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Monday, September 9, 2013

THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

Sources are confirming that the Connecticut Appeals Court has  ruled against State Representative Minnie Gonzalez and her appeal of charges levied by the State Elections Enforcement. This may open the way for a referral to the Office of the Chief State's Attorney for criminal prosecution.

Gonzalez does apparently have the option of appealing the ruling to the CT Supreme Court

The official ruling can be viewed below:



The case stems from allegations of voter and ballot fraud brought against Gonzalez in a 2006 case before the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

CITY EMPLOYEE AND CITY VEHICLE IN DUI CRASH

 
This is not a posting I look forward to posting, but in a sense of fairness, I think I have to. Both Rhonda and her husband are friends of mine. Please keep them both in your thoughts a they work through this difficult time, as well as the victim of the crash for a speedy and full recovery
 
 
FROM HPD:

At 9:30 pm Patrol units were dispatched to the area of Farmington Ave and Prospect Ave on a report of a head-on motor vehicle collision with a person trapped within one of the vehicles. One of the drivers appeared unconscious, but soon thereafter awoke. HFD arrived on scene and extricated the occupant due to the severity of the damage.  She was transported to St. Francis Hospital for non-life threatening injuries. The second vehicle was a 2012 Ford Escape, owned by the City of Hartford. The operator had signs of intoxication, therefore; HPD Traffic DUI Enforcement responded and assisted in the DUI investigation.  CSD responded and processed the scene.  Both vehicles sustained extensive damage.  Preliminary investigation revealed that the Ford Escape was traveling south on Prospect Ave, and veered off into oncoming traffic, ultimately colliding head on with the vehicle traveling northbound. That vehicle crashed into a parked Jeep along the east curb line.  

The operator of the Ford Escape was formally charged with several motor vehicle violations, as well as DUI.  

Rhonda Moniz-Carroll   (Refused medical attention) City of Hartford-DPW
54 Cone St, Hartford CT


Charges:  DUI & Failure to Travel in the Proper Lane  Vehicle: 2012 Ford Escape   (Owned by City of Hartford) CT 240HFD  (Totaled)  

Other operator: Female from Hartford (Transported to St. Francis Hospital;  ankle injury & concussion Stable)

Friday, September 6, 2013

"ARREST ME, I DID IT, I BURNED HIM ALIVE" ANOTHER CASE OF THE JUDICIAL REVOLVING DOOR

Julia Rivera
 
 
 That was the chilling statement made to Hartford police Officers when they were arrived at a scene on South Street in Hartford last night. The female caller informed the dispatcher that she had just burned her boyfriend  to death.

The victim had actually fled the scene before the officer's arrival . A crime scene was located in the apartment.

The victim was eventually located at 18 South Street with severe 2nd degree burns over 70% of his body. The victim was eventually transported to the Bridgeport burn unit in critical condition. The burns were caused by the suspect dousing him in heated cooking oil.

The suspect , Julia Rivera was charged with assault 1st degree, reckless endangerment , criminal violation of a protective order and disorderly conduct..

Rivera had recently been arrested  by HPD after another domestic incident on August 20, 2013. She was released after that incident on a written promise to appear although the charges were apparently serious enough for a Judge to issue a protective order against her, the same order that she violated when she scalded the victim with boiling cooking oil last night.

Luckily for the victim, if he survives, Rivera is being held on a $200,000, at least until the Bail Commissioner reviews it, maybe another PTA.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

TIME FOR THE HARTFORD CITY COUNCIL TO PAY THE PIPER


Although we keep hearing about Police officers being hired, the bottom line is they aren't.  The next recruit class is tentatively scheduled to begin in April of 2014 and will probably consist of maybe 20 new officers if things go well.

Today, almost one quarter of that new class was eaten up in one day by HPD Officers  announcing they are leaving. This exodus adds up to over 100 years of cumulative experience that will be leaving the Hartford Police Department to take their training and experience to other suburban towns and agencies.

According to sources, two Deputy Chiefs will be leaving to go to the Hartford County State's Attorneys Office, a Lieutenant and two sergeants will be moving north to one of our suburban neighbors as entry level Police Officers. Two other Sergeants will be reportedly leaving soon for positions in Canton and Glastonbury and one Captain left last week for an entry position in Plymouth.

These retirements will account for almost half of the  positions of April's class, if it happens.

Sources are also telling me that there are potentially 40 more officers that are eligible to retire before the April class would start. Many of those potential retirees are Lieutenants and above and could open up a huge leadership vacuum in the Department.

If you are doing the math, which apparently the Council isn't, this will potentially add up to a net loss of the ranks of the Police Department of a violent City

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

THIS IS NOT RESPECT

Senator Richard Blumenthal Addresses the Crowd at Tonight's Vigil
 
I have been supporting Reverend Henry Brown and Mother's United Against Violence  for years now.

Henry provides a much needed function bringing support and a level of respect to the families of homicide victims in Hartford by holding his vigils. I look over the crowds and family members that assemble at the vigils and always think to myself that no family should ever have to go through the pain that is visible at these vigils.

It is hard enough to bury a family member or a friend after they have lived a full life and pass from normal causes. I can't imagine getting that notification that a family member was gunned down or murdered by some thug over a spilled drink or a fight over a girl.

Like I posted earlier today, I question the values and nurturing and the level of respect we as a society are instilling in our young people. I'm not going to say my upbringing was perfect , but I had the benefit of two great parents, two grandparents that lived close and were heavily involved in the lives of myself and my brother and sister as well as neighbors that weren't afraid to step in when needed.

I think that prepared me for knowing and understanding the difference between right and wrong and what was socially acceptable behavior. I would put a candy wrapper in my pocket instead of throwing it on the ground. To this day I open the doors for senior citizens. I have only once, to the best of my memory used the "f" word in front of my mother . I never heard my father use foul language and one of the biggest things, I never saw my parents fight and after over 50 years of marriage, I don't think my father could have respected my mother any more than he did and he showed it right up until the day he died.

Yes, I grew up in an old school family and I don't regret it one bit. I hated it at the time on many occasions, but now I appreciate every moment of it.

As I look at a family grieving over a senseless homicide, I wonder how many of these vigils would not be happening if there were more "old school" type families around now. How do we get back to that, and how far as a society will we have to decline before we start demanding a change?

The final straw for me tonight was the graffiti left on the building where the vigil was held at Union Place. This was not about respect for anyone. Not the victim Miguel Delgado, not his family, not our community...no one. Numerous people had written in black permanent marker on the white marble trim of the historic building. This will most likely incur a sizeable bill to the building owner to remove the graffiti.
Graffiti Written on White marble Stone of Downtown Building

If the graffiti writers had grown up in a family that taught respect, they probably would have known to pick up a sympathy card at CVS and write their messages to the family of Miguel and dropped it in the mail. That would probably have meant more than defacing a building.

I am not claiming to be perfect, some would say far from it, but a strong family  and community definitely makes a difference.

WHAT IS THE MESSAGE?

Let me start this posting by saying right up front the owner of "Up or on the Rocks" is a friend of mine.  With that being said, I am trying to look at the efforts to shut the club down objectively and with an open mind..

Does Jerry need to share responsibility fro the actions of his patrons... absolutely. These are customers that he attracts to the downtown entertainment district. But with that being said, there is more than enough blame to go around.

Let's start with the office of Mayor Segarra and his quick move to claim responsibility for shutting the club down. Untrue. although Segarra wishes he were a Superior Court Judge, he is not. It would take a court order to close the club down The owner of "Up or on the Rocks" voluntarily shut the club down. Whether he has made a temporary decision or a permanent decision is up to him. Time will tell what pressures are brought to bear and what the future of "Rocks" is.

Also keep in mind shutting down a business also relates to job loss and putting employees out of work, loss of taxes and is not just simply closing the doors. Approximately 30 people would lose their jobs if the club closes.

Another key issue is probably not known, but Mayor Segarra and his former Chief of Staff need to accept and share responsibility for creating an unsafe environment downtown. After the police department started feeling the increasing squeeze of their overtime budget initiated by the City Council, the "downtown Special " was eliminated. In full disclosure,  a couple or restaurants that don't attract the late night crowd, balked at portions of the proposal also.

Briefly, the "Downtown Special " was a contingent of Police Officers that patrolled the bar area every weekend. The detail was made up of police Officers working on overtime. Two years ago, for several reasons, the greatest being the overtime costs, the detail was eliminated and never reinstated.

As a way to ease the burden on the Police department budget, meetings were held between the City, barowners and the Hartford Police Union to come up with an alternative. The Union and the City agreed to a compromise for hiring Police Officers by the bar owners. Currently Officers are hired in 8 hour blocks for "PJ's" or private duty jobs. The union and the City agreed  to begin offering PJ's to the bar owners in 4 hour blocks which made the cost much more affordable to the bar owners to provide additional security oin the form of uniformed Police Officers.

According to sources familiar with the meetings, for whatever reason the deal was killed by Segarra's former Chief of Staff Jared Kupiec. If Mayor Segarra is serious about safeguarding downtown reveler's. tyhose talks and the process should be renewed right away and give bar owners that wish to be responsible the chance to affordably bring increased security downtown.

I mentioned initially that the bar owner needs to share responsibility for the clientele he opens up his doors for. But I have asked numerous people a question that I think is fair. What could he have done or  could he have done to prevent either homicide. They did not happen in the club, but several hundred feet away in surface parking lots. How could he have known that someone had a 9mm handgun in their car and would retrieve it once they went outside to settle an argument.

If we are talking about responsibility, lets put the major portion where it blames. On the families of these callous individuals who think nothing of shooting someone in the chest repeatedly over a spilled drink. Somehow, I think if the truth were known, these "kids" are not coming from loving, nurturing families that have brought them up with a sound value for human life.

As a society we are continuing and adding to a generation of people that make a decision to take human lives as quick as they make a decision what color shirt they are going to wear when they go out. Lets start putting some responsibility on gun manufacturers and the need to start developing "smart weapons". The latest generation of I-Phones is set to come out with a scanner to recognize the users thumbprint to access the phone.

Couldn't that same technology be used to secure weapons from thugs? And lets start putting responsibility on our legislature to pass laws that actually prevent gun violence, rather than feel good bills that do nothing to prevent any of our homicides in urban areas. I am pretty sure that none of the 18 homicides in Hartford this year  have been committed by an assault rifle, although many of the handguns seized do have the extended clips. Lets see what kind of teeth are in the sentencing for those violations.

One of the most offensive things about these shootings downtown though are the voices crying out that something needs to be done, "This hurts downtown". Does it take a homicide "Downtown" to get people to wake up speak out? Where has Hartford's business groups worried about the Downtown image been after any of the other killings throughout the City? Is it acceptable for shootings in the poorer areas of the City as long as it doesn't touch the Downtown community?

This is a small City and the outcry for justice and safety should be the same if the victim is from Albany Avenue, Garden Street, South Marshall Street , Park Street or Downtown.

Those rushing to judgement need to step back and take a deep breath and look at the situation.
Like I said before, what could have been done differently to prevent the situation? I have never believed in allowing 18 year olds into bars for any reason, but the fact of the matter is that neither shooter was under 18, so they could have been in any bar legally. The latest Union Place homicide victim was also 21.

The outcry from the Business Improvement District is, to me,  grandstanding. What actions did they take after the first shooting? Were any meetings held to address the security of patrons with bar owners after the first homicide or numerous other gun incidents downtown

What is being done to the other numerous clubs that have had shootings or homicides in their vicinity. It is no secret to anyone that the West Indian Social Club has had their far share of gun violence, and shootings as well as homicides of patrons in the area of the Club. I don't even hear our Mayor or City Council addressing that. I guess it is OK because it is not downtown.

What about the Cleveland Café. That has been a problem club that has also had homicides right inside the club and numerous shooting incidents. Ever hear that name being mentioned for a shutdown. Again not downtown, so apparently acceptable for their clients to be shot.

Club Vibez, again, a homicide in the lot. as well as other gun violence The Durham Street homicide victim from Sunday morning   and the female surviving shooting victim had both just left there as well as the man arrested for carrying an illegal gun in his waistband that was arrested by Police at the Ranch House That must have been one of the best armed places in Hartford Saturday night.

The action or more appropriately reaction should be the same, they all affect Hartford's image , whether they are Downtown or any other neighborhood. Mayor Segarra;s recent quote that "one homicide is one too many" should be true no matter what neighborhood, not just Downtown