Hartford Police sources are confirming for me that one of their own officers was involved in an off duty domestic incident last night in Enfield. The incident involved Officer Chris White and apparently his ex-wife at their home in Enfield. Sources are telling me that White also brandished his HPD service weapon and assaulted another male individual in the home at the time, "pistol whipping" the male with the weapon.
Enfield Police have also confirmed White's arrest on numerous charges, including Possession of a firearm under the influence,2 counts of Reckless endangerment, 2 counts of breach of peace, 2 counts of Assault 3rd, and 2 counts of Threatening.
This is apparently not the first time Officer White has been arrested on anger related issues. In a press release issued in December 2004, it states that White was arrested by the Connecticut State Police after a road rage incident. Read the full press release by clicking here here
Police officers are human also, but this is not a proud moment for the good work the Hartford Police Department is doing.
As I have stated before, to be upfront, I am the campaign manager for Angel Morales who is running against Kelvin Roldan for the 4th District legislative seat.
Notice at the end of the video, the lone public official cutting the ribbon. That is Hartford's own Senator John Fonfara.
Among the many out of state donors contributing to Fonfara's campaign was the Director of Government Affairs for Kimberly-Clark, who apparently lives in Wisconsin.
Kimberly-Clark's facility was helped by a $19 million grant from the State of Connecticut. I'll let you connect the dots and make your own call.
Yes, I am Angel Morales campaign manager, but I think this is worthy of posting here.
Pursuant to our conversation of Tuesday, July 27th. I am sending you this message to confirm CHDC`s unanimous endorsement of Mr. Angel Morales` candidacy to the Fourth State Representative District in Hartford. On Saturday, July 10th. the Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus held interviews with candidates campaigning for various offices with the general assembly. Mr. Angel Morales of Hartford was one of these candidates. The following Tuesday, July 13th., CHDC met, deliberated, and unanimously endorsed Mr. Angel Morales to be the next state representative from the Fourth District. Based on the interview and information provided by the Hartford members of the CHDC, it was decided that Mr. Morales is an excellent and proven community leader and will make a fine legislator. We are proud to formally endorse Angel Morales and look forward to working with him both in his campaign and once he becomes the next Fourth District State Representative.
Tomas Reyes Jr. Chair, Connecticut Hispanic Democratic Caucus
Congratulations Angel. This endorsement speaks highly of Angel's capabilities over the incumbent legislator Angel intends to replace.
Just a quick thought. When was the last time you can recall a Hartford Mayor proudly standing with the latest graduates from the Hartford Police Academy? I can't recall anytime in the last few years.
Mayor Segarra, Councilman Torres, Chief Roberts and members of his command staff with the latest 32 Hartford police officers hitting the streets after their graduation July 2, 2010.
Congratulations to the latest to join the ranks of Hartford's finest. Say hello if you see them on the streets (they will be the nervous looking officers actually wearing their hats)
As much as I like uncovering things, it is also important to give credit when something is done right. If you read the earlier post regarding John Fonfara's fundraising efforts, my opinion is that it shows the flaws in the Citizen's Election Program. Fonfara received a large portion of his donations from energy company employees, companies that fall under the purview of his Energy and Technology Committee which he co-chairs in the legislature.
Many of those donations came from outside his district and most were even from outside the State of Connecticut. Is it legal? The answer is yes. Is it acceptable to me? No.
And okay, here's the part to make sure you are sitting down for. One of the candidates who did it right was rJo Winch. Yes, you read that right. She's not the only one, but in looking at her CEP (Citizen's Election Program) reports, almost all of her money came from Hartford, $5, $10, and $20 donations.
Winch did have some larger donations, up to $100.00 per person is allowed, but the few hundred contributions , for the most part, were on the smaller side.
Since the program was designed by politicians, it is no wonder that loopholes were built into it. Fonfara seems to skirt the actual intent of the program while Winch, keep sitting down, seems to embrace it. The intent of the program was to gauge a candidates support in the community and level the playing field for all candidates.
To avoid only candidates with money or big fundraising abilities to be able to wage a campaign, the program was established to allow anyone to run and wage a decent campaign. If you can meet the thresh hold by raising the $5 and $10 dollar donations, the State will kick in the rest to give those candidates a fair shot.
Winch (and others) did that and actually proved their support in their own neighborhoods. Unlike Fonfara , who proved that he has support in Wisconsin, Texas, Florida, Massachusetts and everywhere else, except in his own district.
The CEP program is controversial and needs tweaking, but the way Winch worked it is the way I would think it was intended. The way Fonfara worked it is a joke.
Earlier this week I posted regarding the large amount of money solicited for Senator John Fonfara's campaign from energy company executives and employees of energy companies. Click here to read the earlier post
One of the contributors seemed to stand out, contribution #369. It was from a Fred Shaffer of 2412 Marathon Avenue in Neanah, Wisconsin. Shaffer is listed as the Senior Director of Government Affairs for Kimberly-Clark. I wondered why a toilet paper and tissue manufacturer was donating to Senator Fonfara's campaign? (I'll leave the jokes to you commenter's)
Kimberly-Clark didn't seem to be in line with the rest of Fonfara's donors aligned with energy companies and Fonfara's chairmanship of the legislatures Energy and Technology Committee.
While I was watching Channel 3's 5:30pm news tonight, it all became clear. Heather Hedgedus reported on the ribbon cutting for Kimberly-Clark's new power plant for their facility in Milford, CT. The power plant was partially funded by a $19 million dollar grant from the State of Connecticut. And the most interesting part was the actual ribbon cutting.
Guess who was pictured with the big ceremonial scissors in his hands slicing through the yellow ribbon. Congratulations if you guessed correctly, Hartford's own Senator John Fonfara.
Alternative energy is important, but then again so is integrity and the public's perception of our politicians. Was a $100.00 contribution that important to Fonfara's campaign, or would it have sent a better message if he politely said "thanks, but no thanks".
I guess only the voters can decide if integrity and ethics matter.
***NOTE- as soon as the link is posted at WFSB.com I'll post it here so you can view the story for yourself.
Helen Ubinas posted on her blog this evening about Hartford's efforts to clean up our parks. To read her posting click here
It reminded me of the first time Helen and I met. It was several years ago and it was in regards to a court case regarding illegal dumping by a West Hartford repair shop owner who chose Wellington Street to dump his junk parts. Long story short, the HPD Officer who investigated the complaint, Officer Allen, now Lieutenant Allen, did a great job, followed through and the owner was arrested and the tow-truck he used to dump his junk was seized as part of the crime.
Helen and I took a tour of Hartford and I showed her some of the notorious dumping areas across the city. Wellington Street, Keney Park many side streets with stripped cars sitting on blocks or resting on the ground. It was a problem, litter and garbage on many streets.
The problem was compounded by a Prosecutor in the Hartford Court who was upset that "his" courtroom was being used on a Friday afternoon for such nonsense as illegal dumping in Hartford. His comment that he made sure we heard was "who cares about dumping in Hartford, Hartford is a dump".
Unfortunately I think that this is the mindset of many people, living in Hartford who see Hartford's parks and streets as one big trashcan. I think that is a society thing that needs to be changed, but the condition of Hartford's parks is a shared embarrassment between those who trash them and those who are entrusted to maintain them.
I think two major problems exist. Over the years, Public Works has been the first place to look for budget cuts and has been decimated from the bottom up, while it seems to continue to grow at the top. Simply put, too many Chief's and not enough Indians.
It might help if some of the "chief's" or Director's and Deputy Directors as we prefer to call them, actually lived in Hartford. Maybe if they had to worry about their family having a picnic under the dead oak tree in Colt's Park with branches falling off, or sitting by the overflowing trash containers in Sigourney Park or stepping over the used syringes and broken bottles in South Green Park, maybe things would change.
The problem is the laborers that actually do the work are gone. But I was amazed by the "punch list" of items in Helen's column to be completed during "Parks Week".
Monday, August 23rd: Keney Park (Woodland Street entrance): • Cut and remove fallen trees • Clean and remove leaves along hiking roads and trails • Remove old fence at tennis courts, clean area • Repair broken benches • Repair broken basketball rims • Clean, patch and paint handball courts • Remove old baseball backstop
Tuesday, August 24th: Colt Park • Cut, remove and prune trees • Repair park benches • clean area under old stage/pavilion • Clean and remove boards at old ice rink • Repair Massek parking lot • Repair basketball courts
Wednesday, August 25th: Goodwin Park • Remove branches and wood along Maple Avenue • Repair fit trail and equipment • Repair basketball courts • Trim and cut trees on Maple Avenue
Thursday, August 26th: Bushnell Park • Remove perimeter shrubs near Pump House • Repair park benches • Prune Pump House shrubs • Refurbish mulch beds where needed • Trim and prune trees • Remove old fencing around playground area
Friday, August 27th: Keney Park (Barbour Street entrance) • Cut up and remove fallen trees • Remove old fence and nets at northern tennis courts • Replace or repair rims and nets at basketball courts • Paint basketball courts
Is this what we are paying supervisors in DPW for. I would hope for someone making over a hundred grand a year in salary, these would be things that would be targeted everyday. Do we really need a special week to "remove branches and wood along Maple Avenue"? Or "repair park benches" in Colt's Park. Wouldn't that be a perfect project for the winter when there is no snow to be plowed? We know they aren't all tied up repairing potholes, that's for sure.
It seems we could do with a few less "Deputy Directors" and maybe a few more laborers to actually get the work done. It almost seems like the higher ups at DPW drive around Hartford all agreeing "yup, that looks bad, yup, that tree is definitely dead, yup, that trash is overflowing, but come on, lets go, I need to get to the bank and cash my paycheck".
Don't get me wrong, it's good to see the list and know that some of the eyesores are being addressed, but shouldn't it be an everyday routine, not just a week long media event?
Ok, and now the lightning rod. I said there were two major problems, first being a top heavy, bloated salary DPW management team. The second is the DPW unions. Yes, I said that.
I recently asked someone at the Community Court why they weren't doing community service work in Hartford's parks? I figured picking up trash, maybe pulling weeds, the typical type of work the Community Court does. The answer was short and sweet...Unions. They explained that they had tried and that the DPW laborers union had complained.
I fully understand the union position if the City was eliminating jobs figuring they could get volunteers to replace the employees. The fact of the matter is that the DPW doesn't even come close to meeting the needs it has with the current number of workers and no one would be laid off by people doing Community service in the parks. It would only enhance the need for improving the image of Hartford which most likely would in turn potentially increase revenue to the City and eventually lead to re-hiring laid off DPW employees. I know, in a perfect world, but we need to start somewhere.
The sad part though is that many of the laid off DPW workers and the current DPW laborers are actually the same people using Hartford's parks. It's not the Director and Deputy Directors who leave Hartford and its horrendous, yet potentially beautiful parks, to head to their homes in East Haddam, Wethersfield or New Britain or wherever people making six figure salaries head to at night.
I commend the effort and making it an issue for one week, but it should be an every day effort.
I guess that is what some are thinking because I haven't sunk my teeth into the Segarra Administration as I had with the previous Perez Administration. So far my posts have been relatively positive regarding Mayor Segarra's first few weeks in office.
A couple of comments today somewhat aggravated me suggesting I was giving Mayor Segarra a free pass and that a transfer of Sixto Lazu from the Mayor's Office to a permanent civil service position was ripe with cronyism.But if nothing else, that's one of the things I like about the blog and the comments is that I can hear the other side of issues and respond. Many bloggers don't allow comments, especially anonymous comments, but if I can't defend my position or if I realize I am wrong, I'll say that.
Here's what "Don" thought in his comment:
"The interviews and the final decision seem to have been made without any influence from the Mayor."
Yeah, whatever.
We've been told about new hirings for the Police, Fire and even Parks. I don't recall seeing a posting for a position at the Town Clerks office.
How many people did the town clerk interview? Who were the final candidates? Are there more openings? What is his starting salary?
The Mayor has already stated that he will not be here more than the 18 months remaining in the term. This smells of someone taking care of an ally.
Also, is this person related to Edward Lazu?
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
July 28, 2010 1:36 PM
I posted my response also in the comments section, but I need more space to vent, I mean explain.
I'll be the first to say that if I was a first time reader of the blog, I'd think that the postings were overly favorable of Mayor Segarra since he took over. I like to think that my blog is guiding the actions of the new Mayor. I would hope that his first order of business each morning is to read my blog and see what suggestions I have for him and if I approved of his work for the previous day. I'd like to think that.
Unfortunately I know that isn't true. If it were, Sarah Barr would be on the unemployment line, followed by Lillian Ruiz, Erick Jackson, Lydia Rosario and a few others. Chief Roberts would have a new contract, Dan Nolan would be back to work and Matt Secore would once again be walking a beat after signing an agreement to be satisfied with getting his job back less the 90 day suspension ordered by the Labor Board.
With that being said, most people would have to admit that our former Mayor, now convicted felon, Eddie A. Perez lowered the performance bar so low that anything Mayor Segarra does will make him look good. But I think that in the first couple weeks he has taken the challenge of inheriting a corrupt, and what many considered a racketeering operation, and attempting to rebuild and restore confidence in Hartford.
For some reason this blog has developed a reputation as being fair and honest. I have had people call me and apologize because they just assumed I would be all one sided and then they read the blog and realized I actually go out of my way to try to be fair.
I would hope that those that see me as a "mouthpiece" for Mayor Segarra, and even Mayor Segarra if he actually reads the blog, will realize that. Right now I think Mayor Segarra is in the honeymoon period from a shotgun wedding. Does he need to remove more people from City Hall that are holdovers from a corrupt administration? Absolutely. Am I happy with the speed that he has moved so far? No, definitely not, but I'm not the Mayor.
Does that mean a month or two from now that I will still be so supportive of Mayor Segarra if Perez kool-aid drinkers are still lingering in City Hall. Probably not, I think that every day people like Sarah Barr (sorry Sarah but you know the respect level for you is zero)are still wandering around City Hall undermines any rebuilding of Hartford's image.
Most people never trusted Sarah Barr when she was spouting the "Gospel of Perez" and to see her anywhere near Mayor Segarra she spreads her stain onto the Segarra Administration. I know the Mayor can not remove everyone immediately, it would be a very lonely place if all of the Perez cronies and puppets were gone, all those empty desks. I also think that the Mayor realizes that everyday some of the Perez holdouts are allowed into City Hall the efforts to undermine his turnaround continue.
I do think it is important that we give Segarra some leeway for a short time to see what he does. We tolerated a Mayor that we knew was corrupt and potentially a criminal for several years. Am I willing to tone it down for a couple months to see what Mayor Segarra does? Absolutely, so far the indications are that he is moving in the right direction.
Back to Lazu now. As with Eddie Perez, it got to the point that even if he did something that could be seen as positive for Hartford, he was suspect because of his reputation. He could have walked across the Connecticut River and people would have thought there was fraud involved. Unfortunately that cloud hasn't completely lifted and the suspicions continue.
Look at the facts though. Sixto Lazu has been loyal and made Mayor Segarra look good as a Councilperson through his organization skills and the things he did everyday behind the scenes to keep Councilman Segarra on top of things. In transitioning to the Mayor's Office, Sixto Lazu was the one person Mayor Segarra was very familiar with and who Segarra could count on to "have his back". Segarra was entering a den full of wolves loyal to a corrupt Mayor, who would eat the new Mayor alive if they could.
Does it make sense to anyone that Segarra would pull strings to get a job outside of his office for the one person he knew was loyal? Maybe 15 months from now as he prepared to leave office to make way for a newly elected Mayor, but not now as he needs people around him who have his back.
And it is not that I "focus" on Torres or Winch. If I should hear of the Mayor taking any trips such as the jaunt to San Antonio that Councilwoman Winch took and billed to a city that is one step away from bankruptcy, I'll make sure to post it. In case yo don't remember, it's the trip that she "forgot" how much it cost until I posted all the vouchers here. Somehow I doubt Mayor Segarra will repeat her stunts.
And read back a week or two about Hector Robles. I took a lot of heat on that because Hector is actually a friend of mine, with comments like "with friends like you who needs enemies". But in the end it is the truth and that will most likely become quite evident in the not too distant future. So not even friends skate, and a new Mayor won't either. But keep the comments coming.
Sixto Lazu, the long serving Administrative Assistant to Mayor Segarra during his Council tenure will be leaving the Mayor's Staff. Sixto followed Mayor Segarra from the Council offices to the Mayor's Office recently when Mayor Segarra assumed the role of Mayor.
Lazu won't be leaving the employment of the City of Hartford though.
Both in the Council positions and those in the Mayor's Office, the employees serve at the will of the elected official that appoints them. If a Councilperson leaves office or decides not to run again, their assistants in most cases are out of a job. According to Lazu, he began looking for a more permanent and secure position with the City several months ago.
After several interviews, Lazu was accepted for a position in the office of City Clerk John Bazzano. The City Clerk's office also serves as the record keeper and the secretary for Council records and meetings. Lazu's knowledge of City Council operations should prove helpful in the Clerk's office.
And before the rumours start, all indications are that this was an amicable change and no pressure was put on Lazu to leave. The interviews and the final decision seem to have been made without any influence from the Mayor. Sixto Lazu has been an asset to the Council during his time there and has always been very helpful and responsive whenever I have had the opportunity to deal with him.
Congratulations Sixto and best wishes on your continued service to the people of Hartford.
At the July meeting of the Maple Avenue NRZ, Senator John Fonfara, co-chair of the Legislature's Energy Committee, gave a presentation about the Energy Bill he introduced in the last session. He spoke about the wonderful benefits of the bill and made it a point to tell everyone how much they would save on their energy bills under his legislation. He went on and on, accompanied by his co-chair on the Energy Committee, Representative Nardello.
I would imagine many in the room were already counting their savings under the "Fonfara Plan". Many of the people in the room are senior citizens living on a fixed income or young people trying to raise a family where every penny counts.
The only problem with Fonfara's bill is that it failed. It was vetoed by Governor Rell and Fonfara didn't have the clout to force an override of the veto with his fellow legislators. As it stands now, Fonfara's plan will not see the light of day and will not save anyone one single penny.
When it came time for questions, I asked Fonfara why he would waste the time talking about all the wonderful benefits of a bill that failed and we would never see any effect from it. We went back and forth a bit and when I stated that there was no incentive for legislators to pass energy legislation because lobbyists and energy company executives funded their campaigns.
Fonfara quickly fired back that what I was saying was untrue and lobbyists couldn't donate to his campaign. I'll admit when I'm wrong, and due to changes in campaign laws, lobbyists can't donate to campaigns. That may change again if a recent Appeals Court ruling stands, but right now they can't donate.
Fonfara didn't say anything about energy company executives funding his campaigns, and now I see why. After reviewing his donations received from by his campaign it appears that a large portion are energy company executives. Is it any wonder why legislation to curb the utilities and energy providers goes nowhere?
And just to give Senator Fonfara the benefit of the doubt, I didn't include donors in the list below that actually live in his district. If you would like to see his complete list of donors, the entire report is below.
HERE IS THE LIST OF ENERGY AND UTILITY EXECUTIVES DONATING TO FONFARA 2010:
Juan Rodriguez, VP,Public Power , $100.00 William Bucksee,VP,Public Power, 50.00 Robert Zappone,Supplier, Starion Energy , 100.00 Robert Wesson, Owner, Wesson Energy Inc., 100.00 Donald Mitchell, Petroleum Distributor, N.E.Mitchell Inc., 100.00 Alexanger Martinez, Manager, Starion Energy, 50.00 Rachel Schmidt , Admin Asst, Starion Energy, 20.00 Ruzdhi Dauti, President, Starion Energy, 100.00 Steven Haigh , IT Energy Consultant, 100.00 Kevin Zupkis , Executive, AT&T , 100.00 Ben Kaplan , CFO , Solar US Inc., 100.00 Raymond Necci , Consultant , 100.00 Erik Bartone , Owner, DBS Energy Inc., 100.00 Tina Bartone , DBS Energy Inc., 100.00 Brian Forshaw , Dir of Power, CMEEC, 100.00 Tracy Gionfriddo, Envir.Spec., Northeast Utilities , 30.00 Robert Smith , Director , Northeast Utilities, 100.00 Melissa Lauderdale, Gov Affairs, Integrys Energy Svcs, 100.00 Peter Podurgiel, Competitive Power Ventures , 100.00 Douglas Egan, Developer, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 Julie Egan, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 Robert Burke , Atty. , Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 Gary Lambert, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 Sherman Knight, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 David Magil, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 John Foster, Competitive Power Ventures , 100.00 Paul Buckovich, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 Sean Finnerty , Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00 Joseph Wood , State of CT, DPUC , 100.00 Trevor Herbst, VP, Public Power Utility , 20.00 Sharon Bloomer, Apple Oil Co , 75.00 Juan Gantomasso , Analyst, United Illuminating , 100.00 Bonnie Heckert , Tech Supp., United Illuminating , 100.00 Fred Shaffer , Dir.Gvt.Rel.,Kimberly-Clark, Wisconsin , 100.00 Fitor Mamudi , Supplier, Starion Energy, 100.00 Deborah-Anne Verbil, Attorney , AT&T , 100.00 Jason Calabrese , Public Power,LLC , 50.00 Michael Cassella , Director , CT Muni. Elec.Energy Corp , 100.00
***NOTE: Raymond P. Necci, listed above as a "Consultant" is the former president and chief operating officer of The. Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), Connecticut's largest electric utility.
The maximum donation allowed is $100.00 per individual,
One of the big complaints against Senator Fonfara is his lack of attention to his constituents. People routinely complain that he doesn't return phone calls. Do you think he returns calls when Competitive Power Ventures is on the line?
Last week WNPR's Jeff Cohen posted the back and forth letters of John Rose and Mayor Segarra when Rose refused to resign (the letters are below). Mayor Segarra requested letters of resignation from all department heads after he was sworn in as mayor. In the typical John Rose style, he dug his heels in and refused to resign for Mayor Segarra , who he described as the "interim" Mayor.
Rose always seemed to have an issue with his "fantasyland" interpretation of Hartford's Charter and also State and Federal laws. The letters can be read below, but as you can see from the final sentence in the last letter, Mayor Segarra was able to finally accomplish as Mayor what he couldn't do as a Council Person.
On July 8, 2010, Mayor Segarra informed Rosie that as of July 9, 2010 his "service as Corporation Counsel is terminated". Long overdue, but finally common sense prevailed and Rose was done. Yes, long overdue, but John Rose has been terminated
Now that Rose is gone, it is time for someone to start culling the files from the (less than)Rosie John Rose years. A couple of immediate cases come to mind.
First off would be any case with the three magic letters of FOI associated with them. At the very least, tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on nonsense FOI appeals and hearings. Not just FOI requests I had made, but numerous others including the Hartford Courant and a group consisting of writers for a prisoners newsletter. In that case thousands of dollars have been spent to fight a fee for copies of under $30.00. The waiver of the fee appears legitimate because the complainants could prove "indigence", as allowed under the FOI laws.
Another case that I have written quite a bit about is the Dan Nolan termination. Any lawyer would have, or should have, advised their client that this was a loser of a termination. An Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, an exemplary member of the Hartford Fire Department who had been firefighter of the year in the past, all of a sudden terminated. And the terrible conduct he participated in? He encouraged fire department recruits to participate in charity events. He disciplined recruits as a total group to encourage teamwork.How awful!
What may prove more even more interesting though is potential testimony on information that has come to light in the last couple months. I had received information regarding a situation that was reported several years ago in the Hartford Courant about the "burnmaster". It had been reported that Teale and two other officers working at the Hartford Training Academy had received payments from neighboring towns for using Hartford's fire academy facilities.
Teale and the two others pocketed the money paid to them, rather than pass it through to the City of Hartford. When the Courant's article came to light, apparently the Teale Trio were forced to repay the City about $3,000. Teale paid the re-imbursement for all three members of the Teale trio back to the City. Apparently during that period, the City was adding laser eye surgery as a benefit for police and firefighters. By this time, Teale was acting Chief of the Department and for some reason he met with Dr. Fichman of the Fichman Eye Center. During that meeting, Dr. Fichman handed Chief Teale a check for the amount he had paid to the City and Teale accepted the check.
I have attempted to contact both Teale and Dr. Fichman to get their version of this payoff, but neither would comment. Teale angrily stormed away when I asked him for his version, and Dr. Fichman's son returned my call with a "no comment". Repeated calls to the senior Fichman were never returned.
I would hope that a union attorney representing Nolan would raise the question of this payoff during a Labor Board hearing. It seems rather ironic that Chief Teale would terminate Nolan for having recruits get involved in charity events when he was in fact taking potential payoffs for himself.
The only issue here is that the new Corporation Counsel, Sandra Kee-Borges, was also the City Manager at the time this scandal first surfaced and was responsible for disciplining Teale at the time. I would hope she can look at the facts objectively and realize that this is a loser of a case and if it eventually ends in front of a jury, it won't look favorable for the City.
I did speak to a source in the Connecticut States Attorney's Office and explained the facts as I knew them. They informed me that for Teale, or any public official to accept a check made out to them under such circumstances would be illegal. Fortunately for Teale, they said the statute of limitations would have expired by now. I'm sure there will be some "silver tongue" explanation from Teale, but is he willing to offer proof ?
Settle with Nolan now and avoid paying any larger settlement than we already are going to have to pay.
Another interesting case currently under appeal was the termination of a Tax Office employee branded a thief by her bosses in the Finance Department. The only problem was that the Labor Board didn't see any evidence of her being a thief, the City and her boss Lydia Rosario couldn't provide any evidence of her being a thief, and the Board of Mediation and Arbitration ordered the employee, Vilma Rivera-Saez reinstated to her position. The City under the direction of Rosie's legal masters has refused and is appealing the order.
One of the big problems was the fact of documented thefts from the Tax Office, but the evidence didn't point to Rivera-Saez, who the City labeled a "thief" according to the arbitration award. Testimony actually pointed to another individual who apparently is related to Deputy Finance Director through marriage to Rosario's niece, who also by coincidence works in the Finance Department.
Another stinker of a case headed to , I predict, a big payout if the City continues to appeal.
And finally, to end this for today is the pending appeal of another Labor Board decision regarding Hartford Police Officer Matthew Secore. Secore was terminated after he struck the nephew of former Mayor Perez after Perez's nephew brutally attacked Secore's brother.
The Labor Board determined that termination was too severe a punishment and ruled that Secore should be re-instated less a 90 day suspension. The City has refused to abide by the decision and the case is winding its way through the courts. Several attorneys I have spoke with tell me that the appeal has little or no chance of winning and Secore will most likely prevail in the end. The short version is that these decisions are very difficult to overturn unless the City can prove wrongdoing on the part of a hearing officer. There have been no claims of any wrongdoing.
It also appears that the punishment served to Secore doesn't fit the past practice of the degrees of punsihment. As an example, Secore was honest from the start and didn't try to deny the incident. On the other hand, an Officer who was involved in an incident where she shot an individual with a less than lethal shot-gun blast and initially lied to investigators, has since been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. This as well as other incidents appear to have figured into the Labor Board's decision.
This is another one to settle and get Officer Secore back to work as the Labor Board ordered.
In a cash strapped City we can hardly afford to pursue cases and appeals that are clear losers and have already cost the taxpayers of Hartford enough just in legal fees, never mind the potential jury awards down the road.
Labeling an employee a thief without documentation,as the Deputy Director of Finance Lydia Rosario allegedly did most likely will not sit well with a jury. Signing a letter of termination to a respected veteran, Deputy Chief Dan Nolan with one hand while having the other out to accept a check from Dr. Fichman I'm sure will not impress a jury. And the photos of Matthew Secore's brother Slade Secore after his severe beating by Reuben Perez will most likely not sit very well with a jury either.
Common sense should prevail and a sense of justice should prevail in the new Office of the Corporation Counsel.
I might be reading too much into this, but it seems to me that we have seen a much more active Hartford Police Department since the end of the Perez Administration. Just this week alone raids of small neighborhoods stores resulted in the closing of a couple stores as well as arrests of some operators.
The part that was even stranger is that the media was actually invited along to show the good work that HPD is doing. What a difference a few weeks makes.
It used to be like pulling teeth to get a press release or even photographs of weapons and drugs seized. Now today on the heels of yesterdays raids, a press release and photographs of drugs and weapons seized was sent out from HPD. The press release is below.
It may just be a coincidence, but hopefully Chief Roberts and the men and women of the Hartford Police Department will be allowed, and encouraged, to do what needs to be done.
HARTFORD POLICE NEWS For Immediate Release: July 23, 2010
(Hartford) - On July 22, 2010, detectives from the Hartford Police Department’s Intelligence Division executed search and seizure warrants at 58 Annawan Street and 6 Regent Street. As a result of the execution of the warrants, detectives made one arrest and seized over 10 pounds of marijuana, PCP, $14,945 dollars in US currency, two (2) long guns, two (2) revolvers, four (4) pistols and numerous rounds of ammunition.
The arrested party , a previously convicted felon, was identified as Jorge Oquendo (03/20/58) of 58 Annawan Street. He was charged with eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Firearm, three counts of Theft of a Firearm, two counts of Possessing a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Operating a Drug Factory, Possession of a Restricted Substance and Possession of a Controlled Substance within 1500 feet of a School. Some of the evidence seized is pictured below.
This might easily be the most difficult post I have written on this blog. I know for sure it is the one that I have lost the most sleep over and spent the most time considering the ramifications, not for me but for the person involved.
Hector Robles is someone I consider a friend, someone I have respected for his actions, his work in the community, but more importantly his honesty and candor with me in many of our private conversations. But like us all, Hector is a human being and human beings make mistakes. How they deal with those mistakes is a measure of themselves and their integrity.
Leadership can be shown , even in the worst situations, by someone who puts the interests of his constituents first, rather than selfish personal reasons. That is exactly the situation facing Hector at this time.
As I said in the beginning, this posting raised several difficult issues. First off, I had no problem raising issues regarding Eddie Perez, John Rose and others. They were easy people to dislike. Hector on the other hand is a different story. He's a likable type guy, always accessible and responsive and overall a decent guy.
With that being said, I would say I expect more out of someone I consider a friend. I had originally heard about an ongoing IAD investigation into certain activities of Hector and his position with the Hartford Police Department. The allegations were troubling to me, and I tried to verify their accuracy. The journalistic standard a couple of my mentors have instilled in me is to double verify everything. Verify the facts through two independent sources who most likely aren't hearing the facts from each other.
The first source related most of the facts to me and advised me that Hector was well aware of the investigation, the facts uncovered and the direction the IAD was taking. The second source related pretty much identical facts and circumstances. But these were allegations that would definitely not only affect Hector's professional career but also his political career.
Not because he is a friend, but because I felt it was the right thing to do I went further. I verified the IAD information with a 3rd and 4th source, both of them also gave me information verifying the facts and all were about the same.
I don't intend to layout all of the information here, but eventually the entire report will have to be released as a public document and will be available here when that happens. In the meantime, it is not a good situation for Hector, HPD or the image of the City of Hartford.
One of the troubling parts of this is the information being fed to the media. Both the HPD spokesperson and Robles are saying that this is an "administrative investigation". This is a matter of more smoke and mirrors. Every IAD investigation could be classified as administrative in nature to begin with. In many cases as the investigation proceeds, information is developed that eventually leads to the uncovering of criminal activity. From what my sources are telling me, that is the case here.
We have had enough of the "smoke and mirrors" defense from Perez's case. We see how that has worked out for him, claiming it was merely a lapse of judgement, right up until the time that a jury convicted him of five felonies. Perez was a huge embarrassment and a media black eye for the city.
Hector has the opportunity to step up, be honest and truthful and do the right thing, unlike his political mentor Perez.It is a very difficult position, but doing the right thing isn't always easy. Admitting you are wrong and are willing to deal with the consequences may be difficult. Putting the city under another cloud of corruption after we are just beginning to come out of the cloud created by the Perez years is not only wrong, it is selfish and will damage everyone in the end as the truth will eventually come out.
Another issue with the investigation is the potential consequences. One high ranking source has said the "ball is in Hector's court". Apparently he has been given the opportunity to resign. That in and of itself is fine if the situation warrants a resignation. If that is being traded for a promise of no prosecution that would be wrong and further undermine the credibility of the Hartford Police Department. If criminal activity is found and documented, and probable cause is established, a decision needs to be made by the States Attorney as to whether an arrest is warranted, not Hartford PD.
Even in a bad situation someone doing the right thing for the City rather than himself will still come out ahead in the end. It might take a lot to regain the public's trust, but being honest up front is a good start.
Where do I begin on this one? Many people have been concerned for me and my personal safety over the last couple years. I used to always laugh their concerns off by saying ”when your time is up, your time is up”.
Gladly, my time isn’t up.
It might be a long story, but if I can get anyone else to avoid a couple of stupid mistakes I made, it’s worth it.
Outside the Library I spoke with Stan McCauley for a minute and he asked me several times if I was alright. I assured him I was and asked why? He must have seen something because he said I wasn’t myself and I was acting differently. He offered to drive me home and I said I was fine.
Warning signs , I now know, of an impending stroke. It gets better, or worse, depending how you look at it.
I decided I knew myself better and I could drive myself home. I started to head home and decided to call a friend of mine, Len Besthoff. He was out having ice cream with his wife and daughters and answered his new i-phone , I was all set to tell him the news of the debate and how things turned out. I knew what I wanted to say, but the words just wouldn’t come out. As I moved my mouth to talk, all that game out were unidentifiable sounds.
As hard as I tried to from words, nothing made sense. At that time, I don’t know why, I figured hanging up and calling him again would clear up the problem. He answered the second call and the jumbled words poured out again as I tried to speak. I heard his wife Lindsey say “Len, I think he’s having a stroke”. Not me, it couldn’t be , that happens to old people.
Len realized I couldn’t answer him, so he just told me “call 911, you need to get to the hospital”. He had to be wrong, I was actually driving fine, I just couldn’t speak. I’m tough, I’ll go home, take a couple Advil. Besides, people having strokes go limp and they go paralyzed I reasoned. A good nights sleep would correct it, I was just tired and the heat was killing me.
I was only a minute from my house, so I’d feel a lot better when I got home and had a nice cold ice tea. I grabbed the ice-tea and sat at my desk trying to talk to myself. Still, the words just wouldn’t form and the more I tried to enunciate the more frustrated I got. At this point a bulb finally went off in my head, “you are in trouble stupid, you need help quick”. But even though I was in trouble, how do you get help when you can’t speak? I knew I could call “911” and say nothing, but that didn’t guarantee an emergency response. The 911 Dispatch Center handles calls like that as what they call a “10-90”, eventually an officer would be dispatched to check on a 911 hangup, but it wouldn’t be immediately.
I came up with a brainstorm. I would text my sister Sheryl and ask her to call me. I texted her a message I thought was “CALL ME”. She later showed me the text at the ER and what I had typed wasn’t even close. The words were spelled correctly, but made no sense to her. It was just a few random words that made no sentence. Luckily she had her phone on and promptly replied “WHAT?”. Again I answered her back with what I thought was a coherent phrase, but it turned out to be more gibberish.
Luckily she realized something was wrong and called me on the phone. I tried to speak, only to flood the phone with more slurred unintelligible words. Luckily my sister is brighter than me and she promptly informed me she was calling 911 and hung up. As soon as she hung up, Lindsey Besthoff called to make sure I was on the way to the hospital or she was calling 911. I guess mothers may reason these things out better than us tough guys. So much for the Advil and my comfortable bed.
Since I could walk alright, in my stupor, I decided to go outside to meet Fire and EMS in my driveway. As Engine 5 arrived, they are actually my neighbors across the street, they asked if I had called and when I tried to answer yes, a muffled slur of words came out. Hopefully they noticed me shaking my head yes, They asked what the problem was and more muffled words. The obligatory question of “have you been drinking, do you do drugs?” would have been comical if the gravity of my situation hadn’t started sinking in now.
I was put into the back of an ambulance and the poking and prodding began, heart monitor hooked up and the short trip to Hartford Hospital began. Shortly into that trip and the words I didn’t want to hear, but I had a pretty good idea were inevitable were uttered, “sir, I don’t want to alarm you, but I think you might be having a stroke”.
I knew Advil would have cleared it up and now look what my sister and the Besthoff’s had gotten me into.
Into triage, the quick wristband put on me and the wide double doors to the inner sanctum of the bustling ER swing open electronically. Then just a few feet into the ER and the booming voice comes over the intercom system ”activated trauma in Red Pod, stroke victim coming in”. The same EMT who didn’t want to alarm me on the ride in looks at me and with a reassuring smile says “that’s you, you’re the stroke victim”
I knew he was wrong, I only needed Advil and some rest.
Then, like a scene from a TV show, I am wheeled into a large room with just about every stainless steel device you could think of. Then, like an automobile assembly line, every one of the 8 or 10 people in the room jumped into action. Someone , removing my shirt and tie, two others trying to get IV’s in, one in the right arm, one in the left, someone else taking vital signs, someone else hooking up leads for the heart monitor, a couple of doctors conducting the entire symphony. I was impressed.
Once that was all completed, it seemed like non-stop action, and immediately off to the CT scanner for a scan of my head and brain to see what was going and how severe it was. On the way to the CT scan a drug called “TPA” was explained to me. Apparently it is a super industrial strength “clot buster” that can be used in the first 3 hours of a stroke to help reduce the devastating effects of a stroke. It is not without its risk, including possible death, but they said it was very effective. Fortunately for me, they explained, it was available but most likely not necessary unless things intensified. I wanted to say thanks, but all I needed was an ADVIL and I’d be fine, this was all my sisters idea.
I think somewhere between the trauma room, the CT scan room and the TPA discussion, it started to sink in that I could potentially be in trouble. I’m really not sure what was going on inside my brain, but I realize now, not only could I not speak correctly, I wasn’t making the clearest decisions either. As soon as the CT scan was complete I was told that my mother and my sister had arrived.
My speech seemed to be getting back to normal, my vision was normal again and I expected to be released any time now. Obviously, there were people parked all over in the hallways on stretchers who seemed sicker than I was. Mt mother and sister seemed to be getting used to these late night reunions in the ER. It was about a month ago they sat with me until the wee hours of the morning on the e-coli episode,
They weren’t alone for long though and the word that “Kevin has had a stroke” spread quickly. The first to arrive was Stan McCauley who came in around midnight. A good blessing from a good friend could never hurt. The second to arrive was Alyssa Peterson, always out looking for votes. I felt sorry for her because she had heard I was in the hospital and she came immediately, only problem is she went to the wrong hospital. They pointed her to the correct hospital. Alyssa knew where I lived so she figured I would go the the hospital a mere few blocks from my house.
Did she really expect a guy who just wanted Advil for a stroke to make a lucid decision? I know I will aggravate the St’ Francis Medical Center people, but in my typical sarcastic manner I explained my decision to Alyssa. I told her “if you want to go to heaven you go to St. Francis, if you want to live you go to Hartford Hospital”. I apologize again to SFMC, I was in the middle of a stroke.
Eventually everything appeared to be stable, the neurologists were in and explained everything. It was time to send Mom and my guardian angel for the night, my sister, home while I was admitted to a regular room.
The scenarios and potential diagnosis were played out and hashed out as numerous tests were done. As I looked around at some of the other patients I passed on 9North, the “Stroke” floor, I began to realize my stupidity for treating this incident as lightly as I did.
Now that I had been stabilized, the testing was pretty much complete and now it was time for the HH people to show me the error of my ways. Fortunately, I had no visible remnants of a stroke. No paralysis, no speech difficulties, and anyone that would see me today would probably say “yeah, right, you just wanted a short vacation”.
If nothing else, it was a warning shot across my bow to catch my attention. A few changes such as diet and lifestyle and the addition of a baby aspirin a day should keep me off the stroke floor for a while.
I hope anyone else that experiences a similar situation will get to the closest hospital immediately, preferably by calling 911 and summoning EMS, but just get there. The drug TPA is very beneficial if needed , but only in the first 3 hours after the onset of a stroke.
I think the scariest thing to me though is that if I hadn’t been making a call or trying to talk to someone, I might never have known that a stroke was underway in my brain. I had no headache, no pain, no dizziness, nothing. If I had been alone and not talking on the phone I wouldn’t have noticed the slurred speech for the half hour or so it lasted . I shouldn’t have ignored the vision problem either, that should have been obvious to me as not normal.
And if you don’t recognize or want to acknowledge the warning signs, hopefully you will have someone like my sister Sheryl or Len and Lindsey Besthoff to force you to acknowledge the warning signs, it might save your life.
I guess why they call strokes the “silent killer”. Please look at the brochure below and remember the warning signs and act promptly if they occur to you or someone you are around. Stroke is the number 3 cause of death . Stroke Facts
"HE'S NOT A CRIMINAL", those were the words uttered by a woman outside of Hartford Superior Court who identified herself as the "fiancee" of Clifton West, the 18 year old accused of shooting a Hartford Police Officer Friday night at Mather and Brook Streets.
"He's not a criminal". The fact that anyone could utter those words under these circumstances amazes me. What would the "fiancee" like us to use to describe her future husband. Maybe another misguided youth finding his way on Hartford's streets? Maybe as we so often hear after such incidents he was a good kid, just starting to turn his life around?
No, it seems pretty clear cut, anyone that would aim a gun at a police officer and pull the trigger is definitely a CRIMINAL, and a criminal of the worst kind. All moral character is gone when an individual, a CRIMINAL, can shoot at a police officer.
I'm not trying to trivialize any of the other shootings that happen in Hartford on a daily basis, but it just seems that someone who would shoot a police officer is capable of just about anything. Police Officers are the symbols of what keeps our society the somewhat civilized structure we expect.
If West could shoot a police officer under such circumstances, is there any doubt he would not hesitate to pump a few rounds into anyone else that got in his way. That is the mind set that seems to grasp a small group of young people roaming Hartford's streets and the senseless gun violence has ruined many lives, 18 year old Clifton West's included. I hope his "fiancee" doesn't have any hopes of a large wedding anytime soon
Hartford Police were called to Hartford City Hall this morning to investigate an apparent burglary into the Corporation Counsel's Office on the 3rd floor.
No information is available at this time as to what area was entered or what might have been taken.
Could this be another scandal in the making? Only in Hartford.
As I have been laying low for the past few weeks focusing on what was concern number one, my health, I am now ready and full of energy to spout off about a new era in Hartford's history.
I can't respond to all of the comments that have been posted here, but I just want to say thanks to "Bruce", "Matt", "GiGi" (I have been assured it is not that GiGi) and all the others, especially that guy (or gal) "Anonymous" who have kept the conversations flowing while my postings were at a minimum.
And to all the well wishers, thanks again for your concern. I do have a couple of regrets though that I didn't take some of the people up on their offers. Imagine what I could have done with a picture of Chief Roberts bringing groceries up my stairs after he asked if "there was anything I needed?". And to Bishop Selders, thanks for the prayer beads. I know I'm not supposed to pray for such things, but they worked great during jury deliberations.
Ok , on to the comments.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "YOU MIGHT BE ASKING WHY EDDIE A. PEREZ IS GONE.......":
So, Kevin, what is the scoop??? Which Dept Heads and Directors were NOT invited to stay by Mayor Segarra???
The answer is pretty simple, your guess is about as good as mine. I know what my recommendations would be, but that's about it.
If nothing else, we see Mayor Segarra as someone who doesn't operate from the seat of the pants and you have to look at the total picture. The elimination of John Rose and Susan McMullen were pretty safe bets right from the start. I am somewhat surprised by the survival of Sarah Barr, but who knows, that might be a short lived survival.
Barr was responsible for many of the dirty deeds put forth for Eddie as she authored and preached the "Gospel of Perez". Many people still see her as the face of the Perez Administration and this will be an impediment to regaining any one's trust in Hartford as long as she is around.
Chief Daryl Roberts is another question mark, but I think Roberts deserves to be let loose to do what he was hired to do and that is run the Hartford Police Department. Ironically, as I sit here and write this, today is the four year anniversary of the Chief's appointment as Police Chief. Chief Roberts survived four years under some of the most difficult times in Hartford's history.
My great, great uncle (I probably need another great in there) was a former Hartford Police Chief back when Hartford was an entirely different place. I have read stories about him, Chief Michael Godfrey. He was actually Chief at the time of the Barbour Street Circus Fire. At that time Police Chiefs, in Cities like Hartford, were chauffeured everywhere in large sedans and were more powerful than most elected officials.More importantly, no one said no to them or dared cross them and they usually got what they needed.
Now in our present day era, Chief Roberts is being told to do more with less in a society that seems to become more and more violent everyday. A prime example was this weekend,an 18 year old boy leveling a rifle at a police officers chest and firing.
When Chief Roberts made his comments a couple summers ago that our city had a "toxic relationship" with itself, a firestorm erupted. The firestorm wasn't in the community, most people loved his honesty. We all know it but most people are afraid to say it. No, the firestorm erupted at 550 Main Street in the Mayor's Office. How dare Chief Roberts express his (and many others) honest thoughts. That was not in line with the Gospel of Perez.
That wasn't the start, but it sure escalated the contentious relationship between the Chief and Perez.
At the very least, Chief Roberts deserves a 6 month extension on his contract with the instructions from the Mayor that the leash from City Hall is off, go do what we hired you to do, and lets review that in 6 months.We have already seen stepped up enforcement action citywide. Maybe coincidence, maybe the result of HPD being allowed to do their job without interference from a prison bound Mayor, only time will tell.
The results will tell the story, but in 2 weeks time there have been numerous arrests for drug dealing at the Washington Street McDonald's, 30 people arrested for drug sealing in Keney Park, bodegas having their "after-hours" permits revoked or suspended. All within the last two weeks under the Segarra Administration.
The Fire Chief is in good shape I think. Ed Casares is an honorable guy and I think will steer the HFD in the right direction. The only major question is the Dan Nolan case hanging out there and how that will be resolved and what impact that will have on the Department. Much of the testimony from Nolan's Labor Board hearings has the potential to far from flattering for the previous Administration and the transcripts will make for some good reading.
Hopefully Casares and a new Corporation Counsel can come together and resolve the situation favorably without any huge settlements. It is only my opinion , but Dan Nolan will be a rich man in the end if they don't. The same can be said about Police Officer Matthew Secore who the Labor Board ordered his reinstatement after Perez fired him, only to be disregarded by John Rose and Perez. Another big settlement in the making.
Several others in the Mayor's Office need to go also. Many are back peddling now and saying they only did what they had to to remain in good standing and keep their jobs. Nice try, but I'm sorry. You are adults, you made decisions, now live with the consequences. The Office of Constituent Services was, I feel, essentially run as a political backroom and a polling operation for Perez. That entire operation needs to be revamped and actually provide a service to Hartford's residents.
The Finance Director, as I said in a previous post, needs to be scrutinized. If he knowingly played games with Hartford's budget and allowed budget projections and revenue collections to be over inflated at Perez's insistence, he needs to be gone.But even if the Director stays, the Deputy Director Lydia Rosario needs to go. Rosario has hired several family members and relatives bypassing Hartford's hiring practices as well as covering up large thefts of cash from the Tax Collectors Office. Rosario and Tax Collector Marc Nelson are now orchestrating a witch hunt against an employee who brought the issue to light, attempting to terminate him.
Human Relations Director Lillian Ruiz....gone, gone, gone. Much of the Perez corruption operations happened under her watch. She might not have been found criminally liable, how I don't know, but she held the responsibility for Carlos Costas oversight as far as his minority hiring and reporting. Her employees were wheeling and dealing with Costa to cover up his poor performance. She should have known what was going on in her department. Plus I don't like the comments she made about me in a couple of her staff meetings. (yes, sources are everywhere)
Health Department....Eddie did a good job of burying Evelyn Mantilla there and protecting her as a civil service employee. What she does no one actually knows, but she does report to work to collect her $70,000 a year plus salary, thanks to Eddie Perez. The Director should be pretty safe though.
Public Works...the verdict is out on Kevin Burnham. Overall I think he has proven ineffective and is slow to get out of the box and accomplish anything. Hartford's streets are a mess, I haven't seen any milling or street rebuilding , to the best of my knowledge, so far this summer. Hartford's Parks and cemeteries are a mess and an embarrassment to Hartford's image. In Burnham's defense, it is hard to accomplish anything when you can pretty much count your staff on one hand.
Mayor Segarra has been speaking about pumping money into a summer intern program to hire people for maintaining our parks, hopefully by rebuilding the bridge to the Capitol some money can be found for such a program. But first up for Burnham is to get in the habit of returning phone calls or at the very least designate a responsible person to call people back on his behalf. That includes other department heads as well as city residents. Ignoring problems doesn't solve anything.
And we have way too many Deputy Directors in DPW. One such person is Deputy Director Marilyn Cruz-Aponte who landed here in Hartford courtesy of Perez's Chief of Staff Susan McMullen. McMullen and Cruz-Aponte worked together in New Britain before McMullen was let go by the City of New Britain. I know Mayor Segarra isn't vindictive, but Cruz-Aponte is the person who singled out Segarra's half brother to be laid-off in last years first round of terminations. From what sources have told me , she has also had some very unflattering comments about our new Mayor and voiced them in a meeting the same day Segarra was sworn in.
And you probably thought I forgot about MHIS Director Eric Jackson, another one...gone, gone , gone. I have already written too much in this post, but I'll get into Jackson in depth again soon. But suffice it to say, he has been another huge drain on Hartford's resources with nothing in return.
Human Resources Director Santiago Malave, the jury is still out on him. Personally, I like him and I know he was doing Perez's dirty work, but like I said before, they are all adults who made decisions for themselves that they must now live with. Many personnel decisions have been made and are still pending that may cost Hartford millions of dollars in the end for unsubstantiated allegations and charges that haven't held up before the Labor Board and most likely won't hold up in court. Malave was supposed to be the voice of reason when it came to personnel matters and I'm not sure that has always happened when it came to pressure from Perez.
Let me know if I left anyone out and I'll try to respond with my thoughts.
And to "Dave", I know you are waiting for my response, you will be up next.
Tonight Hartford's Democratic Town Committee will be holding interviews to potentially find a replacement for Mayor Pedro Segarra's open seat. Segarra's seat on the Council was opened after he moved up to the Mayor's position to fill the vacancy left after former Mayor Eddie Perez became a convicted felon after his corruption trial.
The effort to conduct public interviews could be a good start to restore the public's confidence in a "corruption free" city government. Or it can show that nothing is going to change at City Hall.
Word around this weekend has been that the interviews are just for show, and that the replacement has essentially already been chosen by Hartford's power broker "wanna-be's". Only the decision after tonight's interviews will show if change is imminent or if the whole process was a sham.
Hopefully it will be the first scenario and some people with integrity will be involved to make the right choice. Not a choice determined by who is the most politically connected or who can play the game the best.
A couple of the names I have heard floated are not without baggage and some tough questions need to be asked of the candidates to avoid any more potential "black eyes" for our image as a city.
In the few short weeks, actually two weeks and three days,since Mayor Segarra has taken office, I see the tide turning in favor of Hartford's image. It could be the "honeymoon" period, but I doubt it.
Tonight's interviews could assist the Mayor in our image rebuilding or they can reinforce the mindset that Hartford's politicos don't want to change. Only time will tell.
Depending on the choice, maybe the tough questions will have to be asked here.
To my regular readers, you are well aware that when this blog started it was to focus on the actions of Eddie Perez and his corrupt organization at Hartford City Hall.
Whether it was alleged criminal activity, attempts at covering up his actions through refusing FOI requests or just improper conduct, much of it was first reported here. I am proud of the accomplishments that "We the People" has attained and the people who have stood along side me to take our City back.
The work is far from done as we dig out of the mess that our former Mayor,and now convicted felon, Eddie A. Perez has put us in. But I have decided, at least for me, that the Perez era of corruption as it relates to Perez as an individual is done.
We do have another elected official, Republican Council Person Veronica Airey-Wilson headed to trial on felony charges and I will focus on her trail also.In the over all scheme of Hartford's resurrection though, her performance is insignificant, as has been most of her tenure on the Council.
But in getting back to Perez, I have decided to remove the reminders of his arrest, trial and conviction. The revolving cube with his first mugshot, the TIME magazine "mug shot's of the year" picture and his second mugshot.
The reason, for me, is simple. Job number one is done, Perez is gone and most likely headed to prison. It's time to focus on the more important job now. That is the job of rallying behind our Mayor, Pedro E. Segarra. In order to regain our position as the once proud and prosperous Capital city of our great state, we all need to pull together.
That can take many different aspects for most people. Number one is being involved in our government and not letting another "Perez Era" happen again...ever. First and foremost get out and vote and encourage everyone you come in contact with to vote. It is time for us to begin placing the best possible candidates in elected positions. Not the best politically connected people, but the best qualified people who love our city and are willing to unselfishly put their hearts and souls into true public service.
Not everyone has the same strengths, but we all have something to offer. Not everyone can get up at Council meetings and speak their minds, but you may be able to take a neighborhood child under your wing and mentor them as Mayor Segarra urged our new police officers at Friday's graduation. Not everyone has the time to be involved in a public office or to volunteer to be on a Board or Commission, but if you do, I would urge you to contact the Mayor's Office and put your strengths to work for bringing our City back.
Even something that seems minor, like sweeping in front of your home or business and picking up litter makes a difference. And you might even start a trend in your neighborhood.
If your streets aren't being swept because people ignore the "No parking on trash day" signs, organize your neighbors as a group of residents recently did in the Congress Street/Morris Street area. After they held a neighborhood meeting with police supervisors and their Community Service Officer a simple solution was arrived at. Residents would let their neighbors know what was coming, tagging and towing of improperly parked vehicles. Flyer's were put out and the following week the Police department and Public Works worked as a team and the illegally parked cars were towed and the streets were swept for the first time in a long time.
A simple solution when we all work together.
Even something as simple as taking the time to pick up the phone and call the Police when you see something unusual in your neighborhood can make a big difference. Many burglary sprees or pattern crimes are ended by just one phone call.
The days of the "Divide and conquer" style of the Perez Administration have been brought to an end. There is great promise and hope that a new day is dawning in Hartford. Only time will tell, but I have confidence in the leadership style of Mayor Segarra ,even though we are only one week and a day into his administration.
Great cities aren't made by one individual, they are built by a diverse group of people all bringing their strengths to the table and working together. We have that potential, now let's get it done.
Last year I attended the graduation of a recruit class from the Hartford Police Academy that was held in the auditorium of the Aetna on Farmington Avenue. At last years graduation the keynote speaker was Hartford's Mayor Eddie A. Perez. I had a hard time not getting up and walking out listening to Perez as he spoke to Hartford's newest police officers about honesty, integrity and them being held to a higher standard. And yes, it was the same Eddie Perez that was under arrest on corruption and extortion allegations at the time and now has the label of convicted felon.
Yesterday I entered that same auditorium for the graduation ceremony of the latest officers to gain the title of "Hartford's finest". I have to keep reminding myself that I am biased against Perez, but an air of hope and promise seemed to permeate the room. The Perez cloud had been lifted and the Segarra sunshine was filling the room.
The usual speeches took place, the prayers were said and then Mayor Segarra took the podium for his address. Mayor Segarra has a distinct advantage over Perez when it comes to public speaking. For one thing, Segarra, as an attorney, knows how to speak without notes and seem believable. Perez never seemed comfortable and was obviously always reading from a prepared script.
With that being said, Mayor Segarra gave a great speech and I have to admit I got "goosebumps" at a couple times during his remarks. It was hard to listen to Perez a year earlier talk about Police Officer's being held to a higher standard when he clearly felt that the higher standard didn't apply to him.
Mayor Segarra spoke about his life experience of his own father being shot and killed by senseless violence. It was tough not to draw the comparison of our former Mayor whose claim to fame was his gang membership and our current Mayor who fled from his home in Brooklyn, New York at the age of 15 and came to Hartford to avoid being drawn into the gang life. A Mayor that even under those circumstances and being on his own at 15 was able to rise above the gangs and eventually get his law degree and go on to serve the City of Hartford as Mayor.
Which Mayor do you think is the better role model for youth and even for our newest Police Officer's?
Back to the speech. Mayor Segarra spoke about his earliest interaction with a police officer in Brooklyn and how he and his buddies were enthralled with the firearm holstered on the officer's hip. He related how the officer spoke to him and his friends and game them their first lesson in what guns are for, and in what they weren't for.
He urged the new officers to take a Hartford boy or girl and mentor them and begin moving Hartford's young people in the right direction, the same way the Brooklyn officer did to him. He also urged the officers to take an interest in Hartford and develop the love for our city that so many of us have.
He encouraged the officers to discover the beauty of Hartford and its gems like our golf courses and Elizabeth Park. He told them when they might be feeling stressed after their shift, take a walk and unwind in Elizabeth Park. Bring their families and children to discover one of Hartford's museums. Take the time to come back into Hartford and eat at one of our many restaurants.
It was a speech that focused on the key to Hartford's immediate future, restoring trust and confidence in the public and that Hartford is going to move in the right direction, despite the Perez years.
If the comments I overheard in the room afterwards were any indication, Mayor Segarra hit a grand slam home run with his comments. I think there were a few hundred more believers in Hartford's hope after the speech than there were initially entering the room.
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.
