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Friday, October 14, 2011

A BAD WEEK FOR BILL DiBELLA, THE WEEK IN REVIEW


When it rains it pours, but that might be a good thing for the area's water agency, the MDC. But this week "the rain" just kept coming when it related to bad news for the Chairman of the MDC, William DiBella.

It started off with the announcement that the MDC would be forced to eliminate at least 82 jobs as a result of losing the management and operations contract for the CRRA, Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority.

Then Jon Lender did an in-depth story on the potential relationship between Hartford politicians and the hiring of Democratic State Representative Hector Robles at a company that just received millions from the State of Connecticut, Ticket Network of South Windsor. Lender began to connect the "dots" of the deal with DiBella, the MDC and his son, Marc DiBella figuring prominently in the middle of the article. You can read Jon Lender's story here.

And then on top of all that, it seems that at least 12 of the employees let go this week were IT specialists for the MDC. Interestingly enough, after the jobs were cut, the MDC's computer systems went down and have been down all week, and an MDC spokesperson quoted in a Courant article today said it was a "possibility" that the computers would be back on line next week. That doesn't sound too encouraging.

You can read the Courant article about the MDC's computer troubles here

Luckily for Bill though, he can decompress and unwind on his daily commute back to his home in Old Saybrook.

MORE ON THE ROBLES EMPLOYMENT DEAL, MORE HARTFORD POLITICS AS USUAL?


After the posting of the story here earlier this week regarding former Hartford Police officer Hector Robles' new job with Ticket Network there is now more information coming out. Robles was terminated as a Hartford police officer after being arrested on Larceny charges related to his alleged theft of over $10,000 from a "double-dipping" fraud scheme at HPD.

Robles still holds his seat as a Democratic legislator and Democratic Town Committee member from the 6th Legislative District, representing the southend of Hartford

Jon Lender of the Courant apparently did some more digging on the matter and found more interesting information. You can read Jon Lender's article here

Will this ever end? Maybe it is time for the Office of the Chief State's Attorney to set up a satellite office in Hartford for the Public Integrity Unit. Eddie Perez may have just been the tip of the iceberg.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

ANOTHER NOLAN UPDATE, CITY GRASPING AT STRAWS?

Even though Dan Nolan is currently serving our country in Afghanistan, his wrongful termination case is still winding through the courts, and at the very least I think we owe it to him to keep it in the public eye while he is away.

At a hearing on the wrongful termination matter, the parties met in a hearing at Hartford Superior Court. The complete transcripts of that hearing are below. The reason I ask if the City is grasping at straws to sustain their reasons for Nolan's termination should be clear after you read the transcripts.

The interesting argument is over the whole issue of the "quid-pro-quo" and the allegations that Nolan used his position for personal gain by encouraging Fire Department recruits to raise items and participate in charity events. Although the City seems to agree that there was no financial gain for Nolan, they apparently claim that the boost he received to his reputation in the community was enough reason to terminate him.

That is an interesting argument since City Treasurer Adam Cloud has apparently just done the same thing. Will Cloud now face the same fate as Nolan? To read more about Clouds actions, click here

The other interesting argument that seemed to pique the Judge's interest was the City's comparison of Nolan to criminals and felons.Read the transcripts and feel free to comment


Nolan Transcript 9 7 11

HECTOR LANDS A JOB



After being arrested and terminated from the Hartford Police Department on Larceny charges, former Hartford Police Officer and current 6th District State Representative Hector Robles has apparently landed a new job. According to sources, Robles is the new Security Director for Ticket Network of South Windsor. Calls to Ticket Network for comment were met with a "no comment". The only response was that Hector Robles was "unavailable".

Ticket Network was the second company to receive millions in State of Connecticut dollars as part of Governor Malloy's "First Five" business development plan. Robles was a member of the Legislature while the loans to Ticket Network were being approved.


Ticket Network also lists Hartford Democratic Town Committee Treasurer Jay Mullarkey as its "Vice President-Community Relations". A request for a comment from Mullarkey was rebuffed by his staff at Ticket Network, Mullarkey, like Robles was "unavailable".

Robles's larceny charges are still pending in Hartford Superior Court, he recently entered a plea of "not guilty".

Friday, October 7, 2011

DON'T "OCCUPY HARTFORD", DUMP BANK OF AMERICA INSTEAD


Just a suggestion, but all of this talk about "Occupy Hartford" doesn't really seem to be bringing any of our "horrible" corporations to their knees. In fact, I doubt they even notice.

Some of the points are somewhat valid, even though I will be the first to admit I am really not following the whole non-event. I think there was probably more coverage when Bank of America announced last week that it was going to begin charging a $5.00 monthly fee for using their debit card to spend your money.

If the "Occupy Hartford" people really want to make a difference, pack up the camping equipment and do something that will send a real message. Stop by your local Bank of America branch and close your accounts. Then go to your local Credit Union and open an account. Credit Unions are almost entirely run locally, are much more customer service oriented and don't charge the outrageous fees that the mega banks charge.

In fact, use of ATM cards in most credit union networks is free.

In a city like Hartford, as well as most urban areas, Bank of America has definitely taken their toll through foreclosures, lending practices and what some might call predatory mortgages. I think hitting them where it counts would say much more than any protest or camp outs could ever accomplish.

I wonder how many of the "occupiers" actually have a Bank of America or Citicorp card in their pockets,or how many gladly accept their Aetna or Traveler's benefits when they need them. Dissension is important, but is definitely more effective when it has a real impact

Thursday, October 6, 2011

ARE ETHICS OVERRATED IN HARTFORD POLITICS?

Actually, the better question is "are there any ethics in Hartford politics?". Is any one's word worth anything in Hartford's political arena? Just ask Shawn Wooden his opinion on that, he might have some interesting thoughts, as someone who has experienced that first hand the last couple of months.

You would think that after just coming through a Grand Jury investigation, the arrest and conviction of Eddie Perez, the arrest of Councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson and others, that people in Hartford city government and politics would be walking on eggshells and paying attention to ethical and legal behavior.

Apparently that is not the case. One person that seems to be pushing the limit is Hartford City Treasurer Adam Cloud. Jeff Cohen from WNPR had an interesting story today regarding Cloud's shakedown of City of Hartford vendors to raise money for one of Cloud's political operatives, Andrew Wood. You can read Jeff's story here.

This was another story about Cloud written by Cohen in the last week. Although it has been common knowledge since he took office as Treasurer, Cloud's wife works directly under his supervision in the Treasurer's Office. That is something Cloud should have had the common sense to end immediately after taking office.

The fact that Cloud and his wife, from what I have been told, are the only two people in the Treasurer's Office able to transfer money electronically is troubling. His wife is also apparently responsible for cash reconciliations in the office. I have to ask why anyone would put themselves in a position where this would immediately be called into question at any time a potential problem arose.

It is poor judgement and definitely a poor business practice.

The actions of the Treasurer that Cohen reported on today raise even more questions about the Treasurer's judgement, or more appropriately his lack of judgement. It seems that the Treasurer has been putting the squeeze on various Hartford vendors, including financial institutions, to donate money to a buddy of the Treasurer. Depending on the terms and the content of the conversations, that could cross the threshold and rise to the level of extortion.

Andrew Wood, the Treasurer's buddy and a political operative, was on the dole most of the Perez Administration for years, being paid millions of dollars to operate various "non-profits". The track record of those "non-profits" seem to be a well kept secret though.

According to Cohen's article "Cloud said he decided to raise money for the program because he was inspired by its good work -- not because he was in the middle of a political primary and the organization's executive director, Andrew Woods, is a political supporter."

Mr. Cloud, name something Mr. Wood's has accomplished for the City of Hartford, and it better be good , really good, to account for all the taxpayers dollars he has received over the last ten years.

We really need to demand more from our elected officials he seem to gain some sort of "sense of entitlement" once they cross the threshold into City Hall. They seem to forget what is lawful and ethical and are willing to repay political debts at the taxpayers expense.

The last Treasurer we had seemed to stay so far under the political radar and to the best of my knowledge never had the slightest suggestion of scandal related to her job performance during her years in office. Treasurer Cloud seems to have a much different work ethic, opening himself up to questions of impropriety in less than 9 months on the job.