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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS






Sometimes I just can't let something just die and I'll follow it until the bitter end, this I guess is one of those cases and some of you might be getting tired of reading about this, but what's right is right and I choose not to give up on this.

The picture above is of former Hartford Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Nolan last night as he, and some of Connecticut's other brave men, as he prepares to deploy to Afghanistan, again, to defend our Country.

I don't usually let things bother me much or get overly emotional, but something about this entire situation is very troubling to me. I wish there was a way to flip a switch and see this situation correct itself, but I have to convince myself that eventually what's right will prevail.

I'm not sure if part of it might be the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 coming this weekend I guess as we all sat glued to our television sets 10 years ago Sunday, just about all of us can tell you where we were when the twin towers collapsed and followed the events from the comfort of our homes. I can tell you where Dan Nolan was, he was headed to NYC to sift through the ruins along with hundreds of other firefighters and first reponders.

It might also be from spending much of this past weekend re-reading the transcripts of Nolan's mediation hearings. Hearings , by the way, in which he prevailed, the hearing officer found no wrongdoing on Nolan's part and ordered him re-instated with all back pay and benefits due to him. The hearing transcripts were the official version of the testimony recounting Nolan's termination by a corrput Mayor eventually convicted of felony charges against him and a puppet of a Fire Chief willing to comply with the corrupt Mayor's wishes.

Particularly troubling was reading the testimony of retired Chief Charles Teale who, in my opinion almost oozed dishonesty in almost every statement he made under oath. Many of those statements contradicted by other witnesses that took their oath seriously and testified to the facts truthfully.

Teales inability to remember facts and select lapses of memory come through loud and clear in his testimony. Surprisingly though he did remember taking a payoff from an eye doctor and he did testify to that under oath. (page 69 of transcript below, page 52 on PDF page numbering)

Maybe it is the picture I have posted here before of Dan Nolan in front of the rubble and devastation we have all come to know as "Ground Zero". Deputy Chief Nolan and many, many others selflessly gave of their time to search through the rubble of the World Trade Centers to recover the bodies of those who died in the attacks.

Maybe it is knowing that Dan Nolan has given up the comfort of his home and the comfort of being near his family, especially his parents during their final months here before they passed away. Dan is one of those unique individuals who is willing to sacrifice that to go to areas of the world to protect our lives as Americans, giving up what most of us take for granted.

And I think what bothers me the most is that the same systems that Dan is willing to go into harms way to protect, are treating him so poorly.

Our military and people like Dan Nolan have fought and died to preserve our system of justice, our freedoms to make life choices as to who we want to associate with or what charities we choose to support. A system of justice that ensures everyone fair hearings when accusations are made against them. In the case of the mediation hearings, the hearing officer found that Dan Nolan and his actions were credible and his termination was not.

And now, two days before he is set to leave US soil and go to the sand and rock of Afghanistan, the City of Hartford made an offer to Nolan to end their persecution of him if he accepted their deal. The City of Hartford apparently made the offer to Nolan that they would pay him all of his back pay since the date of his termination, approximately $210,000. He would be brought back and rehired for one day to submit his resignation to take effect September 16, 2011, and of course agree not to pursue any lawsuits or claims against the City.

Why would Hartford's Corporation Counsel make such a settlement offer if they were on solid ground and their actions were legitimate?

For anyone that knows Dan Nolan, guess what his answer was. If you guessed absolutely not, you guessed right. I think that if this matter ever makes it to a jury, this offer will seem like pocket change compared to what a jury may potentially award in the end.

When you weigh the testimony as to how Nolan's termination was orchestrated by a corrupt Mayor convicted of felony criminal charges and carried out by a puppet of a Fire Chief with some real credibility issues of his own. How do you accuse Nolan of using his position for personal gain because he encouraged recruits to participate in charity events, while at the same time the Chief of the department, Chief Teale, had his hand out accepting a payoff to reimburse him for a penalty imposed on him for profiting from the improper rental of City property?

I guess we know now that Mayor Segarra will not step up to end this nonsense. I have to ask though, how do you send a respected war veteran and firefighter into harms way without clearing this matter up first. Nolan should be going to Afghanistan knowing that this matter was resolved, and be able to concentrate fully on his performance as a soldier and not wondering what his future will be when he returns home. It's wrong and it says a lot about the character and integrity of anyone in a position of authority to change the outcome, including Mayor Segarra, the City Council and even Chief Casares.

The transcripts of the testimony from Chief Teale and others is pretty dry and boring, but it will shed a lot of light on this matter. If you have a little time, scroll through the document and read it. Teale's admission of taking the payoff is on page 69 of the transcript document if you go by the page numbering printed on the transcript, it is on page 52 if you go by the numbering from the PDF document. Teales denials of his friendship of Nolan, even though they were hanging out together at the Mardi Gras strip club in Springfield can be read on page 13 of the transcript, page 25 of the PDF itself.

More transcripts will be posted over the next few days so enjoy the reading and feel free to comment.

And Dan, my thoughts and prayers along with those of many, many others are with you as you head off to protect our freedom. Focus on keeping yourself and the other men and women with you safe, and rest assured, this matter will not die. If the City of Hartford isn't willing to do the right thing, a jury of your peers will when you return. Until then stay safe, and thank you for your service to our City, our Country and the countless charities and people that have benifitted from your service

Nolan711

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Kevin....how can I thank you for such entertaining reading material? You are really cutting into my book club time! Do you think Teale was wise enough to tell his wife about the numerous lap dances and his obvious addiction to strip clubs before she, all her friends, neighbors, family and basically every acquaintance read how scummy he actually is?

Time to curl up with a good blog....

Anonymous said...

Excellent article,Kevin! I can't believe that the city had the audacity to offer Dan such a poor settlement. The testimony is transparent. Thank You for posting this.

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

That is only the beginning on the transcripts. Much more to come from Chief Teale, Assistant Chief Parker who testified to the incompetence of recruits Nolan failed out of the Academy, Lt Dalton who had a much different version of facts than those testified to by Teale and numerous recruits who just about everyone testified they were better firefighters because of Nolan's training methods.

Keep reading and commenting

Anonymous said...

It is disgraceful and i can honestly say. I am completely disgusted at this. I was military before i became a cop. The mayor and the rest of them make me want to ...... i am actually tempted to put my name. But i have a wife and kids to provide for. I would love to meet anybody involved in this bulls...t. Chief nolan. Good luck and watch ur back over there. Dont let these pieces of human garbage bother u. Once again. This cop and former military nco thanks u for what you do. Amen kevin.

Anonymous said...

So...some brainiac out of the Corporation Counsel Office thought that they should "settle" with Nolan for what he already was awarded by the arbitrator and then expect him to resign? LMAO!!

Fed up firemen said...

It is border line communism what the mayor is doing ....

Anonymous said...

Why was RJo Winch involved in this? Is she the go to person for anyone that gets fired from a city job?

Anonymous said...

Kevin;
Very well said. Indeed the idiots offered Nolan what he had already won in artbitration; who do they think he is ----THEM!! It's sad to think that the good people of Hartford are losing out on this. First with recruits that were justifiably dismissed as INCOMPETENT are now serving as FF's, (except for the one that failed the drug test -- guess even the corrupt mayor couldn't get around that one). Then losing one of the best, if not the best, training officer the city has ever seen. And that's all before it hits their pockets. Please vote as many of this arses out of office as you can this November (and vote YOU in) and maybe this issue will be resolved, correctly and justly, before Nolan returns home.
GREAT pictures by the way!!!

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

the pictures were actually from facebook, I think one of Dan;s sisters actually took them

KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

yes, rJo Winch was involved, keep reading the transcripts, the picture will be come much clearer as to why they had to remove Dan Nolan. Read about the Firefighter who used to work in Perez's office and then was sent to the State Academy to accomodate his hiring, supposedly the only Hartford firefighter EVER to not attend Hartford;'s Academy and the Union's involvement in starting the whole complaint against Nolan should provide some very interesting reading.

Even if you weren't a Nolan supporter, I think you might change your mind after reading the facts.

Anonymous said...

Wait a minute Kevin...now I'm really confused. The same Union President Fusco who pushed for Dan's dismissal, one of the cowards who bent over and grabbed his ankles when the Mayor and Teale told him to, is one and the same who, as soon as Nolan won, tried to say that he backed him all along, even going so far as to write him a hilarious letter telling him that THEY had won this FOR him (had nothing to do with his innocence of course)? Is that what this is telling me??

Wow, how much trust will the firefighters have in their Union President now? He did a complete 180. How many faces does that ugly mug have? I guess it's easy to do 180 degree spins when you have NO SPINE. There have to be much more honest and certainly better qualified firefighters that can give these everyday heroes what they deserve. I hope all honest firefighters consider running for office, there’s enough crookedness in the world, let’s clean up the Union. These firefighters risk their lives every day, they need someone watching their backs, not stabbing them in their backs.

Joseph Buyak said...

Dan Nolan was referred to as a "former" Deputy Fire Chief? Like his father, Danny will ALWAYS be a fire chief no matter what obstacles befall him. He will persevere...I fully agree with another forum contributor's words about Danny Nolan...People like him have allowed Hartford to remain afloat...

Anonymous said...

and why should he agree to resign? because the money is right? I guess you can say that our politicians are saying serving hartford correctly is not right.
They are wrong. He is right. I hope he stands his ground, continues to battle this out. Thank you to him for serving my city properly. We need more like you Nolan!

Anonymous said...

It was never any doubt that the liars, Teale, Fusco, and Perez would get found out. All three of them belong in jail, not just the crooked mayor. The crooked lying fire chief, and the lying mayors asslicking union president Fusco. I am a firm believer in what comes around goes around. Teale being on the take came as no surprise to me, I wonder how many invitations to speaking events he will get now that people know hes a liar and on the take. As for Fusco, he has always been a liar and always tries to put a spin on his crooked activities, tries to take credit for things he has nothing to do with and tries to cover his ass with his 180 spins. He threw Nolan under the bus to begin with and over 2 years later he wants to call 911 for him, of course only after it was found out by everyone his backstabbing ways, but there is more to come on the crooked usekess scumbag Fusco, I wonder if he will visit his bitch Eddie in prison. As for Chief Nolan, be careful on your deployment, it takes alot of intestinal fortitude to do what you do. Come back in one piece and take your job back. Good luck to you and God Bless. As for the 3 stooges, Perez, Fusco, and Teale, they will get whats coming to them sooner or later.

Anonymous said...

Good for you Dan Nolan! Vote row b tuesday..because nothing has changed. Common good is not welcome in hartford at the moment. Lets change that!

LOWV said...

Yes.Vote row B on Tuesday. We need real and effective leadership in Hartford. Kevin, please keep doing what you are doing. Your blog has been a great service to the people of Hartford. To Dan Nolan- you will prevail. Stay safe!

Anonymous said...

Kevin, it is obvious that you know the Former Deputy Chief Dan Nolan quite well. An honorable man who was wrongfully accused. Throughout this entire process, Dan Nolan was certain that he would be cleared of all accusations. Because he did nothing wrong. What is sickening is how some union leadership, city officials and the administration worked up this scheme against Nolan. The City dragged this on for years and attempted to destroy this mans reputation. Did they think Nolan would just go away? Obviously, they did not know who they were dealing with. Now we know the truth. Dan Nolan will be back after he serves this country once again. Maybe this time the City will be offering what they wrongfully took from him years ago...his job.

Anonymous said...

So; whats the next step here? They city "offered", and Chief Nolan obviously refused. How long can they realistically stretch this out before they have to do something?

Anonymous said...

The ridiculousness of this from start to finish is confounding. It stinks that the mayor and the chief of the department were corrupt as could be, but how sad is it that the firefighters cannot trust their own union leadership?

Anonymous said...

Teale's testimony makes him sound like a complete buffoon, but I loved this part from Corpotation Councel Ivan Ramos (p. 56):

THE ARBITRATOR: Thank you. We may proceed forward. Let's bring chief -- MR. RAMOS: I would like to ask that the witness, Mr. Nolan, would stop staring at me like he has been. THE ARBITRATOR: Hold it. MR. RAMOS: I did not get a good feeling from his looks and I just want to state that.

Waaaaah!!!! He's looking at me!!!