In 2012, Hartford Police Department Major Crimes Detectives
began a review of a cold case into the homicide of Mr. Trevon Mauldin. Detective
Renee LaMark-Muir’s persistence paid off. On July 30, 2013, Major Crime’s
detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Marcus White, 32 charging him with
Murder sec. 53a-54a, having a $2,000,000 judge set bond. The HPD fugitive task
force arranged for Mr. White’s capture in Cottondale Florida where he is being
held, awaiting extradition proceedings. Below are the basic details of the
homicide, based on what has been reported to investigators:
At
11:00am on December 16, 2007, Mr. Mark Brown went to 151 Martin Street and asked
residents if they wanted their driveway shoveled (it had snowed heavily the
night before). Shortly thereafter, Brown walked back to his truck. Meanwhile,
Mr. Trevon Mauldin and a female were sitting in Mauldin’s truck, also parked in
the driveway of 151 Martin Street. The suspect, Marcus White exited his
apartment at 161 Martin Street and went to talk to Mauldin. Mauldin and White
then approached Brown. White put a gun to Brown’s head and demanded his money.
Mauldin stood in front of Brown. White and Mauldin then struggled with Brown.
White hit Brown on the head with the gun and Mauldin held Brown in a headlock.
White then fired two gunshots, hitting Mauldin in the chest. Mauldin was fatally
struck in the chest and fell to the ground. Brown was grazed on the head and
sustained a ruptured right eardrum. White again pointed the gun at Brown and
robbed him of $290. White was last seen running through the backyards and then
south on Garden Street.
Hartford's Internal Auditors are sure keeping busy these days and the latest Audit report has pointed out some huge problems.
I guess we should be getting used to this by now. The incompetence and mismanagement under the Segarra Administration is almost an everyday occurrence. But the sad part is many of the problems are pointing directly back to Julio Molleda, Segarra's Director of Finance.
The P-card problems and the scathing audit report...Molleda at the helm. The violation of all travel policies and reimbursements....Molleda at the helm. And now, the most recent report into Hartford's Payroll operations...Molleda at the helm. This is the Finance Director being paid well over one hundred thousand dollars a year ,and for what? It can't be for his management because there appears to be none.
And let's not forget the acting Chief Operating Officers explanation to the Audit Commission for the $30,000 in missing Credit Card Charges charges, they were found in a shoebox on a shelf in the Finance Department. Yes , you read that right, the City of Hartford maintains its Financial documents in a shoebox on a shelf according to Saundra Kee-Borges.
The report is posted below , but a couple key points. Over ten thousand dollars was apparently paid to one City employee by mistake. According to the report that money has not yet been recovered. The overpaid employee is not named in the report, but that would be interesting to find out who they are and if they are still employed by the City. According to the report, there have been numerous over payments on payroll, but apparently only one of the employees, a Hartford Police Officer, brought the overpayment to his supervisors attention
The most troubling finding that appears in the report is that apparently the City has not filed or forwarded to the State and Federal government the income tax and payroll deductions taken out of City employees checks for the last year and a half. Where has the money gone? And what will that eventually cost the City, hence us the taxpayers, in penalties and interest? It can't be cheap.
An interesting side note, I was told by one source this morning familiar with the federal filing requirements that the individuals required to handle the filings could be held responsible for the penalties and interest. Get out your checkbook Mr. Molleda, this could be interesting.
With the size of the payroll of the City of Hartford, for a year and a half worth of deductions, I would think it will be substantial. And where does that liability come from since we have already closed out the last fiscal year.
The parts about tax forms being mailed to City retirees that are deceased is just another indication of the incompetence. But I am not sure Segarra minds being the stuff that good jokes are made of. His administration becomes more and more of a joke everyday and he is the only one that can step up and change that.
The section below is direct out of Hartford's municipal code. The calls for service at 3340 Main Street seem to be exactly what this ordinance was passed for. Why not start enforcing it? It is definitely a matter of Public Safety
Sec. 29-17. - Public safety police detail for places of public amusement and extended hours business premises.
(a)
The city has experienced significant problems with security and illegal activity within and surrounding various businesses operating as places of public amusement, extended hours convenience stores and other businesses open between the hours of 11:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. for several years including but not limited to problems with loitering, the illegal sale of narcotics, fighting and other physical altercations and other serious criminal activity.
(b)
This article is intended to aid in preventing crimes and nuisance, to secure for the citizens of and the visitors to the city the general welfare, public order, safety and peace, to protect employees of businesses such as those described herein and the consumer public at such businesses, and to establish security standards for such businesses that are uniform throughout the city.
(c)
The city now declares, in order to permit the development and implementation of reasonable controls that will effectively protect the public, businesses such as those described herein and their patrons, that this article be enacted.
(1)
The chief of police shall review all incident reports for property locations to which public safety personnel reported or were summoned or for which a complaint was filed with the police department for any loud, disturbing, illegal or violent conduct at any place of public amusement, extended hours convenience stores or any other business open between the hours of 11:30 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. ("premises"). Such incident reports shall contain the name and address of the premises and the name of the permittee(s) or owner(s) in charge of the premises.
(2)
The chief of police shall review such incident reports together with any other reliable information available to him/her concerning the premises. After such review, the chief of police shall determine whether the public safety of the patrons, invitees, employees or the general public require the deployment of a police detail to the premises.
(3)
For purposes of determining whether to deploy a police detail, the chief of police shall consider, but not be limited to the following factors in making such a determination:
a.
The nature, scope, and seriousness of the incident(s);
b.
The occurrence of violence and whether physical injuries resulted;
c.
Historical information regarding the premises and the owner(s) or permittee(s) with respect to similar incidents;
d.
The level of cooperation or lack of cooperation from the owner(s) or permittee(s) of the premises in addressing or correcting incident(s); and
e.
The benefit to the public's safety of deploying a police detail to the premises.
(4)
In the event it is determined that a police detail is necessary for public safety purposes the permittee(s) or owner(s) in charge of the premises will upon notice be required to pay the cost to the city of each police detail officer, in a number determined by the chief of police, as well as any necessary expenses incurred by the police department for providing such services. Said police detail shall initially be required for no more than four (4) weeks. After said period, the chief of police shall review the situation and any new information available to him/her. The chief of police may revise the number of detail police officers required or may terminate the requirement for police detail. The chief of police shall continue this four-week review cycle until such time as he/she determines that a police detail is not necessary.
(5)
Prior to any determination by the chief of police of the necessity for a police detail, he or she shall notify the permittee(s) or owner(s), in charge of the premises, in writing, via in hand delivery or via certified mail mailed to the premises, and shall offer the permittee(s) or owner(s) an opportunity to present any evidence within ten (10) business days which he or she believes is relevant to the decision of whether to order a police detail.
(6)
Upon determination that a police detail is so ordered, failure of any permittee(s) or owner(s) to promptly pay in full for a police detail or to abide by the decision of the chief of police shall be forthwith punishable by way of police action temporarily closing the premises and subject the permittee(s) or owner(s) to additional costs, legal fees and interest. The chief of police shall also report such failure to pay for police detail or to comply with orders or directives of the chief of police to the division of licenses and inspections for immediate action pursuant to section 21-9 of this Code suspending or, as appropriate, terminating both the permit or license to operate, where applicable.
It is early, so this might just be the first one for the night, but apparently a woman walking into a corner store at Main and Nelson Streets was just pelted with bird shot apparently
fired form a shotgun. Does anyone else seem to notice that once again our shootings and violent crime seem to be rising again?
More on this when I have time to compose some thoughts.
I had thought that after Eddie Perez was convicted in his corruption trial the "We the People" blog " would die off. What could I possibly have to write about?
One local reporter corrected me and said that "Hartford was the gift that keeps on giving" I wish I didn't have so many girts being handed to me, but oh well.
The way the numbers look, I may quite possibly hit the million page view mark by the end of August.
Thank you to all readers for your continued support.
The two resolutions I posted about last night never made it out of Committee tonight at the Council's Operations Management Budget and Legislative Affairs Committee.
What is next, telling DPW what size engines they can put on lawnmowers?
I only wish that Mayor Segarra would start actually acting like a Mayor so we could get beyond this nonsense and actually start moving the City forward. The infighting serves no one well, especially not the people of Hartford.
This will make more sense after reading yesterdays post here
Apparently when I posted back in June about the violent crime occurring at the West Indian Social Club, I touched a nerve. Well below are the listing of the violent crime that has taken place within 500 feet of the club for the last 2 and a half years. It is a rather extensive list but be sure to look at the specifics for 3340 Main Street, that means the incidents actually happened on the grounds or in the club.
And as far as touching the nerves, apparently a couple of cowards afraid of confronting me, were unhappy with the posting and the comments. There was one comment that was questionable and as soon as it was brought to my attention, I removed it. Instead, the cowards were too busy going behind my back making calls and other nonsense to portray me as a racist.
Apparently there were "petitions" to be circulated and a lot of phone calls to be made. Luckily there are still a few people in Hartford with character and integrity that called me with their concerns and the information they were hearing. That is what adults with any integrity do. It is easy for a coward to jump on the "racism" bandwagon when they have nothing else to run with. But I am very proud of the accomplishments this blog has made to make Hartford a better place, no matter who or what race they are.
To me it is about right and wrong and not the color of someone's skin. I don't think the truth differs from one race to another. But again if you have nothing to fall back on, go ahead and play the race card.
Maybe it is because one of the cowards had a relative that was caught up and arrested during the Perez Grand Jury and needs some sort of vindication, so jump on the bandwagon. Or maybe another coward just had a family member whose Hummer was just towed again by HPD, the same as it was a couple years ago after it was posted here on the blog The vehicle was apparently towed again last Friday for operating unregistered, misuse of plates and no insurance. Here is more about the first time
Both my cell phone and e-mail are clearly posted on the blog, I encourage anyone who has an issue with my comments, feel free to contact me. No need to be cowardly.
I received the press release below from HPD this evening and after reading it I had to wonder how something like this happens?
FROM HPD:
On August 7, 2013 at 1100am Detectives from the Hartford
Police Department Vice & Narcotics Division executed a search warrant on the
Los Cubanitos Market at 206 Park Street. Entry was gained without incident. The
primary target and owner, Henry Depena, was detained. As a result Detectives
seized over $4000.00 in currency and a very large quantity of illegal
prescription drugs including Oxycodone, Suboxone and Viagra.
Depena, 46 of Hartford (6 previous arrests) was charged with
6 charges, including Possession of Narcotics with intent to sell and operating a
drug factory. Depena was held on a $200,000 bond. This is the 4th time in less
than 5 years that HPD has successfully conducted an operation on Depena’s market
for this type of activity. The market has also been the central location of over
150 police actions in the past 5 years.
Depena has a court date of 08/14/13.
This is the part that caught my attention:This is the 4th time in less than 5 years that HPD has successfully conducted an operation on Depena’s market for this type of activity. The market has also been the central location of over 150 police actions in the past 5 years.
The fourth time in less than five years, are the courts asleep? What does it take to get someone off the streets that is dumping poison onto our streets. And it is not just drugs also. I regularly get press releases outlining shootings and other crimes where both suspects and victims sometimes have 30, 40 or even 50 arrests. What does it take for the prosecutors and judges take these crimes seriously.
I recently had a regular reader of the blog e-mail me for help with an individual that was "running" South Marshall Street and tormenting some good people that live there The individual had been arrested recently for carrying a sawed off shotgun and was involved in several incidents. In one of the incidents he had a set of brass knuckles he was wearing. The brass knuckles also had a knife attached. During one of his assaults, he punched his victim in the eye, plunging the blade in and blinding the victim in one eye.
Does this seem like someone that should be on the streets of any neighborhood in Hartford? The Police did their job and arrested the man again. The people in the neighborhood were thrilled to get word that he was taken off the streets and being held on a $780,000.00 bond. They were as surprised as I was when he was released later in the day when a bondsman took his bond for only $19,000.00. Now bond is not supposed to be punitive, I get that, but $19,000 for what should have been $780.000?
Any bets on whether he will appear in Court without a Failure to Appear charge?
Four raids in five years is ridiculous, get him off our streets
New York State Police have purchased over 600 of the Chevy Tahoe PPV Police vehicle, aren't they good enough for Hartford? Councilman Kennedy apparently says no.
I have to wonder if anyone reads or pays attention to Hartford's Charter. It keeps becoming clearer and clearer that neither the Mayor or the Hartford City Council understand the theory of "checks and balances".
The Mayor, whether he acts like it or not, is the Chief Executive of the City of Hartford. He is supposed to be responsible for hiring and firing Department Heads. Day to day operations are his responsibility and the Department heads are intended to answer directly to the Mayor.
The Court of Common Council is the legislative arm of the City. They are not intended to micromanage day to day operations of any Department. We hope that the Mayor appoints professional department heads but the Council has no control over that , other than to exercise the power given to them under the Charter to hold a hearing into a Department head they feel is not performing and by a 6 vote majority, they could remove any Department head
Can you imagine any State Representative barking orders to the Commissioner of State Police as to what cars they can order?. No, they approve the budget and let the people you hire as experts do what they have the knowledge to do. They are legislative not executive....checks and balances
No where in the Charter does it give the council the right to define how money they budget is spent or to question the size of engines that the police Chief or the Department deem fit to order in in new cruisers.
The Hartford City Council can not and should not be allowed to dictate the day to day operations of any City Department not Fire, not DPW and definitely not Police, that is why we went to a strong Mayor form of Government, whether Mayor Segarra realizes it or not.
The ordering of new police vehicles is currently caught in a quagmire of bureaucracy created by a Mayor that doesn't know his place and apparently by a Council President that is not willing to put his Council members in their place. I have already spoke with the Council President so I know he will not be happy about my opinion, but none the less, he is in theory the leader of the Council and is responsible for maintaining control and seeing that the business of the people of Hartford is done effectively
Micromanaging the Police Department is neither productive or allowable.
If the Council feels that the operation of the Police Department is not effective, then follow the Charter and conduct hearings and remove the Police Chief. I would be sure to count the votes clearly on that one, because I would bet it wouldn't happen. It is time to knock of the hidden agendas and personality conflicts.
The issue regarding comp time and where it is allocated is purely in the purview of the Chief. He is there everyday and I would hope is well aware of where his coverage is needed. If the Council isn't going to properly fund the needs as the Chief sees fit, comp time is a necessity.
Saturday nights homicide on Union Place is a perfect example. Many of the Officers that staff extra activities such as those around the bars at closing, those keeping order in Keney Park and Colts Park on weekends are there strictly because of comptime. We know what happens when they aren't there, the stabbings and drug use in Keney Park died off real quick when the parks are staffed on weekends by officers on comptime, imagine if no one was keeping order there.
Two items on the Operation Management and Budget Committee are very troubling to me because it clearly shows that the Council is overstepping its bounds, and no one is reigning them in. A strong Mayor would clearly know his power and use the checks and balances to set the Council straight. A "strong Mayor" would send a clear message: The Police Chief answers to me, I assign him to run the Department, now back off and do your own job".
The sad part though is that much of Councilman Kennedy's information is inaccurate. As you can see from the video below, the Tahoe PPV's actually have been tested and proven to get better mileage than the previously used Ford Crown Victoria's and there are no Corvette engines in any HPD vehicles. 8cylinders yes, Corvette...no.
Many Departments, including the New York State Police have tested the Tahoe PPV and made the decision to purchase them. The New York State Police have purchased over 600 of the vehicles and I would bet they researched that choice to death before cutting the Purchase Order.
There are professionals that are paid very well to research these choices and act in the best interest of the City. I would like to know how many hours Councilman Kennedy has spent researching the vehicles or how many of GM's tutorial videos he has watched? Has he ever even ridden in the Tahoe PPV? And the Ford Taurus he mentions. You will find that most police departments are learning the hard way that by the time you put the "cage" between the front and back seat and all the equipment in the car, the Chevy is more accommodating , from what I have seen and been told
In the meantime, HPD's fleet of vehicles to be purchased July 1st have not even been ordered yet as the department is short of operating cruisers for patrol. Even more interesting is that the arguments over these cars even exists at all. The cars are not costing the City of Hartford one cent. Yes you read that right, the cars are being purchased through a Capitol Improvement Grant of $1.9 million dollars , not a penny of cost to the taxpayers of Hartford through the General Fund.
It seems like a no-brainer to me, cut the red tape, get the Mayor to define the roles and have the Council back off. In the meantime, HPD is being handcuffed by a resolution that has not even been voted on by the Council and doesn't seem to have much support with other Council members
As a footnote, you can tell a PPV Tahoe over an SSV (4WD) by
the rims, the PPV has black steel rims and the SSV has a silver colored steel
rim. The PPV also sits lower than an SSV Tahoe and a civilian Tahoe to minimize
a roll over in pursuit / code 3 situations. As Councilman Kennedy may not realize, the term
"pursuit" applies to all code 3 lights and siren emergency response,
not just "pursuit" as in a car chase .
Hartford obviously has code 3 response "pursuit" situations often. A
4WD SUV is not meant for pursuit situations as it is prone to roll over and
does not have brakes comparable to the PPV. The PPV Tahoe also comes with
"stabilitrack" which is a system GM has put in Tahoe's which helps
prevent a roll over if the circumstances exist. The Chevrolet Tahoe is the only
full framed pursuit rated SUV on the market. An SSV Tahoe is made for 4WD drive applications, such as off road use,
mud, sand, and obviously snow.There is an adequate amount of 4WD vehicles in
the HPD FLEET. A truly equipped fleet has both units,as HPD does. This
budget year HPD was including two SSV units. Older 4WD patrol expedition
supervisor units would be used as spares.
Planter or trash container? Front Entrance of Hartford High
"Welcome to Hartford High School" Front Entrance Ramp
Has anyone noticed the shrubs are overgrown by the weeds?
Lately I have been receiving a lot of calls from parents who have children in Hartford's Schools as well staff working at school buildings. The description of the conditions in some of the schools is just saddening. With all of the new schools the City has built, it just seems that there is no concept of actually maintaining the buildings and grounds.
Parents have described the appalling conditions at buildings such as Milner School on Vine Street. The bathrooms are apparently filthy and many students refuse to even use them. Broken glass litters the grounds and cause unsafe conditions for children.
I recently drove around to several school buildings to see for myself.
The attached photos of Hartford High School on Forrest Street make me wonder how to expect children to take pride in their schools when the adults who enter the buildings everyday seem not to. Many of the pictures are within feet of the main entrances and parking lots . Hartford High does not just have one principal, they have three.
I find it hard to believe not one of them has noticed that the weeds are taller than the shrubs. Not one of them has noticed that the "Hartford's Rising Star" planters adorning the front entrance have become trash receptacles rather than planters.
This sends a terrible message to both students and parents as to the education of children and how if we can't even take pride in the buildings, how can we actually think educators will take pride in the education of Hartford's Children.
Finally, in the picture below, Hartford High has been posted in the past week for towing for "trespass tows". I have to ask why and what was the process for selecting the vendor? Did it go out to bid and did they really have to select a West Hartford Company? Are there no predatory towers in Hartford willing to grab the cars of residents that happen to park on school grounds. Grounds that there taxes actually pay for.
Why should a resident that has their car towed for parking on school property on a weekend or any other time when school is not in session have to find a ride to West Hartford to get their car back. Plenty of tow companies operate out of Hartford. It is bad enough that the Board of Education would tow in the first place, but lets find a company that is actually local and pays taxes in Hartford.
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