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Wednesday, October 14, 2015

DILLON STADIUM: THE RESPONSIBILITY AND THE INDIGNATION, WHO'S FAULT IS IT

Some days I think Hartford thrives on being embarrassed. The Dillon Stadium fiasco proves it. Council President Shawn Wooden is now becoming a master at back pedaling as witnessed by his performance at last nights Council meeting. Wooden voiced his displeasure on being called on the carpet by the public at last nights public comment session. Councilman  Ken Kennedy quickly withdrew his resolution giving the keys to the Kingdom to James Pluckett and his fellow snake oil salesmen.

Wasn't Ken Kennedy the same one that has been shoving this development down our throats for months to cement his legacy as a soccer dad? Wasn't Kennedy the same Councilperson that sandbagged the first developer that was in line for the project.  The developer who is now suing the City of Hartford for its actions. I am pretty sure his case has been strengthened now by Hartford's actions and should be a slamdunk for a large settlement.

But let's get back to Wooden and the Council's actions. Wooden has every right to be indignant because this Council has been deplorable. Through their actions (or more appropriately inaction) the Council has empowered the air of incompetence that enshrines City Hall and this administration.

Remember the caviar and P-card incidents first outlined here? Where were the investigations and hearings into that ? There were none, again a little indignation but no one ever dug into the problem to get to the bottom of it. Maybe a memo advising employees that putting food and alcohol on City credit cards was a no-no. No discipline, nothing.

Remember all the trees cut from Keney Park by a rogue vendor profiting off the backs of Hartford's taxpayers . Again, questionable letters of credit and very poor oversight by City employees. What happened? Nothing. Does anyone remember the Council hearings on that matter? No you won't because there weren't any.

Incident after incident of incompetent business practices have been described here on this very blog. Many of those incidents have resulted in audits by Hartford's Internal Audit Commission. The results of those audits have ended in very specific recommendations by the Audit Commission to the Council , the Mayor and Department heads. For the most part those recommendations have fallen on deaf ears

After the Keney Park incident, the Commission recommended hiring an asset manager for the City. A City Hall employee had also recommended instituting an asset protection program after realizing that many City employees left employment and never turned in their I-pads, cell phones and laptops. Apparently at the time that the asset program was suggested there was no small asset inventory program. No one really kept a record of who was issued a cell phone or laptop, hence, no way to track what should be turned back in., and to the best of my knowledge, there still isn't an asset protection program. Incidentally, the employee who recommended the program has since been terminated by the brain trust at City Hall.

Hartford is a free-for- all and exemplifies the height of incompetence . These practices would never survive in the private sector, yet at Hartford City Hall they are rewarded. And in most cases the City Hall so-called managers are paid significantly more than their counterparts working for private businesses.

Hartford has a suite full of attorneys as well as a floor full of so called experts occupying high priced real estate at Constitution Plaza (Development Services) Are they so focused on proclaiming the next "Done Deal" as their resume builder that they are afraid to actually examine the deals closely? Could anyone with any common sense look at the Dillon Stadium deal and not realize the documents and the deal stunk to high heavens?

And how did Duckett arrive at the land of opportunity for sleazy scammers, also known as Hartford Connecticut? The theories abound, one being that there may have been a relationship between a certain Councilman and youth Soccer programs he was involved with. And how did invoices get overpaid with apparently duplicate payments with very little , or no oversight? One source claims there may have been a "dating relationship" between one of the persons signing off on the invoices and Mr. Duckett himself. I guess the investigators looking into the dirty deal will have to develop that information further.

In the meantime Council President Wooden, save the indignation and take a look in the mirror. How much of this fleecing of Hartford could you have stopped over the years with some actual leadership. I know the truth hurts, but you had the potential to form a different direction for Hartford and you chose not to. Maybe you weren't ready and didn't know how to, but hopefully your replacements coming in will understand a little better why they were actually elected and what leadership requires. Below are a sampling of documents used to determine the validity of this project. Would they have raised any red flags for you?
And here is the so called letter of credit

Saturday, October 10, 2015

A LITTLE LEVITY- IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO WORK

I can only post so much about Hartford's corruption, occasionally I need to take a break.

Friday, October 9, 2015

THE BACK PEDDLING BEGINS AS INVESTIGATIONS TAKE SHAPE

COUNCILMAN KEN KENNEDY WITHDRAWS RESOLUTION ON DILLON STADIUM

 

--- NEWS AND COMMUNITY STATEMENT---

 

(October 9, 2015) Today, Councilman Ken Kennedy has withdrawn the Resolution to develop Dillon stadium.

 

"While I continue to believe in this project, it's become clear that this proposal with these developers is not in the best interest of the City and its residents. As we continue to dig deeper, we find more issues that cause great concern. Accordingly, I am withdrawing this resolution from Planning & Zoning and Public Hearing. I believe this is the right project and concept for Dillon Stadium but currently not the right team to move it forward.  I know this parcel of land is destined to be a great public space and an asset to the City of Hartford."
END OF STATEMENT

AND SEGARRA CHIMES IN


MAYOR SEGARRA statement on dillon stadium

 

--- NEWS AND COMMUNITY STATEMENT---

 

(October 9, 2015) Today, Mayor Segarra issued the following statement regarding the current proposal to develop Dillon Stadium:

 

"I am angered and disappointed to learn that during the course of the City's due diligence for the Dillon Stadium project, disturbing issues and questions have surfaced regarding the project's investors. We are reviewing every payment made to the developer, Premier Sports Management Group, to ensure accurate accounting. They have agreed to work with the City of Hartford to reconcile any issues, if necessary. The Hartford Police Department, Hartford's Corporation Counsel, and the City Council attorney are coordinating efforts to make sure the City's interests are protected."

 

The big  question for many though is how did Kennedy's deal ever make it this far in the first place? How can community people recognize the letter of credit as a questionable document and Kennedy never did? Where were Tom Deller and the Corporation Counsel in protecting the City's interests and verify information before pushing forward? Who should have been verifying the work being billed before writing checks in excess of a million? And why was Councilman Kennedy so adamant about not being willing to release copies of the letter of credit and related documents when requested by Councilman Deutsch and others?

JILL KONOPKA LEAVING 3, HEADED TO NBC CONNECTICUT TROUBLESHOOTERS


THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE ALL AROUND US




Everyday I realize that there are good compassionate people around us. The video above is one that Tony Terzi from Fox 61 had posted on his Facebook page.  The video shows a man recovering from pretty severe burns that he received in a fire. He still found the time to stop and help a stranded motorist..

I had an incident yesterday with a Hartford Police Officer that is worthy of recognition. In these times when police bashing has become so popular with some, we also need to recognize the great officers out there.

Yesterday was my first day (or night) back in my own apartment after my July 5th stroke. I arrived home mid afternoon and a Hartford Police officer ( who I am not going to name, but it is indicative of most of our police officers) pulled into my driveway. The officer knew I had been gone for awhile and he was asking how I was doing .We had a short conversation. I then got out of my car and had a few things to carry up my stairs to get into my apartment.

He immediately went to get out of his car to help me carry things in. I  thanked him but explained I needed to do it myself to continue trying to get back into a normal routine. It was a struggle, but I got everything in on my own.

A short time later the same officer came back into my driveway. I was sitting outside on my back porch with my dog when the Officer pulled in.  He got out and told me that he was just stopping by to make sure I made it in safely.

It was a small gesture but it means a lot to know that people care. We do have many great officers in this city and we need to acknowledge and recognize their efforts.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

HOW BAD IS THE DILLON STADIUM DEAL?

I guess we are about to find out just how bad the deal is. According to several law enforcement sources, at least one and most likely two criminal investigations will be launched as early as tomorrow into the  deal.

One investigation is expected to be launched by HPD into various issues with the the deal,  the other investigation is allegedly a Federal investigation requested by Mayor Pedro Segarra during a request he made to US  Attorney Deirdre Daly earlier today.

The investigations are believed to the result of red flags raised by numerous questions  in regard to the development deal. One question is the amount of work that has been claimed to have been done already on the  site and payments made by the City using Capitol Improvement funds approaching $700.000. Much of that work and the scope of the work is apparently now in question.

According to City Hall sources, a stop payment order was placed on a check today that had been issued for additional work in question amounting to $305,000 .  Numerous other questions have been raised regarding the authenticity of a letter of credit apparently given to the City by the developer showing credit of $404 million dollars from Barclay Bank as of June 2015. That letter appears to be signed by an individual, according to sources, that has not worked for Barclay's since 2004.

It is unclear the involvement or how this information was passed by numerous City Hall individuals, including Councilman Ken Kennedy, a major proponent of the project or  Development Director Thomas Deller.

This deals needs to have the breaks put on and much more scrutiny needs to be shined on this project before moving forward.

Much more coming on this one.