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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

DON'T QUIT THOSE DAY JOBS



















Save the date for this Saturday as the four local television stations hold their annual Softball Challenge games at Millwoods park in Wethersfield This year the games and any donations  will benefit the Channel 3 Kids Camp

For more on the camp or how to donate, click here

KUPIEC PAID OVER $36,000 ON EXIT

Today I posted earlier that City records show Segarra's former Chief of Staff  Jared Kupiec will be on the City's payroll through  September 27, 2013.

Apparently the City provided additional documents to the Courant's Jenna Carlesso after she inquired further. Those documents apparently show that Kupiec received a lump sum payment upon leaving City Hall. The payment was signed off on by someone "unidentified " for Mayor Segarra on June 21, 2013 for $36,380.37.

It is also interesting that they prepaid Kupiec for the July 4th holiday and Labor Day, even though he was already gone by those dates. The $884.00 for holiday pay is relatively small considering the rest of the payout. I wonder if they deducted the furlough days he was supposed to give back as part of that "shared sacrifice" thing.

 I'm becoming more and more skeptical of this Segarra makeover by the minute. Can the announcement for the promotion of Assistant Chief Waller be far off?

Jenna Carlesso's article can be viewed here


THE RIGHT IDEA DURING THIS DANGEROUS HEAT

During this extended heat please be sure to pay close attention to your pets and make sure that they are getting plenty of water and not being left out in the heat . Also, be sure to check on your neighbors, especially the elderly, that may not have air conditioning . Just take a moment to check in and make sure they are drinking plenty of fluids.

It is only common sense, but I am sure we will read a story about someone leaving their pets in a vehicle while shopping or something crazy.


The City of Hartford has cooling centers available but the latest they are open is 4:30PM, I'm not sure why, that is still the heat of the day, but it is probably better than nothing.

UPDATE: A reader made a great comment, think about your pets paws as you walk them outside on hot asphalt or concrete and try to stick to the grass surfaces or mulched paths


Hartford Cooling Centers:

                    North End Senior Center, 80 Coventry Street, 8:30am-5:00pm

                    South End Wellness Center, 830 Maple Avenue, 8:30am-4:30pm

                    Parkville Senior Center, 11 New Park Avenue, 8:30am-3:30pm

                    Hispanic Health Council, 175 Main Street, 8:30am-4:30pm
 
All Hartford Public Library buildings are available also during normal operating hours

HPD ASKING FOR THE PUBLIC'S HELP

KUNTA SOYINI
QUAN SOYINI
 
WANTED FOR MURDER- HAND GUN HAS NOT BEEN RECOVERED

 

On the morning of July 10, 2013 Hartford Police were dispatched to the parking lot of the Thirman L. Milner Elementary School on a report of a person shot. The victim, Chimar Gordon was found lying in the parking lot suffering from fatal gunshot wounds.

The homicide detectives in the Major Crimes Division were assigned the investigation. Following thorough investigative steps, detectives were able to identify 2 suspects. On July 16, 2013 MCD detectives obtained two arrest warrants- detailed below: 

Kunta Soyini  (9/8/78) of 55 Evergreen Ave. Hartford, CT

Murder                                                                53a-54a

Carrying Dangerous Weapon                      53a-206

$1,000,000 Bond 

Quan Soyini (2/22/76) of 343 East Center Street in Manchester, CT

Murder                                                                53a-54a

Conspiracy to Commit                                    53a-48

Aiding and Abetting                                        53a-8

$1,000,000 Bond
 
Multiple law enforcement agencies are actively looking for these two suspects. We are seeking the public’s help in locating these individuals. If you have information on their whereabouts, please do not approach, call law enforcement. Specific tips can be sent to HPD Lt. Brian Foley at 860-757-4463 or Crime Stoppers 860-722-TIPS.

 

Thank you

MORE BAD NEWS FOR APONTE

As an Ethics complaint referred to Hartford's Ethics Commission by the Internal Audit Commission is pending,it appears that there may be more ethical clouds on the horizon for Hartford Councilman Alexander Aponte.

On the agenda for tomorrow's Internal Audit Commission, Aponte takes front and center once again as agenda item number 1.

a.       Vote on performing a special review, in accordance with a referral, regarding Councilman Aponte’s association with the Spanish American Merchants Association (SAMA) as the Agent for Hispana Vision, LLC which is owned by a principal of SAMA.
 
Does anyone understand "conflict of interest" and what that actually means.
 
Below is the full agenda for tomorrow's meeting, the meetings are open to the public.


IS ANYONE AT HARTFORD CITY HALL TELLING THE TRUTH?

I would imagine it is never a good thing for politicians to get caught up in a scandal, but does lying about it make it any easier to deal with.

After the Kupiec Joyride saga. the Mayor's Office was quick to respond that all of Kupiec's City property had been accounted for including his City Cellphone, I-pad and other equipment. I guess they had hoped that we would believe that the only thing they neglected to recover were the spare set of keys to the City vehicle he allegedly eventually stole back, or in the words of Mayor Segarra "took without permission".

Well it appears that  we were misled about the cellphone also because I know one individual that called Kupiec on his City cellphone the morning of the recovery of the stolen City vehicle, almost a week after we had been told he turned the phone in. The following day after a reporter attempted to reach Kupiec for comment, the reporter was met with a greeting that the number was not in service. If the phone was actually re-issued, why would the City then shut it off. Or might it have been that they were actually reacting to being caught in a lie?

We were also told by the Mayor's Office that Kupiec had no special severance package and had only received 1.5 weeks pay when he left. Now in documents I obtained through an FOI request, it appears that there also may be another lie being fed to us.

The document below shows that Kupiec will be paid through September 27, 2013, almost three months after he left his position June 21, 2013.

And don't forget the New's Years eve soiree. Even though Mayor Segarra had told Channel 3 on camera that he had paid back half the cost of the dinner, according to the documents , that was also a lie and the cost was actually paid back a week later when I insisted on seeing the documents.

The old saying that "the coverup is worse than the crime" seems to be very valid with this group.

UPDATE 3:34PM- this was just e-mailed to me regarding Kupiec's pay, I have a hard time believing he didn't take a sick day in 2 1/2 years, and who was responsible for tracking his time, probably something else worth FOI'ing and digging into."According to them, Jared didn't use any of his sick time during his 2 1/2 years with the city. Panagore had the same thing when he left city employ. Segarra recently introduced a proposal to city council to end the "runout" practice.

It might be bad news, but a little truth might be a good thing