WEEKEND TELEVISION VIEWING

Just a reminder for two television programs I recommend for this weekend.

First off is our weekly program, "1Hartford" which can be seen tonight at 10:00PM on Hartford Public Access Television channel 5 and repeated tomorrow at 10:00AM on Channel 5. It can also be seen at any time on www.accesstv.org, just click on the "1Hartford" screen.

Also tomorrow at 11AM watch "Face the State" on WFSB Channel 3 with Susan Raff discussing the arrest of Mayor Perez and his future with Council President Calixto Torres, Councilwoman Rosezina "rJo" Winch and Democratic Activist Bruce Rubenstein

IS "DUE PROCESS" A ONE WAY STREET IN HARTFORD

We keep hearing about the rights of Mayor Perez as he continues to fight criminal charges against himself. After his second arrest this week on felony charges, immediately both he and his attorney insisted on his day in court to plead his case and asked for people to keep an open mind until such time. When Perez was arrested in January of this year he claimed his alleged felonies were nothing more than a "lapse of judgement".

This call for "due process" and another "lapse of judgement" brings me to think about another situation that Perez has overseen that has turned out much different and due process has been totally ignored. This story is difficult because I have mixed feelings, but in the end what's right is right and for Eddie to request his due process rights, I guess it has to apply to all.

In the spring of 2007 a tow truck driver from Whitey's Towing, Slade Secore, was towing a vehicle out of a private parking lot. As he began to leave the lot, a crowd formed and people supportive of the vehicle owner, tore the driver from his truck and severely beat him. The driver eventually identified one of his assailants as Ruben Perez,21, the nephew of Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez. Perez was eventually arrested,(no, not that Perez, the nephew Perez, but yes they were both arrested once or twice)and was detained at the Harford Police Department booking facility.Here is where the decision for me gets difficult. I believe in peoples rights, holding police officers to a higher standard and all that.Slade Secore, the tow truck driver, happened to be the brother of Hartford Police Officer Matthew Secore. After police arrested Ruben Perez for the assault and he was being held at HPD, Officer Secore, while off-duty, made a decision to visit Perez in booking. Apparently Officer Secore had seen his brother's bloody face, eyes swollen shut, and hearing that his brother could potentially lose sight due to a crushed eye socket. It probably wasn't the best time to be making a visit to Ruben Perez in a jail cell, but it involved, what shall I call it...maybe "a lack of judgement". I have to say, after seeing the picture of Slade Secore, if that was a family member of mine, the spineless person conducting the assault might become a victim themselves at the end of a baseball bat. I don't say that lightly, but it is human nature. We're not talking here about someone sucker punched in a bar fight, were talking about someone who was just doing their job and their face was beaten to a pulp.

Anyway, Officer Secore, suffering from that same "lack of judgement", left his severely beaten brother and proceeded to the HPD lockup. The police officers working at the booking desk also suffered their own "lack of judgement" and allowed Officer Secore to enter into the locked facility. Officer Secore apparently had an exchange of words with Ruben Perez and let it be known that the assault victim was his brother. Ruben Perez apparently responded with "f*** your brother" and the culmination of the "lack of judgement" occurred. Officer Secore punched Ruben Perez once. No broken eyesocket, no threat of losing his eyesight, not even any blood, no need for any treatment. Again, I am not trying to minimize Officer Secore's actions, but it is something I think many of us might be driven to under the circumstances. And I have to admit in all honesty that I have met and talked to Officer Secore, and he doesn't seem like the quick tempered type, just my gut feeling. Well , Officer Secore was eventually arrested for his actions and this is where the whole due process thing comes in. After his arrest for one misdemeanor charge of Assault 3rd, (not multiple felonies as are Mayor Perez's charges) Officer Secore was suspended and then terminated from the Hartford Police Department. The case worked its way through the courts and Officer Secore was afforded the same "due process" rights we keep hearing Mayor Perez mention. The end result was the one, single misdemeanor charge was dismissed by the Court and then it was a matter of trying to win Officer Secore's job back through those same "due process" rights we keep hearing the Mayor mention. At a hearing of the State of Connecticut Labor Department Board of Mediation, it was ultimately determined that the punishment of termination for Officer Secore was too severe for his actions, and the State of Connecticut ordered the termination be reduced to a 90 day suspension, and that Officer Secore be reinstated as a Police Officer, and receive all back pay less the 90 day pay loss. The City of Hartford has chosen to ignore the order and is appealing the case in court.

I find it somewhat hypocritical for Perez (the Mayor, not the assaulter) to insist on his due process rights so vigorously when he has no process denying others their rights. If Officer Secore's case isn't enough of an example, why not ask former Public Works Director Clarence Corbin, Deputy Fire Chief Dan Nolan, former Tax Collector Donald Lefevere or many of the others that Perez (the alleged felonious Mayor, not the tough guy assaulter) has had no process trampling on their due process rights.

Oh well, only in Hartford I guess. An FOI request has been submitted to Corporation Counsel John Rose for the full file on this case, but I suggest you not hold your breath waiting to see the documents. This case stainks and the City knows it. But in the meantime the back pay for Officer Secore keeps adding up with interst , and when he prevails it will all be due. In the meantime, a good Police Officer who suffered from a "lack of judgement" is off the job at a time when we need every one of them on the streets.

If Eddie Perez's lack of judgement should be forgiven, shouldn't Officer Secore's? I think they call that "due process" rights.

LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE--- MUD WRESTLING HARTFORD STYLE

Sorry, but after Helen Ubinas threatened to punch me in the head while we were watching Wednesday's perp walk, I'm in a fighting mood. I offered to mud wrestle Helen on the lawn of Troop "H" with the caveat that el Jefe be the referee. I thought that would be fair because we're probably both pretty close in Eddie's level of affection for us. Helen politely declined as her co-worker walked away cringing at the mental image he was having.

An event that promises to be almost as interesting, is tonight's taping of WFSB's "FACE THE STATE", scheduled to air on Sunday. Although Dennis House is out on "maternity" leave after the birth this week of his and Kara's new son (Congratulations to the House's), Susan Raff will be refereeing this weeks smack-down grudge match. One segment tonight will consist of Council President Calixto Torres and Council Majority Leader Rosezina "rJo" Winch joined by Hartford's latest version of the Lone Ranger, Bruce Rubenstein. Although it is only about a 10 minute segment, it promises to be a very lively one. From sources at Channel 3, apparently last minute renovations were required to the anchor desk to be able to accommodate Eddie Perez fitting underneath to control his two puppets without being seen. The second segment will have WFSB reporter Len Besthoff talking about the corruption investigation and his continuing coverage. Besthoff was one of the first to break the story Monday of Perez's pending arrest, resulting in a hastily called press conference where Perez proudly announced his impending Wednesday morning arrest and afternoon campaign rally in the Function Room of City Hall.

"FACE THE STATE" airs Sunday mornings at 11:00am on Channel 3,(not in high def though, that's Channel 30)

J.STAN McCAULEY CALLS FOR PEREZ RESIGNATION

In a press release issued earlier today, former Republican, now Democrat ,J. Stan McCauley (and Republican Mayoral candidate in 2007), called for the resignation of twice arrested (so far) Eddie A. Perez. The press release is below. In an interview today on WDRC radio with Dan Lovallo, McCauley repeated that he is publicly calling for Perez's resignation. McCauley is holding a family day rally next Saturday at the San Juan Center on Main Street from 1pm until 4pm. McCauley stated that he will have an inportant announcement to make that day regarding the future of Hartford. I can only guess what that might be.

McCAULEY PRESS RELEASE:

COO and Founder of The Access TV
Organization, Inc.

In a statement released today J. Stan McCauley stated "The City of Hartford is in a grave state of emergency and confusion. The latest developments regarding the Mayor's alleged improprieties which have resulted in multiple criminal indictments has wounded this city and its people. The people of the City of Hartford are without elected and trusted leadership from the very office that is responsible of these grave discrepancies and alleged illegal activities. Hartford deserves better at a time when great restraint and political maturity should be exacted by the Office of the Mayor."

This statement is not meant to infer anything as to the guilt or innocence of the presently sitting Mayor but it is made to bring responsible and immediate remedy to an atmosphere of confusion and distrust as to how the people and the affairs of this city are being administered by its highest elected official.

It is neither my desire nor that of those that care about this community, that the people in this confused and administratively impaired community start to vote with their feet by leaving. And for these reasons and the resulting damage, Mayor Eddie Perez needs to step down. The Mayor is not a King, he was elected by the people to do a job. He is subject to the same standards of public responsibility and scrutiny that any of our public servants, be they police, fire or otherwise are governed by. If any one of these trusted employees of this city were charged, indicted, arrested and or were facing trial, they most certainly would be placed on administrative leave or at worst, fired. The Mayor should be held to a higher standard because of his position and therefore he needs to, for the good of the city, step down immediately.

The Mayor himself has said that hundreds of people have been affected by these developments surrounding his arrest and the charges stemming there from. So step down Mr. Mayor. You are not a King. You are a servant. Do what a true public servant would do step down at this time and demonstrate how true service is exacted by a true servant. Public service is a job that needs to be carried out without the weight of criminal prosecution concerning allegations of impropriety in carrying out the functions for which he, the Mayor was elected to do.

My calling for the Mayor to step down has nothing to do with guilt or innocence, that is a concern for the trier of fact, whether judge or jury. Allegations have been made, a grand jury has investigated and an arrest warrant has been signed by a sitting judge. By its very legal nature, the warrant had to contain enough probable cause for a judge to have signed and issued it. The Mayor needs to step down, not only because there are many critical issues facing the people of Hartford but also because Hartford needs to become the great city it can be.

I invite the community to join me on September 12, 2009 between the hours of 1pm and 4pm at the Family First Cookout and Rally at the San Juan Center Sports Arena Parking Lot, rain or shine at the corner of Main and Pleasant Streets in Downtown Hartford. It is there among the people Hartford that I will make a public statement about what needs to happen for our city. Family day is the day where we can begin anew for the good of the city and more importantly for the children of the City which is the future of our Hartford.

THE HARTFORD COURANT GETS SLAPPED

Before I begin this post, let me just preface this by saying that I have the utmost respect for the two people that I know personally at the Hartford Courant, Jeff Cohen and Helen Ubinas. If anyone needs to be reminded, it was Jeff Cohen that originally broke the story regarding corruption in the Perez Administration. Cohen's story resulted in the States Attorney's Office beginning a full scale investigation that has resulted in the arrest of Perez and others. Helen Ubinas through her columns continues to identify all that is good with Hartford as well as the things that are wrong with Hartford (even though she threatened to punch me in the head Wednesday and then twittered how good it felt, it was a joke for those who have called wondering why she would do that). OK, so on with the story.

Recently, accusations of plagiarism have been made against the Hartford Courant. Apparently the Journal Inquirer of Manchester has been the most vocal in their criticism of the Courant. The claims seem to be that the Courant has been "ripping" stories from other media outlets and then publishing them in the Courant without crediting the original authors. In a strong release issued yesterday, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) stated that the Courant's actions violated fundamental standards and amounted to "theft". The release from SPJ is below, the Journal Inquirer's story on the issue can be found at www.journalinquirer.com


*****UPDATE- at 5:31 PM today the Courant's Publisher posted an apology on their website, it can be viewed at this address- http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/hc-courant-apology-plagiarism-090309,0,1524843.story

SPJ Ethics Committee: Hartford Courant Violated Ethical Standards


9/2/2009

For immediate release:
9/2/2009

Contacts:
Kevin Z. Smith, SPJ President, (304) 367-4864, spjpresident@yahoo.com
Andy Schotz, Ethics Committee Chairman, lawngyland@aol.com



SPJ ETHICS COMMITTEE: HARTFORD COURANT
VIOLATED ETHICAL STANDARDS


INDIANAPOLIS – The Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics Committee released the following statement regarding the Hartford Courant’s recent admission of and apology for using other newspapers' stories without duly attributing credit. The statement issued by the committee is as follows:

The Hartford Courant has acknowledged using stories from other Connecticut newspapers recently without giving them credit. The director of content has apologized and vowed the mistake won't be repeated.

The Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists plainly exhorts newspapers and journalists, "Never plagiarize." When a newspaper invests reporting and editing time to produce a story, that story should not be used by another outlet without permission and without informing readers who actually did the work.

Many media outlets aggregate information online, summarizing a story and then linking to the original. The Courant failed to carry the credit from its online version to its print version.

"However it happened, the Courant violated fundamental standards," said Andy Schotz, the chairman of SPJ's Ethics Committee. "This was theft."

Integrity and credibility, two of the most important values in journalism, demand that all media outlets be clear about the source of stories they did not produce. Failure to follow that guideline results in plagiarism, taking credit for someone else’s work, as it did in this case.

SPJ admonishes all media outlets to take special care so that proper attribution is given at all times – especially when working with multiple news delivery platforms. For help in making strong ethical decisions, please consult the Society’s Code of Ethics (www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp) or call SPJ’s Ethics Hotline at (317) 927-8000, ext. 208.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well- informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. For more information about SPJ, please visit www.spj.org.


-END-

ESI BONUS RECIPIENTS AND OTHER CITY BENIFICIARIES TURN OUT TO SUPPORT PEREZ AFTER LATEST ARREST

For those of you who are wondering who the people chanting "Eddie,Eddie" while standing on the chairs in the function room were today, the attached raw video below should answer a lot of questions. I would challenge anyone that takes the time to watch the video to try to identify 10 people out of the group that aren't either City employees, employees of non-profits or agencies that are funded by the City, political hacks loyal to Perez or poverty pimps. (sorry for that last term, but those of you who are,you know what I mean). The first question I have is whether this is an appropriate use of a City building to applaud elected officials for alleged criminal acts. Second question is whether we really need the size of city staff we have if we can afford this many employees chanting in the middle of the business day. Acting Chief of Staff Susan McMullen must have known that I would pose the question. As if it was a scene out of the movie "Rainman", (picture Dustin Hoffman shuffling around saying "10 minutes to Wapner, 10 minutes to Wapner") Mc Mullen passed me several times saying "lunchbreaks almost over, lunchbreaks almost over". The cast of characters chanting included Kelvin Roldan, Susan McMullen, Dave Medina, Cornell Lewis, Lew Brown, Luis Caban, Naomi McCoy, Carrie Saxon-Perry, Rosezina (rjo) Winch, Evelyn Mantilla, Sarah Barr, Noel McGregor, Sean Arena, Ted Carroll, Yasha Escalera, Anna Natal, Hernan LaFontaine (who has his own special segment below) and the list goes on, just watch the video below.

Don't forget my challenge, actually identify ten people in the video not beholding to the Mayor. Maybe we should organize our own rally supporting honest government outside the Courthouse at their arraignments on Tuesday. Anyone want to help organize it?

VIDEO CLIP PART 1




VIDEO CLIP PART 2

HARTFORD RECORDS LATEST HOMICIDE- #25 ?

Hartford's latest homicide victim was declared dead at 10:36Pm after being shot in the chest on Edgewood Street. I hate to say I've lost count, but I believe this victim is number 25 for the year.

SUPREME COURT GRAND JURY RULING RELEASED

The Connecticut Supreme Court today released its ruling regarding the sealing of the Perez Grand Jury report. In short, the Supreme Court concluded that the Grand Juror "improperly ordered that the interim report be sealed". Although the section of the final report referred to as part III, "the states motion to seal part III is affirmed". Could "part III" cover the next round of arrests? Is this where the "damning" information referred to by Judge Eveleigh, the Grand Juror, is contained?

Supreme Court Grand Jury Decision

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PEREZ RALLY, A CAMERA SHY HERNAN LaFONTAINE

I will eventually be posting the full video of the attendees at this afternoons rally held after Perez's latest arrest. But I wanted to post this video of former Superintendent of Schools and also former Council President Herna LaFontaine. After the "rally" I was in the function room panning the crowd to record who was actually in attendance. I noticed LaFontaine and former Hartford Courant Editor, now Hartford Board of Education $100,000 a year plus employee David Medina having a very close conversation. While filming that, a woman who others later told me was LaFontaine's wife, came over and with her hand tried to block the lens to prevent me from filming. When LaFontaine realized what was going on, he came over and attempted to grab the camera and break the monitor screen off. It makes you wonder what they have to hide, and does anyone in this administration understand the word transparency?

Note at 1:15, city employee Naomi McCoy as gate keeper to the inner sanctum of Perez's private office, peering through a crack in the door. Maybe her doorman skills helped earn her recent ESI bonus of $2679.82. Also at about 1:39, Perez lapdog Kelvin Roldan realized he was in the video and made a quick exit.

The video is a little rough, but let me know what you think. The LaFontaines said they would sue me if I put the video out, my number is here Hernan if you need to contact my attorney, just give me a call.

ARRESTS OF PEREZ, AIREY WILSON AND OTHERS TAKE PLACE

Photo courtesy of Angel Morales.


I will be posting the arrest warrant affidavits, video as they turned themselves in and more, but right now the computer is working overtime capturing video and scanning images, but it will all be here shortly. Also, if you ever wondered who would attend a Perez support rally, the video of that will be up shortly and you can see for yourself.

VERONICA AIREY-WILSON ARREST PHOTO

Airey-wilson 8 28 09 Affifidavit

CARLOS LOPEZ ARREST PHOTO

EDDIE PEREZ ARREST PHOTO AND ARREST WARRANT AFFIDAVIT

Perez 8 28 09 Affidavit

ABE GILES ARREST PHOTO

BASEBALL WATCHING LEGISLATOR

Assistant Majority Leader Henry Genga, Democrat, East Hartford (he's the one on the right)

CARD PLAYING LEGISLATOR #2

Jack Hennesey, Democrat, Bridgeport

WOW, YOU GUYS ARE QUICK- CARD PLAYING REP #1

thanks for identifying the first solitaire playing legislator as Democrat Barbara Lambert, from Milford

IS IT ANY WONDER THE BUDGET IS A MESS?

"WE STILL GET PAID THE SAME NO MATTER WHAT..."


The above image has been secured from the website "courant.com" through the process of aggregation.

It makes you wonder what goes on in the building with the gold dome. As budget talks are taking place as we face probably the worst deficit in Connecticut history, the two legislators in the picture are playing solitaire and the laptop in the lower right seems to have a baseball game playing on the screen.

Why does it look like the only one paying attention and doing something is the Republican, Minority Leader Larry Cafero? (standing on the aisle)

If anyone know's the identity of the two card playing public servants, feel free to post their names here in the comments.

OK, TIME TO VENT A LITTLE, SORRY

I regularly get phone calls from upset individuals regarding the way the City of Hartford is being run. But yesterday was a day with many more calls than usual. It started early in the day and after the Mayor's announcement that he was being arrested again, the calls were almost non-stop. The blog was extremely busy, with the best numbers ever with over 638 hits logged for the day (today isn't far behind with 312 as of 2:00pm) Many of the calls and e-mails were from people appreciative of the information posted, but the theme of the calls and e-mails are usually pretty constant,"keep doing what you are doing, keep speaking out". I am flattered by that, but I have to ask, where is everyone else. There are a small handful of people who regularly speak out besides myself, the Hyacinth Yennie's, the Ron Armstrong's, the Stan McCauley's, the Nick Carbone's and a few other faithful gadflies. We are usually at Council Meetings speaking publicly, although I'm sure we would all prefer to be somewhere else. I know there are plenty of people outraged by Mayor Perez's activity, plenty of outrage over the lapdog council, plenty of strong opinions regarding taxes, public safety, education, opportunities for youth in our city, the list is endless. But where is the public outcry, where is the outrage over these issues. Recently, when a Mayor (and others) were arrested on corruption charges in New Jersey, the reaction of the citizens was swift and decisive. Resignations were demanded and change was implemented. I can count on one hand the number of people I am aware of who have called for the resignation of Eddie Perez after his first arrest, and I am not holding out a lot of hope that I am going to have to start using the other hand to count after tomorrow's arrest. Where are the Union leaders whose members sacrificed, suffered layoffs, furlough days, increased insurance costs and wage freezes to do their share to reduce City spending as a budget disaster loomed. For what? So Matt Hennessey could get a $12,000 bonus? So that the highest paid city employee James Keaney of the Mayor's staff could get an $18,000 "ESI" bonus on top of his $180,000 a year salary? Where is the outrage from the City Council members who essentially have been trivialized and rendered irrelevant by their lack of action to keep Perez in check? Where is the outrage from residents and business people who call the police and receive a poor response due to a dwindling number of Police Officers and a lack of resources? Where is the outrage from homeowners who are being taxed out of their homes by increased taxes due to reckless spending by the Perez Administration? Where is the outrage from some of these homeowners who were behind on their taxes and made payment arrangements with the Tax Collector, only to find out their liens had been sold to XSPAND and they now face foreclosure? Where is the outrage from people who were forced out of their city jobs on bogus charges without any hearing or due process as Eddie Perez pleads for open minds until his "day in court"? Where is the outrage from people who are seeing facilities expand in their residential neighborhoods without any zoning hearings such as the CRT Headstart program on Douglas Street, even though the zone change was denied in 2007?

I could go on and on, and I understand that many people have seen first hand the vindictiveness of Perez and his administration and may be afraid to speak out. People have been forced out or terminated from city employment because of their being outspoken or because of their political connections not supportive of Perez. Just ask people like Clarence Corbin who was terminated. Ellen Nurse who was laid off. Carol O'Connell, wife of former Councilman John O'Connell, laid off as John laid in a hospital bed fighting for his life, just to name a few. Ask the business owners who have suddenly had health inspectors show up for inspections because a fundraiser was scheduled for a Perez opponent.

I guess what I am saying is that this is our city, and the time is now for us to take it back, rather than being sheep led to the slaughter. I don't intend to stop doing what I have been doing, but it sure would feel great to have a lot more people in line with us to speak out for the city we all love and see the potential in. We have a huge challenge in front of us after what this administration has done to Hartford over the last 7 years. ( I will give Perez 1 year of credit since he entered office with so many people expressing hope in his potential as our Mayor)

Please, speak your mind and stand up for Hartford. Be part of the solution rather than remain silent and be part of the problem. In the meantime, keep calling and I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

TAX COLLECTOR EVICTION UPDATE #1

If you follow my blog, you are familiar with the posting I made yesterday regarding Hartford's Tax Collector Marc Nelson facing eviction from the home he has rented in Canton for non-payment of rent. The Judicial Branch Docket sheet was posted showing the Court activity as of August 28, 2009.

Jeff Cohen from the Hartford Courant had posted a story yesterday on his blog, which can be viewed at http://courant.com/cityline, about Tax Collector Marc Nelson selling tax liens to his former employer, XSPAND. Today on Jeff's blog he had an explanation from Mr. Nelson as to why the eviction process was taking place and Nelson laid out a series of financial hardships that resulted in rent not being paid for one month, July 2009. In the meantime I had contacted Attorney Ronald Petosa, who is representing Mr. Nelson's landlord. Attorney Petosa painted a somewhat different picture. Although he would not go into detail, he stated that the money owed was "substantially" more than the one month Nelson was claiming and that no attempts were made to pay the money back. I offered Mr. Nelson the opportunity of an explanation, and he did call me back and stated that he "was not sure what the dollars are" and that "we are hoping we can get caught up". After speaking to Mr. Nelson I received a call from Charles Bevilacqua, the homeowner and Mr. Nelson's landlord. Mr. Bevilacqua related to me that Nelson's explanation was not accurate. Mr. Bevilacqua stated that Nelson has been late on his rent payments every month since signing a lease in late 2008 and that Nelson is currently four months behind and no payment arrangements have been made nor have any payments been received.

Stay tuned for more information. In the mean time though,just a suggestion, there are many affordable rents available in the City of Hartford, and the commute to City Hall is much easier.

PEREZ CORRUPTION ARREST, CHAPTER 2

Good things come to those who wait.

After weekend denials by the Mayor's Director of Misinformation (aka the "Mouthpiece")Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez today stepped to the podium at the office of his defense attorney and announced that he will once again be turning himself in to face additional corruption charges. The depth and details of the charges will most likely be public as of Wednesday when Perez turns himself in once again.Although the Grand Juror's Report has remained sealed up this point, many questions may be answered when the arrest warrant affidavits are made public. No one knows whether this will be the last arrest or just another in a series of arrests as the corruption probe continues. Be patient as we wait to see the eventual outcome. The video of the Perez announcement is below, and in the true spirit of "aggregation", feel free to share the video with your friends.

HARTFORD TAX COLLECTOR FACING EVICTION

Millions of dollars in tax liens have been sold to Hartford Tax Collector Marc Nelsons former employer XSPAND. Those liens could result in the eventual foreclosure and evictions of numerous Hartford homeowners who are behind on their taxes as XSPAND moves to recover their investment in the purchase of the liens at all costs.

As the homeowners face possible eviction, Nelson has the same opportunity to experience first hand the eviction process. In court filings dated August 18, 2009, Nelson's landlord for his home in Canton has begun the eviction process to throw Nelson out of the home for non-payment of rent.

JUDICIAL BRANCH DOCKET SHEET BELOW

Nelson Judicial Printout

ESI'S USED TO BEAT THE BUDGET

Last Wednesday when I received a call that Matt Hennessey was given a substantial bonus upon leaving as Mayor Perez's Chief of Staff, I have to say I was surprised. But then again, nothing this corrupt administration does surprises me anymore. The caller informed me it was done through a process known as "ESI", exceptional service increments. The caller also suggested I look at who has received ESI's and that the awarding of ESI's was an easy way to get around the budget process and staying within the parameters of someone's salary range. An ESI can be given for up to 10% of a persons salary. Although, like I said, Hennessey's bonus surprised me, it surprised me even more that someone such as Perez who is under the magnifying glasses of both Federal and state investigators, he seems to not care who is watching. Even more, where is the outrage from both residents and the city's union leaders. Do the unions not realize that the layoffs and givebacks thay gave are helping to finance Hennessey's ESI? Was a $60,000 plus Harvard vacation not enough of a bonus for the Mayor's faithful Chief of Dirty Tricks? A Harvard vacation that we now have only seen barely a years worth of the benefits from since Hennessey is leaving.

Although Hennessey's ESI surprised me, the other names on the list were even more surprising. THE LIST OF RECENT ESI RECIPIENTS IS ATTACHED BELOW .At the top of the list is the City Auditor, H. Patrick Campbell at $10,097.50. It soemwhat bothers me that the person entrusted with locating waste in City Goverment would take a "bonus" above and beyond his $100,000 plus a year salary. Maybe an audit of ESI use is needed to expose the waste for people that are already being paid to do a job. Next is James Keaney, from the Mayor's Office. Since Keaney was given an ESI of $18,172.98, this would indicate his base salary is currently $181,729.80, since the ESI maximum can be 10% of his salary. This is in addition to his luxury SUV Ford Explorer with the heated leather seats that is provided to him as his city vehicle to commute back and forth to his home in Cheshire. Another notable ESI is the $10,096.08 provided to Deputy Corporation Counsel Carl Nasto, most likely for his consistency in his "exceptional" legal opinions from him and his boss John Rose. It pays to always decide in the Mayor's favor I guess. The second largest ESI on the list was to Mark McGovern, who filled in as "acting" Director of Economic Develeopment. McGovern's ESI was $16,000, and although it may have been justified compensation for the extra work he did while "acting", it would seem to be above the 10% allowed , unless he is actually making $160,000 a year in salary.

And while the Police Union was attempting to work with Perez on givebacks,(which Perez rejected) at least two members of the Police Department were moving in the other direction. Deputy Chief Paul Hammick and Deputy Chief John Horvath each received ESI's of over $4200.00.

And a little quiz to see who's paying attention.As you look down the list of ESI's given out, see how many Democratic Town Committe members you can identify off the list.

PARTIAL "ESI" LISTING BELOW

ESI LIST 1

IS THE END NEAR FOR THE PEREZ REGIME ?

This morning my phone began ringing incessantly at 9:07am. The callers all asked me if I had heard the news yet. Apparently a local news station was running a story in their 9:00am newscast that Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was apparently going to announce his resignation as of September 5, 2009. This resignation would come less than 4 days before jury selection was scheduled to start in Perez's trial for his January 2009 arrest on corruption charges. Although it has been thought for several months that more arrests were coming, both for Perez and others,none have been made as of this date. The Office of the Chief States Attorney has suggested that more arrests were possible since the day of Perez's original arrest.

The sealing of the recent Grand Jury report has led to more questions than answers.It raises the question as to why city officials potentially identified with corrupt activities have more rights to privacy than we have as citizens of Hartford to know if our government is being abused and corrupted. Why is the fact that information contained in the report is so "damning", that if it were released those mentioned in the report might have their reputations damaged. Isn't that the whole idea of the investigation, to expose corruption and corrupt officials? But on the other side of the coin, is it possible that the Chief States Attorney and the Public Integrity Unit wasted 18 months on a witch hunt of the Perez Administration producing very limited results? I doubt it, they must have had cause for two six month extensions, but if the Grand Jurors report stays secret to protect the reputations of alleged corrupt officials we may never know. It seems like a rather strange move on the part of the States Attorney to call his own reputation into question to protect the reputations of individuals potentially involved in corrupt actions.

As many of you know, Hartford's official motto is "after the clouds, the sun". Well, if what sources are telling me tonight proves true, we may see the sun starting to burn through those clouds that have overshadowed our City for several years of the Perez Administration. Sources are telling me, that a deal is close to being announced that in order for Perez to avoid trial, he has agreed to resign in exchange for a possible jail sentence of up to 18 months. There have been so many twists and turns since Perez's original arrest, that I will believe it when I see the press release, but these are very credible sources. The date mentioned to me for the resignation is September 5, 2009,next Saturday, which seems to negate the possibility of a special election for Mayor through "normal means" on this November's ballot. September 3rd was the date that seems to be the deadline date for a special election, although there may be other means available under Connecticut state law to force an election.

When I say the sun may start to burn through the clouds, that is because we have a long way to go to reclaim our City, and just the resignation of Perez will not solve Hartford's problems. First off is the "Mayor-in-waiting", Cal Torres. I don't expect much change during his limited time in the hot seat formerly occupied by Perez.
Torres has been the chief bobble head of the Council and allowed much of Perez's corrupt activities to go unchecked. Real change will only come when a new Mayor is elected and reopens the shades of secrecy that have shrouded City Hall. A new Mayor that is able to read a dictionary and understand the word "transparency", a Mayor that appreciates honest city employees rather than silence and terminate those that are true public servants. A Mayor that understands that "public documents" are truly that, documents that are open to the public, and no resident or even any council member should have to be forced to subpoena public documents. A Mayor that works with every person in this city, regardless of their viewpoints on the new Mayor's policies, and understands that at some times dissenting opinion may be more valuable in forming policy than the support of the "yes men" surrounding them.

And finally, to reclaim our City, another piece of the puzzle missing now, but needed to make the system work, is a City Council with guts and backbone to stand up to the new mayor. We need a slate of council people willing to run their own campaigns, financed by themselves, not like most of those on Council now, elected through Perez's support and financing to be loyal lapdogs, both Democrats and Republican alike. We need Councilpeople to do the job they were elected to do. We don't need more council people tripping over themselves to get to the latest taping of "Face the State" posturing to become the next Mayor. We need council people who can look us in the eyes and answer the questions "what did you know?", "when did you know it?" and "what did you do to correct it?". I think on this council, with the exception of relatively newcomer Dr. Deutsch, the majority of council members could be described as "unindicted co-conspirators". Through their lack of attention and lack of action as Perez ran out of control, they allowed much of the damage to go unchecked. And finally, whoever the new Mayor is, a full clean sweep of City Hall and every department needs to take place to remove anyone that doesn't understand that they work for the residents of the City of Hartford and that the only reason they have jobs are because of the residents and businesspeople of the City. They don't have $80,000 plus a year jobs because they were good at putting up lawn signs during Perez's campaigns. They don't have city jobs because they were good at threatening neighborhood groups and neighborhood leaders and "squashing them like bugs" when they failed to support Perez. They don't have city jobs because they were good at supporting corrupt activities and falsifying bidding documents. Anyone in city employ needs to be reminded that when they receive a paycheck from the City, they are receiving that check because we expect them to strive everyday to make Hartford, its local government, its people and our city overall the best possible city we can be and strive to once again be a leader in the region and the state. A city free of corruption, free of petty politics and free of the activities that have pushed us backwards under Eddie Perez.

It sounds like an impossible task, but I have no doubt that with the proper new generation of leadership we can definitely succeed. Do we need to ask those leaders to step forward or they already in our midst? I think they are already out there, and not at 550 Main Street.