuesday the Superintendent of Schools announced that $3 million dollars had been "found" for repairs at Weaver. Makes me wonder how you suddenly "find" $3 million dollars when you are laying teachers and support staff off. Was $3 million in a shoebox on a shelf in Kelvin Roldan's office? Regardless, at least the students at Weaver who brought the issue up should be commended for stepping forward and making a difference.
1 Hartford airs on Hartford Public Access Channel 5 on Saturday's at 10:00PM and can also be viewed on the internet at http://1hartford.com and click on the "1hartford program" box. That's the numeral one "1" in the internet address
The picture above of Hartford firefighter John Thomas was taken after his recent arrest for DUI after he ran a pedestrian down in the street and evaded the accident and left the victim lying in the street. Thomas is one of the three Hartford firefighters mentioned in the preceeding post who were arrested last month.
Thomas was fired from the Hartford Fire Department Wednesday.
When the 911 lines ring at the Hartford Emergency Dispatch Center and help is requested from the Hartford Fire Department, most people don't think about who they might be letting into their homes when the firetruck arrives, but maybe they should. We know it won't be former Deputy Chief Dan Nolan, he was terminated for requiring recruits to participate in charity events. We know it won't be experienced firefighters with years of experience from cities such as New London, they were passed over for recruits with questionable criminal backgrounds. What we do know is that it could be a firefighter suffering from drug or alcohol addiction, a firefighter that has admitted to stealing electricity and been arrested for larceny, or even as bad as a firefighter caught online discussing incest and graphic sexual details with what he thought was 13 year old girl and having over 140 child porn images stored on his home computer.
Since the City of Hartford isn't known for its transparency and addressing issues that don't fall in line with the Mayor's spin machine, the incidents below have been revealed through sources and a lot of digging. Only one television station in the area seems to be willing to do the leg work and expose these troubling cases to the public. The story of Hartford Firefighter John Thomas was exposed by WFSB reporter Len Besthoff last Thursday. John Thomas's arrest report is below. Thomas is accused on running down a 58 year old pedestrian on the night of March 28, 2009 at 8:15 in the evening as he drove drunk on Main Street. Noemi Castillo, the pedestrian, is recovering from non-life threatening injuries. Thomas fled the scene, and due to witness accounts, he was promptly located and arrested by the Hartford Police Department. Apparently to avoid detection by his employer, he listed his occupation as "unemployed" on his arrest paperwork. After refusing to take a breathalyzer test and after he finished threatening to kill the police officers, Thomas was eventually released on a $5,000 cash bond.
Although the thought that a Hartford firefighter could run an elderly pedestrian down in the street and leave her for dead is very troubling, the next arrest of a Hartford firefighter is even more troubling. Dion Hightower is a Hartford firefighter who was assigned to the Chief John Stewart Fire House located at 25 Blue Hills Avenue. On the morning of August 7, 2007 Hightower received a call that the Connecticut State Police were at his home with a search warrant. Hightower left work and somewhere around 7:00am he returned home and was promptly read his Miranda rights by a detective from the Connecticut State Police. The information Hightower volunteered after receiving his rights is extremely troubling. Apparently, according to the police reports below, Hightower was caught in an online chatroom having a conversation with a 13 year old female. The sexually explicit conversation was captured by monitoring software used by Hightower's internet service provider and the information was provided to law enforcement as required under Federal law. The Connecticut State Police and their Computer Crimes and Electronics Evidence Laboratory (CCEEL) began investigating and the computer user was traced back to Hightower. In the ensuing investigation, over 140 images of suspected child pornography were recovered from Hightower's computers. The transcript of Hightower's on-line conversations are detailed below as he chatted with a 13 year old girl and asked her about whether she liked incest and stated that he had sex with his 14 year old daughter and encouraged the girl to have oral sex with her father. He was eventually arrested March 4, 2009.
DION HIGHTOWER ARREST AFFADAVIT IS BELOW********* THIS AFFADAVIT CONTAINS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT DETAILS THAT MAY BE OFFENSIVE. IF YOU ARE UNDER AGE 18 OR FIND THIS OFFENSIVE. PLEASE DO NOT READ*************************
The next arrest of a Hartford Firefighter involves the case of Gregory Simon, who was arrested by the Hartford Police Department on March 12, 2009 after an investigation by HPD. Although Simon's case isn't as offensive to most as was Hightower's, it still seems to raise concern's as to the caliber of firefighter's enter people's homes and businesses. Simon was arrsted for Utility theft and Larceny, third degree after he was found to be stealing electricity for a building he owned at 153 Adams Street in Hartford. After complaints were received from other tenants that their electric bills had increased substantially, an investigation was begun. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that Simon had rewired the electric panels to enable him to steal electricity from the buildings tenants. Simon readily admitted to the investigationg officer that he had committed the theft and tried to justify his actions. He stated that he was going through difficult divorce, and needed "just a little bit of electricity" and considered his larceny to not "be a big deal". Police estimated the value of the theft at $3422.61.
These arrest reports make me wonder though. If I had to dial 911 and open my door to the Hartford Fire Department, who would I rather have respond, the likes of Hightower, Thomas and Simon or the likes of former Deputy Chief Dan Nolan? I think the choice is pretty simple, but unfortunately we know Nolan won't be rushing for the door of a burning building anytime soon, Hightower, Simon and Thomas very well could be.
In closing, I don't want this to be an attack on the dedicated men and women of the Hartford Fire Department, but forcing people like Nolan out so that we can overlook the criminal records and questionable backgrounds of applicants is wrong. More will be upcoming as we expose more of the background investigations and criminal histories of recent hires by HFD.
Jeff Cohen from the Hartford Courant had a story online today at http://courant.com/cityline regarding the large amount of city dollars being spent by Corporation Counsel John Rose on outside lawyers hired by the City of Hartford attempting to defend and appealing Freedom of Information Decisions that have been decided against the City. The requests by Cohen and the Courant involve documents that will definitely embarrass the Dishonorable Mayor Eddie A. Perez and his "transparent" regime, but none the less have been ruled as public documents by the FOI Commission and their orders to Rose to release the documents. Rose's strategy appears to be to delay and stall any release through endless appeals, continuances and hearings. All the while the clock is ticking on the meter for the private attorneys and contributing to the City's deficit, all while hoping to shield Perez from embarrassment by the very documents his actions and his administration have created.
One of the more troubling revelations in the article though is that a major player in the appeals and eventually beneficiary of the billing, is an attorney at the firm of Pepe and Hazard. Attorney Richard Wareing seems to have billed the majority of the approximately $125,000 charged to Rose's office and the City of Hartford. The only person close to Wareing is Attorney Fenton Guest, who sources tell me is a personal friend of John Rose.
The reason I find Wareing's billing troublesome is that Wareing also sits as the Chairperson of the City of Hartford's Charter Revision Commission. One of the major points facing the commission, aside from the makeup of the City Council, is the issue of the Corporation Counsel's Office and its responsibility and accountability under the Charter. To me, this would seem to be a major conflict of interest on the part of any attorney receiving tens of thousands of dollars from the same Corporation Counsel's Office that you are potentially sitting in judgement of the very activities and operations of an office that would most likely affect that same attorneys future income and ability to receive work from the Corporation Counsel.
I would ask for an opinion from the City's Ethics Commission, but we all know that Perez appoints them also. Something seems broken here.
For anyone who follows my postings, I have not been a huge fan of some of Clarence Corbin's management decisions. None the less, I think he was doing a somewhat decent job running the Public Works Department in spite of layoffs and budget cuts and, from all appearances and indications, staying clear of involvement in the corrupt activities of our dishonorable Mayor Eddie A. Perez.
All of that ended Thursday when Corbin was fired by Perez for not following the city's procurement procedures. I am fairly certain there were other reasons that will eventually come out. Although a press release from Perez's office mentioned an "acting Deputy Director of Public Works" who was also placed on adminstrative suspension, the person was not named. Sources have advised me that the "acting Deputy Director of Public Works" was John McGrane. Sources also stated that McGrane accompanied the "lobbyist" to Washington D.C. along with another DPW employee, Marilyn Cruz-Aponte. According to sources, McGrane will serve a 30 day suspension for his actions and afterwards will return as the City Engineer, rather than as a Deputy Director.
Questions still arise as to how much involvement Corbin actually had in this lobbyist plan, and from what my sources tell me , McGrane apparently was the signer on change orders and payment approvals for the "lobbyist". It will probably take some work, but I will try to get these documents from the City and post them here.
I think to many though, the big question is how does Perez keep his job, while Corbin is dismissed. Although Corbin may have violated procurement procedures, Perez has been arrested and charged with fleeceing the city in a scheme to have work done on his home at the City's expense. In the arrest warrant affidavit it alleges that Perez planned to have the cost for some of the repairs hidden in billing to the City through an account for repairs to the Church Street Garage. At least no claims have been made that Corbin attempted to benefit personally from his actions, unlike Perez who's corrupt scheme did benefit him personally in at least $40,000 dollars worth of repairs to his home.
A question for our dishonorable Mayor, Eddie how can you look anyone in the eyes and do what you do? And you might want to be careful about the Ethics violations that you want examined. To quote Councilperson Veronica Airey-Wilson, peole who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
There are more underlying reasons for Corbin's termination other than what was presented in the press release from the information I have received. One of these allegations involves a meeting about stimulus money for the Pope Commons streetscape project and Corbin potentially not "playing ball" with Perez. More on that as we work to verify the facts.
THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED ON THIS BLOG ARE STRICTLY THAT, MY OPINIONS.After getting fed up with the lack of openness in Hartford City Hall, I decided to begin a program on Hartford Public Access Television called "WE THE PEOPLE". Through tips received we have been able to expose numerous issues that the Perez Administration would prefer to keep quiet.
Any information received is kept in strict confidence, feel free to e-mail me at krbrookman@earthlink.net or call me at 860-883-2297 with any information.
