The age old question "if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise ?" took on a different version at Wednesday's Republican Town Committee meeting in Hartford.
If a Republican Councilperson is corrupt but the Republican Town Committee won't discuss it, does that mean she's not corrupt?
The video below shows what happened when Republican Town Committee member John O'Connell and RTC Vice Chair Elyssa Fuchs tried to open a discussion. O'Connell wanted to address the Hartford Courant's editorial calling for Republican Veronica Airey-Wilson's resignation after she was placed on probation for her role in the Perez corruption scandal.That wasn't about to happen under the control of RTC chair Michael McGarry.
McGarry, who is now telling anyone willing to listen that he was the first to call for former Mayor Perez's resignation, refuses to discuss the role of Hartford's highest ranking elected Republican, Veronica Airey-Wilson, in the scandal. The claim that he was the first to call for Perez's resignation is also totally untrue. Only after Perez was arrested, convicted and sentenced to three years in prison did McGarry speak out publicly.
McGarry has consistently refused to address Airey-Wilson's role and apparent violation of the public's trust as an elected official. Airey-Wilson was accused of taking counterops for her home from Carlos Costa and not paying for them. Only after the state began investigating, according to arrest records, did she fabricate a check showing that she thought she had paid a couple hundred dollars for thousands of dollars worth of granite countertop work.
For the Republican party in Hartford, which most agree is all but dead, this would seem like an opportunity for McGarry and the Town Committee to make a strong statement to regain the public's trust. Instead O'Connell and others were refused the opportunity to even discuss the matter publicly.
The video was shot with my i-pod after the argument erupted so the quality isn't great, but you'll get the point how the Republican Town Committee in Hartford handles honest debate regarding important issues.
An "Anonymous" poster made the following comment this afternoon on the blog:
People dont seem to understand, once residents call 311, they refer complaint over to appropriate department. It is not the 311 representative that goes out to take care of the issue. It really upsets me that because the departments are not doing their job the 311 call center is being blamed. Definatley get your facts straight before you start pointing fingers!!!!
I think the poster needs to take a step back and get their facts straight, I'm pretty comfortable with mine.
Last week I called 311 and was on hold for 9 minutes and 32 seconds before before a live person answered and handled the call. The commenter seems to want to place the "blame" on the individual departments rather than the 311 program. If I recall correctly, when 311 was originally shoved down our throats we were told that 311 would force efficiency on Hartford's operations because calls would be tracked and followed up on.
I don't really care about the "blame game", but 311 isn't working. This link will take you to an interactive map that tells the whole story about 311, click to go to hartford.gov's 311 tracking map. I recommend you check out the map quickly though , the link will probably be disabled soon.The map on hartford.gov is a "push pin" type map that has color coded dots indicating 311 complaints or "cases". The green dots are "closed" cases, the orange dots are "open" or unresolved cases. It is hard to see the green dots since they are almost obliterated by the orange dots. The telling part though is that if you click on an orange dot, it shows you the date the complaint was recieved. Many of the cases aren't recent, some date back almost a year, if not more.
A residents issue being unresolved for a year doesn't sound like the height of efficiency to me. Anyone willing to take the time and effort to report a problem deserves that the issue be dealt with in a timely manner. Removing graffiti reported January 12, 2010 does not seem very responsive.
So, to the "Anonymous" poster, "right back at ya". Get your facts straight before you try to justify your 311 job.
I have been accused of being over protective of Mayor Pedro Segarra. Some have even accused me of being a "mouthpiece" for the Mayor.
With that being said, I have to say to Mayor Segarra...WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU THINKING?
Steve Goode at the Hartford Courant and "Cityline" just posted a column regarding "Disgraced former Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez". You can read Steve's column by clicking here
Apparently Mayor Segarra was in attendance at the "State of the Schools" address this morning at SAND School. "Disgraced former Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez" was also in attendance. According to Goode's article, Mayor Segarra's comments included remarks about "Perez, who served for a time as chair of the board of education, for his dedication early reform efforts, including his effort to bring Adamwoski on board and his choice of fellow board members to support Adamowski's vision."
Mayor Segarra, no one can deny that Perez did positive things while in office. No one can deny that he has done some terrible things that have done huge damage to our City and its reputation also.
That Board of Education that you mention is also the same Board of Education that recently approved a lobbying contract for Matt Hennessey for $58,000. I have not heard any comments about that, yet praise is heaped on a Board and a Superintendent that continue to support individuals who played a key role in the corruption scandal.
To have a convicted felon parading around an elementary school and then being praised as some sort of hero is wrong. It sends a terrible message to the very students we are trying to set on the right path in life. Is doing wrong and being sentenced to prison a Hartford value? To a student viewing this fiasco it might seem that way.
This administration has made some large strides in attempting to make people feel good about our City in a short couple of months. I fully anticipate seeing a news story soon showing Mayor Segarra on a ladder rescuing a kitten from a tree. He has that personality that people want to trust and support.
On the other hand though, from the phone calls I get, people also want to hear him setting the tone that business as usual in Hartford will not be tolerated. Sending mixed messages does nothing but confuse people as to what is acceptable. I had a long conversation with Mayor Segarra about this last Saturday.
Mayor Segarra is by no means naive. He knows that City Hall is still full of Perez supporters who would like nothing more than to see him fail. Some of them are quite clearly undermining him every chance they get, and I think the Mayor knows that. The question is then, why are they still there. I fully get the concept that we can't terminate everyone, but we can't sit back and wait for those same people to finally plunge the proverbial knife with the fatal blow as they stab Mayor Segarra in the back.
I'm not going to get into specific names here because I think Mayor Segarra is fully aware of who needs to go.
Sending these mixed messages though is confusing, and in some cases the silence is also confusing. Eddie Perez is hired by a non-profit receiving major funding from the City of Hartford.....silence....nothing said. No comment from the Mayor, no comment from the Council. Former Corporation Counsel John Rose gets a job with a law firm he paid almost a half million dollars to in the last couple years.....silence....nothing said.No comment from the Mayor, no comment from the Council.
Former Chief of Staff to former Mayor Perez gets a $58,000 lobbying contract as part of a deal with the Hartford Public Schools.....silence....nothing said. No comment from the Mayor, no comment from the Council.
In my conversation Saturday with Mayor Segarra, he said that the money had already been approved for the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition and there was nothing they could do. I strongly disagree. A clear, unambiguous statement from the Mayor needs to set the tone. I would even be happy to allow the Mayor to "cut and paste" this into a press release, not that anyone pays any attention to press releases coming out of the Mayor's Office due to obvious reasons(speaking of backstabbing and undermining by Perez loyalists).
"The funds were already appropriated to the Connecticut AIDS Resource Coalition for this year, but as Mayor of Hartford I have to say I am extremely disappointed in the decision to hire someone who left Hartford City Hall in disgrace after his conviction on felony charges resulting from a corruption investigation. The people of Hartford deserve to know that their tax dollars are being spent responsibly by any organization receiving those funds. Although our hands are tied to do anything now, rest assured that future funding requests from any organization will be scrutinized to make sure they are being used properly and in a means beyond reproach"
That seems pretty simple, doesn't it? The tone is set, the message is clear and the residents of Hartford are getting what they expect from our Mayor.
To praise a convicted felon is wrong and sets back any progress being made. Please , lets move on and start setting a clear tone that all of the good deeds someone may have done do not erase the corruption and damage brought to the people of Hartford.
Feel free to copy this and send it to all of the Council members, they have voices also that they need to start using.
Now that the Perez Gravy train has totally gone off the tracks, those with hopes of a lifelong career as political prostitutes and poverty pimps are showing their true colors.
It was all the angry white guys that dethroned Hartford's High Priest of Corruption, Eddie A. Perez. The conspiracy continued when a jury of his peers found him guilty on 5 felony charges after a trial. The white Judge played along with the setup to tear down the Hispanic Savior of the City and ultimately sentenced the High Priest to 3 years in prison.
At least that is the accurate version if you believe the rantings, I mean writings, of Hartford's favorite yellow jacketed crusader, Cornell Lewis. Lewis, who long ago abandoned the residents of Hartford when he chose to move to the suburbs, still seems to think he has some right to instruct us on how our lives should be lived. His support of former Mayor Eddie A. Perez is admirable considering the investment Perez made in Lewis and his band of "Merry Men". At last count, and this figure is almost a year old, Lewis and his fellow operatives were paid over $2.3 million in taxpayers funds during the course of the "Savior's" administration.
I was in court the day former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez received a 3- year prison term for conviction on various charges. Inside the courtroom a funeral like atmosphere complete with crying, wailing, and head-shaking took place. I looked at Perez and wondered why it is seen as necessary to incarcerate a man dedicated to serving his community for over 30 years.
The answer can be found in a religious concept of the priest.
He [Eddie] was our priest from the beginning. In Hartford 30 years ago a divine Caucasian power structure sat enthroned in a fortress City Hall. From stories told to me, it seemed impossible for people of color to access any favor or benefit from the divine white gods in City Hall: a priest was needed for intercession, coming to present hopes of a people at this white altar. Perez came forth - a skinny youth - with hubris enough to ask for an audience before whites in power. Eddie organized the masses, spoke at rallies, begged and threatened in order to coax largesse from a white cornucopia.
The people adored Eddie but whites watched him like they did Jesus: “the rulers wanted to strike Jesus, but they were afraid because all the people were with him. They waited for a more opportune time.” We fast-forward 30 years and Perez is now in THE seat of power and still working without ceasing for people of color.
After being in power for 10 years the old white gods were invoked by angry worshippers to rise from musty vaults of hatred, prejudice and discrimination. Their goal seemed clear-topple Perez and insert a person more palatable to white thinking. Perez had to leave office; an example had to be made, and fear inserted into hearts of the masses.
Like a bad Stephen King movie the priest [Perez] came tumbling down with help from angry whites, sold-out black and Puerto Rican leaders, and a community unable to see clearly a threat to the priest. As radio commentator Steve Harvey would say, “and now you know the rest of the story.”
“Yet when we achieved and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory, to remake in the likeness of the former world they knew.”--- T.E. Lawrence.
The prayer vigils orchestrated by Lewis didn't seem too productive in keeping a corrupt Mayor out of a courtroom and most likely prison eventually. I might suggest that you click your heels together and keep repeating "I believe in Eddie, I believe in Eddie, I believe in Eddie".
And Cornell, Hartford is about a lot more than one person. There are plenty of unsung "Savior's" out there day in and day out trying to make this City a better place. They are actually doing things to unify the community and its neighborhoods. The days of your "divide and conquer" politics need to end.
This is not about race. No one set Eddie Perez up for a fall, not whites, not blacks and not Hispanics. Eddie Perez needs to quit playing the victim of racism and instead accept responsibility for what he has put this city through, take the punishment and move on.
You might have a positive purpose in this city if you tried to unify people of all races and nationalities and end your politics of racial hate.
Today's Hartford Courant had an editorial about "What's Wrong With Hartford". For those that didn't see the editorial or don't read the Courant, here it is in its entirety:
What's Wrong With Hartford Two Examples Public officials take advantage of their positions
Just because former Mayor Eddie Perez has been convicted on felony corruption charges and sentenced to three years in prison doesn't mean city government in Hartford has been completely disinfected.
An internal police investigation found in August that Officer Hector Robles knowingly falsified time cards and bilked the department out of more than $9,000 in overtime. A disciplinary hearing concluded last week, but Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts has yet to decide on a punishment.
Termination has been recommended. That's what he should get, since Mr. Robles has neither the pride nor conscience, apparently, to resign either as a police officer or from his other job of public trust, state representative from the 6th District.
Mr. Robles raises the "everybody does it" defense, claiming that 11 other officers are falsifying their overtime records too. Has he told the chief who they are?
This case should be referred to the state's attorney.
Also last week, city councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson was granted accelerated rehabilitation, a special form of probation that will allow her record to be expunged if successfully completed. She had a city contractor — the same one involved in the Perez corruption case — install a granite countertop in her home. She was accused of tampering with evidence to show that she had paid for the installation even though the contractor, Carlos Costa, testified that he did the work for free.
"My biggest regret is that I guess I'm so open and trusting of everyone and in my choice of selecting someone to do the work in my home. I didn't recognize the flaws," she told Judge Julia D. Dewey Thursday. She's got to be kidding. Didn't "recognize the flaws"?
Mr. Costa certainly recognized the flaws of mixing personal and city business. The contractor, whose $5.3 million contract with the city was plagued by delays and shoddy construction, testified that he installed her countertops for free, at her request, because "she was a councilwoman and she was in a position to help me."
Ms. Airey-Wilson's attorney said his client will continue to serve on the city council during her probationary period. She should resign to spare Hartford another embarrassment.
What are Hartford's children to think when a police officer and a council member — let alone a mayor — use their public positions to profit and then won't take ownership of what they did?
end of Courant editorial
If you would like to make your thoughts known on the Robles matter, Chief Roberts office can be reached at 860-757-4010. If you would like to make your feelings known on whether Veronica Airey-Wilson should resign from the Council, the Hartford Republican Town Committee meets tonight at City Hall or call Airey-Wilson's office at City Hall at 860-757-9575. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts and comments here.
The hearing is over, the report should be done and the election is fast approaching.
I have received numerous calls asking if Chief Roberts will make his decision before the November 2nd election that includes Hector Robles as the incumbent candidate for the 6th Legislative District.
The answer to that question is a pretty simple one.....how the heck would I know?
Common sense would say that Chief Roberts is not going to let politics play into his decision. With that being said though, the Chief is well aware of the criticism he received when the initial Internal Affairs Investigation report was released two days after the August primary. The report at that time was out of his hands and I know for a fact that both the Hartford Corporation Counsel's Office and the State's Attorney's Office were both involved in the delay of the report being released.
The timing of the release, 2 days after the primary, raised the suspicions of many that it was done for political reasons to protect Robles, but I feel comfortable saying that wasn't true.
With that being said though, hopefully it shouldn't happen twice. Whether it is the Chief's fault or not, it might be hard to convince City residents that the second delay until after an election is just bad timing.
This has dragged on since August 14th, the hearings were completed a week and a half ago, and from what I understand, the facts and the evidence have not had any real change.
Hopefully Chief Roberts, who is out of town this week at the International Association of Chiefs of Police annual meeting in Orlando, has made sure that the hearing officers report will be sitting in the center of his desk when he returns at the end of this week.
Political pressure should not play into this decision, but a large part of the confidence that the public has in Chief Roberts and his leadership will be challenged by any unnecessary or unjustified delays.
In the meantime, bring your pencils to the polls, three "write-in" candidates have qualified for the ballot to challenge Robles. Democrats Alyssa Peterson and Kathy Evans as well as Republican Mike Lupo will all be on the ballot in the 6th District.
At the risk of being accused of bashing Richard Blumenthal again, I think it is only fair to post these You-tube videos. Doesn't it seem somewhat hypocritical to now be denouncing Linda McMahon and the WWE when politicians, both Democrat's and Republican's, had no trouble using the WWE to further their campaigns in 2008.
In this age of video, it is interesting the video you can find on the internet. Whether it is a politician who "misspoke" about serving in Vietnam or other politicians using the "evil" WWE to further their campaigns, it is all there for public view.
PRESIDENT OBAMA ON WWE, SENATOR OBAMA AT THE TIME IN 2008
Have you ever laid your keys down and then a few minutes later can't recall exactly where you put them? Then add some stress to that, you have a doctor's appointment that it took months to schedule and you can't find that ring of keys to head to the appointment. You begin stressing and wonder why you can't remember everything exactly as it happens, your brain is supposed to be a perfect "video recorder" of your actions, right.
Now imagine that you are a police officer on a poorly lit, snowy street in an industrial area of Hartford in a high stress situation with a convicted felon intent on escaping. If that escape involves taking your life, he's going to do what he has to do, and the car he is in comes hurtling toward you. As a police officer you draw your gun and try to stop the deadly weapon, also known as the felon driving toward you at high speed, in an effort to protect yourself from possible death.
You do what you have to do, do what you were trained to do, you make the decision to use deadly force and you fire at the vehicle. In firing at the vehicle you strike the driver and he is wounded, but not killed. The end result though is that the convicted felon intent on escaping has been stopped and as you check yourself you are still intact, breathing, heart beating, so far so good.
Now the hard part begins. You couldn't remember where you put your car keys earlier but you are going to be expected to give a complete description as to what happened, second by second, inch by inch. And if you thought it was stressful trying to remember where you set your car keys down, then try having to be able to remember every detail in your decision to fight for your life and use potentially deadly force.
That begins the eight year plight of Hartford Police Officer Robert Murtha.
I'll post some of the documents here as they are available, but several big questions remain.
The first being is why does the City of Hartford continue to appeal this case? Is it a personal or political agenda being pushed by someone?
The only hearing that has seemed to be decided against Murtha was the Hartford Police Department's internal disciplinary hearing. That hearing is ripe with questions and would most likely raise the suspicions of any reasonable jury that may eventually hear the case. Both the Arbitration award and the Hartford Police Union's attorneys brief raise some real questions.
The hearing should have been conducted by an "impartial" Captain assigned by the Chief of Police. Newly hired Police Chief Patrick Harnett assigned Captain Joseph Buyak as the hearing officer. Coincidentally, Captain Buyak at the time of the Murtha incident was also the Commander of the Investigative division of HPD. Essentially that means that Buyak was responsible for the overall results of the Internal Investigation into the shooting.Then, Captain Buyak was also called upon to oversee the discipline hearing and decide on the actual legitimacy of the investigation and the same report that he was responsible for supervising.
That would seem pretty close to a police officer making an arrest and then also serving as the Judge for the trial. Why Chief Harnett didn't see this as a conflict of interest should be a very interesting question to be put before a Jury.
Eventually, due in part to Captain Buyak's hearing and the original investigation and acting on Chief Harnett's recommendations, Murtha was arrested on criminal charges related to the incident. After a criminal trial, Murtha was acquitted by a Jury and found not guilty of the criminal charges.
Murtha subsequently filed a lawsuit against the City of Hartford.This lawsuit was brought by Murtha to enforce Connecticut General Statute 53-39a, which provides economic recovery to any police officer who is acquitted after being prosecuted for criminal charges arising in the performance of police duties.
Before the end of the trial in Murtha's suit for damages, former Corporation Counsel John Rose recommended to the Hartford City Council settling Murtha's suit. In the memo, dated June 22, 2009 Rose urges the Council to settle with Murtha and he states "There is no question that Murtha will recover against the City. The only question is how much the jury/a court will award him.The damages claimed by Murtha are NOT covered by insurance." The Council disregarded Rose's advice and Judge Thomas Corradino rendered his decision on February 24, 2010 and agreed with Murtha's claim and awarded Murtha damages that could total $1,019,478.03.
Subsequent to that decision, the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration issued their decision in Murtha's Labor Board hearing. An Arbitration award ordered Murtha reinstated to his position and ordered that he "shall be made whole for all losses incurred including back pay and other benefits".
Although Rose had warned the Council that they would lose the original suit, which they did, the City is now also appealing that decision. That decision could potentially more than double the original award since the City chooses to gamble on the appeal. If the City should lose this next round, they are once again liable for all of Murtha's legal expenses as well as the costs incurred by the City defending the appeal.
In the meantime, the dollars are still adding up on the original award at the rate of approximately $1210.00 per week. That figure does not include any legal fees. Attorney Helen Apostolidis, a retired City of Hartford Senior Assistant Corporation Counsel who is now a partner in her own private law firm based in Middletown (Bird & Apostolidis), has been hired by the City to defend the case. The city is paying Attorney Apostolidis in addition to paying Assistant Corporation Counsel Nathalie Feola-Guerreri to be co-counsel in this matter.
There is much more to come on this, but the attached documents should provide some interesting reading to start with.
Since I can't text anymore while I driving, I tend to amuse myself thinking about potential blog entries. And for those about to scream at me about texting while driving, I was only kidding, I actually surf the Internet with my laptop propped on my dash. I find the laptop is much quicker than typing with my thumbs.
Seriously though, I was thinking today what would our political system be like with actual individuals rather than party puppets?
I amused myself thinking how different the race for US Senate would be if the party affiliations were reversed. Democrat Linda McMahon would probably be a shining example of the Democratic Party where even women can excel and build a multi-million dollar business. Democrat McMahon would be held up as an example of what America should be and could be if only the voters would give her a chance.
And imagine if Richard Blumenthal were a Republican. I know, I know, the thought alone would scare the heck out of him, but for the sake of argument, just imagine Dick as a proud member of the GOP. Blumenthal, the law and order Republican, standing up for the people of Connecticut, fighting for the little guy. A formidable candidate racking up votes on the campaign trail.
Then, when everything was looking good for Republican Blumenthal, a video appeared where he claims he "misspoke". The media and public opinion turned on him overnight. How could a Republican candidate lie about his military service and claim he served in Vietnam when he didn't? Don't those Republican's remember how many young American men went to Vietnam and died for their country?
Republican Blumenthal was forced to drop out of the race due to the outrage over his lies. That's the way Republicans are handled, just ask former Senator
At last nights debate between the candidates for the 1st Congressional District, neither major party candidate was willing to speak about corruption, especially in Hartford, even when the opportunity was presented to them on a silver platter.Only one candidate, Ken Krayeske of the Green Party was willing to talk about the blind eye turned to corruption by Hartford's politicians. He spoke of the corruption of Eddie Perez and his conviction and the current allegations and investigation of Hector Robles.
It would have been a perfect opportunity for Congressman Larson to state clearly that he doesn't condone corruption, even in a "generic" type of message, but he remained silent when it came to his buddies Eddie and Hector.
I wonder how our elected officials would change if they weren't chained to a symbol of a donkey or an elephant. Imagine if they actually had to prove to us who they were and what they stood for rather than just proclaiming their allegiance to Republican or Democrat party machines.
One perfect example is in Hartford's south-end for the 1st State Senate District Race. Probably one of the best candidates running for the Connecticut Legislature has almost no chance of winning. As much as I hate saying it, Barbara Ruhe, a Republican, is running in a heavily Democratic district and she will unfortunately most likely be steamrolled by someone who has lost his "leadership" compass and has no business in the Senate. John Fonfara has lost sight of why he is there and who his constituents are.
Barbara Ruhe seems to realize exactly what the role of a Senator should be. Yesterday a southend resident and a Democrat called me complaining that she has left eleven messages (yes, you read that right, eleven) for Senator Fonfara, and not one has been returned.
With Barbara Ruhe, you really don't need to call her because the odds are good that you would see her somewhere in the community within a few days and be able to speak with her personally. And it is not only at election time you see her. She really seems to share the interests of the people in her district and beyond and it is a shame she won't get elected. Not because she isn't qualified. Not because she doesn't know how to campaign. Not because she can't be found. Simply because she has an "R" after her name she most likely won't have the title "Senator" after November 2nd.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could get rid of the tunnel vision and actually look at our candidates for who they are and what they actually do and who has the most potential. Instead we continue for the worst candidates only because they are the right party or the right nationality or the right race.
It would also be nice if we chose our candidates based on who knows how to remain civil to their opponents. In this election cycle, only a handful can say that. There is a big difference between pointing out facts and going into the gutter politics.
Denise Nappier, Jerry Farrell and Denise Merrill (I might have missed a couple others) should all be commended for their upbeat commercials and letting us know what they are about as opposed to showing us how much they can bruise their opponents.
I think most people are tired of the finger pointing. We don't care if it is the Democrats or Republicans that created the mess, we just want elected officials who care more about fixing the problem than continuing to be part of the problem.
Imagine a Senate full of Barbara Ruhe's, maybe some Republican, maybe some Democrat and maybe even a couple of Green or Working Family members to keep them all honest.
This past Friday night, numerous calls were received by Hartford's 911 Center regarding gunshots being fired in the area of Capitol Avenue and Orange Street. The victim was found in the street and was eventually pronounced dead. The "victim", who hasn't been "officially" named by Hartford Police, has a fairly extensive arrest record for drug, weapon and assault charges. The 32 year old has spent several years in and out of prison.
Saturday nights homicide was a sharp contrast. Even though several shots were fired, some of them recorded on nearby video recordings, not one call was received by the 911 Dispatch Center. No one called regarding the body laying in the street in the area of 1830 Broad Street. This is near a fairly busy intersection of Broad Street and New Britain Avenue.
Eventually a police officer on patrol noticed the man laying at the curb about a half hour after the murder. According to police sources, the officer first thought was that the man might be intoxicated, but after approaching the body he realized that was not the case.
This victim has not been "officially" named yet either, but he did have a passport on him from another country.
I'm just wondering how several gunshots can be fired in close proximity to residential neighborhoods and not one call is made to the Police. Are we that immune to Hartford's violence?
