Friday, April 27, 2018

HERE IS ONE FOR THE OVERSIGHT BOARD; THE BOTTOMLESS MONEY PIT AT THE BOE

I am not sure if the Hartford Board of Education has received the memo yet that the City of Hartford is broke.

I think the BOE, its members and the Superintendent might be under the impression that they are not accountable to the people of Hartford or its taxpayers. The reckless spending detailed in two of my previous posts are in the links below, but yet the reckless spending continues.
http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2017/12/memo-to-hartford-board-of-education-you.html
http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2017/12/memo-to-hartford-board-of-education-you.html

Another perfect example of the out of control spending is about to take place and the details and the origin are somewhat bizarre..

I was tipped off by a source to some crazy spending this week, and the spokesperson for the Hartford Schools confirmed the sources information. Several other sources with knowledge have also confirmed and provided more details for me.

Recently, Joseph Sikora , retired as the Director of Security  for the Hartford Schools. Sikora was a retired Lieutenant  from the Hartford Police Department before going over to HPS.I am not sure what the selection process was to replace Sikora. At least three sources familiar with the process told me that  BOE Chair Craig Stallings pushed for retired HPD Chief Daryl Roberts to  ascend to the position of Security Director for the Hartford Schools.

Apparently that choice was made without the approval of the Hartford Superintendent.

Some sort of rift has developed between Roberts and the Superintendent and the Hartford Schools have now created  a "cabinet position" under the Superintendent.

Although Roberts was apparently hired on Stallings urging as the "Director of Security", the new Cabinet position will be called the "Executive Director of Internal Investigations and Security".

Roberts salary will be  $107,458 per year plus benefits. The new "Executive Director" will be paid $135,000 per year plus benefits..

According to sources, the role of the Executive Director essentially will be to oversee Roberts and control his interactions with the Superintendent. This has been verified by the HPS spokesperson Zayas  who stated that Roberts will be reporting to the 'Executive Director"

The position of the Executive Director of Internal Investigations has already been filled by a retired Connecticut State Police Major, Alexander Rios.

Now by all accounts I have received from sources familiar with the BOE and Law Enforcement officials, Rios is more than competent to fill the position.





































Alaexander Rios was last promoted from Lieutenant to Major with the Connecticut State Police after serving as a Trooper for over 20 years. Rios served as the commander of Troop C, Troop A and the Bureau of Professional Standards. Rios has also served in Troop H andf Troop K  and the Central District major Crimes Squad. Rios holds a B.S. degree and resides in Manchester.

Again, Rios appears to be competent for the position, but can we really be talking about closing schools over budget issues and then be creating "Executive Director" positions due to perceived personality conflicts?









Monday, April 23, 2018

HARTFORD POLICE CHIEF DAVID ROSADO AND ASSISTANT CHIEF RAPHAEL MEDINA ON "WE THE PEOPLE"

Below is our program from today where  Hyacinth and I spoke with Hartford's Police Chief David Rosado  and his newly appointed Assistant Chief Raphael (Ralph) Medina.

We talked about a variety of subjects including body cameras, staffing, recruitment. quality of life enforcement and more.

Chief Rosado has shown to be very approachable. if you have any questions, feel free to reach out to him or Chief Medina.

There  was a small glitch at the very beginning with still photos of a couple blighted properties, but the conversation starts immediately after that.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

GREAT JOB BY HPD FOR QUALITY OF LIFE ENFORCEMENT IN HARTFORD

 On Sunday, April 22, 2018, a city wide Multi-Jurisdictional A.T.V. (All-Terrain Vehicle) operation was conducted and led by the Hartford Police Traffic Division. The operation included Traffic Division personnel, Community Service Officers, Auto Theft Detectives, C-4 Division, and the V.I.N. Division.

Surrounding agencies also assisted, including members of the Wethersfield Police Department, Newington Police Department and the Connecticut State Police.  The collaborative effort led to the arrest of the listed (10) ten individuals for various charges. Officers seized (14) fourteen all-terrain vehicles, which included a mix of both Dirt Bikes and Quads.

Officers also seized a U-Haul van and Dodge pick-up truck that were used to transport the A.T.V's, and Marijuana.  Nine out of the Ten arrested individuals are non Hartford residents.

Seized items are listed below:

(14) Fourteen all-terrain vehicles, including a mix of dirt bikes and Quads. Seized: One UHAUL Dodge van, (Arizona AH51782) containing three dirt bikes and one scooter. Seized: One 2005 Dodge Ram Pickup truck (Rhode Island 123303) containing two dirt bikes. Recovered: Several bags of Marijuana recovered from arrested individuals.

Arrested were:


1. Devin De La Cruz  (D.O.B. 4/22/98) 49 Star Street Pawtucket RI - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance     22-120, Disorderly Conduct, and Interfering with Police.
2. Andy Flores (D.O.B. 6/21/97) 57 Salmon Street Providence RI - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance     22-120.
3. Ramon Pavel (D.O.B. 10/17/89) 51 Hyat Street Providence RI -  Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120
4. Victor Felix (D.O.B. 1/24/93) 76 Dart Street Hartford CT -  Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120, Disorderly Conduct and Interfering with Police.
5. Jeremy Crespo (D.O.B. 10/14/94) 659 High Street Holyoke MA - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance     22-120, Possession of Marijuana and Interfering with Police.
6. Joshua Guzman (D.O.B. 7/10/93) 1 Gresham Street Springfield MA -  Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120 and Possession of Marijuana.
7. Alan Cerdena (D.O.B. 9/1/88) 18 Warrenton Street Springfield MA -  Operation Prohibited City Ordnance     22-120 and Possession of Marijuana.
8. Isiah Torres (D.O.B. 10/22/99) 174 Rosemary Drive Springfield MA - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120 and Possession of Marijuana.
9. Gian Irizarry (D.O.B. 5/5/98) N.C.A. New Britain CT - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120 and Possession of Marijuana.
10. Juvenile - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120  Arrested Juvenile:  Tyler Street Springfield MA - Operation Prohibited City Ordnance 22-120.

All of the offenders, except one, were from out of state.

A great job by HPD and all agencies involved. Hopefully this will be  a regular occurrence until the message gets out.