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Sunday, February 1, 2009

THE FEEDING FRENZY BEGINS



I picked up the Sunday morning Hartford Courant and almost thought that Al Capone had been reincarnated and landed in Hartford, Connecticut in the form of Eddie "Willie Nunez" Perez. Although two people at the Courant have been in the forefront on the corruption investigation, Jeff Cohen spending many hours researching tips and standing outside the Grand Jury room and Helen Ubinas' columns being critical of el Jefe. And while I'm at it, a lot of credit should go to Len Besthoff from WFSB and his I-Team reports shining light on what goes on at City Hall from the Mayor's Office to John Rose and his flagrant disregard for transparency and the Freedom of Information Act. The Courant has been relatively silent on the culture of fear and intimidation that has been, and still is, the hallmark of the Perez Administration. The Hartford Courant pretty much refused to consider an ongoing corruption investigation, including a search of Perez's home by state investigators, when they issued their endorsement of Perez for re-election in 2007. A key point of this endorsement to consider is that David Medina, who was sitting on the Courant Editorial board at the time of the decision, landed a lucrative position with the Hartford Board of Education shortly after the election. The catch phrase of the week has been "quid pro quo", in this case it appears pretty obvious, you endorse me Dave, I'll endorse you. Although the field of candidates for Mayor was large, and the Courant would have never endorsed a Republican, many thought that in light of the allegations against the Dark Emperor, oops that was the name for the marble he chose for the judgement lapse, I mean Mayor Perez, that the Courant would have remained neutral and not make an endorsement. Yet, in their endorsement they pretty much said, and I'm paraphrasing, "we know Eddie is bad, we know Eddie is divisive, we know Eddie is not a leader and a unifier, but we endorse him anyways".


Well, what changed in less than a year and a half? Although most agree additional charges and additional arrests are coming, as stated in the release from the States Attorney's Office, the facts contained in the arrest affidavit for the first round of arrests were well known to the Courant editorial board in 2007 when the Courant made their endorsement. Although Jeff Cohen and Helen Ubinas have seemed to remain on point from the beginning, it was somewhat disingenious to see the "All Perez Corruption Edition " of today's Courant.


Don't get me wrong, I want to see every last fact about this corrupt administration in the public domain, but not to sell newspapers. The behavior has been obvious to many of us for a couple of years and didn't begin on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 at 10:00am on the steps of Troop H in Hartford. The Courant endorsed Perez and must now share in the blame along with the Hartford City Council and others, for allowing his corrupt activities to flourish unchecked for so long.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

WILLIE? WILLIE NUNEZ IS THAT YOU?



I found this picture on the Hartford Advocate website, and it kind of made me wonder is this what we should expect to see from Eddie Perez in the coming weeks as he tries to paint all of us as racists trying to tear him down. I hear that Perez is being tutored by Sarah Barr and Lou Brown to perfect his Richard Nixon impression and we should be getting El Jefe's version of Nixon's "I am not a crook" speech any day now.

Since day one, Perez has refused to take blame for any problems in the city or his mistakes. Everything has been Governor Rell's fault,the Bush Administrations fault, the Waterford Group and the Wohlman's fault, and on and on and on. And now, luckily Eddie Perez's arrest has helped unveil the Chief State Attorney's office and our Superior Court judges as the racists they apparently are , according to Perez and his attorney.

Forget the corruption testimony by Carlos Costa and others, forget the phony e-mail addresses to avoid detection (Perez staffer Susan McMullen had a phony e-mail address in the name of Willie Nunez created for Perez), forget the phony billing initially charging Perez's renovations to the Church Street Garage renovations. Forget the lies by Perez to investigators offering to provide cancelled checks of his payments. Forget Perez making a beeline to the Credit Union to cover his tracks and obtain a loan to pay the phony invoice he asked Costa to provide. It is all purely an attempt by a racist group of individuals to tear down a Mayor that I am sure the Hispanic Community is extremely proud of at this moment. A community that put their hopes and trust in Eddie Perez to be a role model and further the image of their community as well as the City of Hartford.

When Perez's actions started to come to light to me and others probably over two years ago, I was surprised by people's allegations. As I continued to listen to people coming forward with allegations, I followed them closely and watched the evidence of wrongdoing grow. I think I can honestly say that myself and others care more about our city and would support honest leadership no matter who that comes from, regardless of race, creed color, gender etc, etc, etc. We have never really talked about it, but I think Stan McCauley, who I strongly supported for mayor in 2007 is African-American. When the allegations continued to grow and Perez's home was subject to a search warrant, Perez's response was that his wife's health was the excuse, that he was distracted. Once again Eddie, don't take blame for your actions, make an excuse, no matter how cowardly and disgusting that excuse may be. And then the arrest warrants are signed, Perez is arrested, and it is all about race. I've read the arrest warrant affidavits a couple times and I must be reading wrong because I haven't found anything that appears to be motivated by race. If anything, this Grand Jury seems to have gone out of it's way to protect Perez's
right to privacy and the obvious lack of leaks or information making it to the public before the arrest affidavit being released as a public record.

That might be part of the problem though. Perez has had a real problem comprehending that "public information" thing throughout his administration and I'm sure he never realized that the public has the right to see the actual allegations. Maybe he can consult with his alter ego "Willie Nunez" for an explanation of the Freedom of Information Act. I would have suggested he talk to John Rose, but I would venture to say that might be at the root of a lot of Eddie's problem, the "advisors" (aka "yes-men") have given King Eddie some very bad advice.

And as we continue down the path of corruption, we have seen his wife's health as an excuse, we have seen racism as an excuse and we have seen the Rowland/Blagojevich excuse, "it was a lack of judgement". I am sure there are many people sitting in prison now thinking that their acts were a lack of judgement

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

PEREZ ARREST WARRANT AFFIDAVIT



CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL TEXT OF THE PEREZ ARREST WARRANT AFFIDAVITPerez Affidavit

THE TRANSPARENT PEREZ ADMINISTRATION


Susan McMullen
Director of Constituent Services
and
Faithful Perez Puppet



Enough has been posted over the last 24 hours about the Perez arrest, I'll eventually post my thoughts on that, but one of the claims outlined in the arrest warrant affidavit really caught my interest.

From an administration that consistently touts its claims of transparency, it was very interesting to read how the city created a phony and fraudulent e-mail address in the name of "Willie Nunez", which actually belonged to Perez. This was apparently created at the direction of Perez puppet Susan McMullen and used by Kelvin Roldan. The intent of this fraudulent e-mail address appears to be to avoid detection of e-mails directed to Eddie "Willie Nunez" Perez that may have been found through FOI requests.

The following excerpt are taken directly from the arrest warrant affidavit for Eddie Perez aka "Willie Nunez"

THAT Mark Wiles, former City of Hartford employee charged with administering email accounts, testified before the
Grand Jury. Wiles testified that he created the "Willie Nunez" email account on 02/24/2004. Wiles testified that the
"Willie Nunez" account belongs to Mayor Perez. Wiles testified that he used the fictitious name "Willie Nunez" to set up
the account at the request of Susan McMullan, a staff member of Mayor Perez's. Wiles testified that to his knowledge this
was the only fictitious account set up on the City of Hartford's email system. McMullan told Wiles that the purpose of the
account was for internal use as Mayor Perez's regular email account received a lot of emails.
THAT Kelvin Roldan, Special Assistant to the Mayor, acknowledged that the "Willie Nunez" email account belonged to Mayor Perez. Roldan was asked why he would forward something to the "Willie Nunez" account versus Mayor Perez'
regular email account. Roldan testified that he would send the item to the "Willie Nunez" account "if it's something that
is in front of me at the time, bearing some kind of importance that I think the Mayor should know, on a more quicker
fashion. "

This is another example of the Perez administration attempting to deceive the public through its underhanded and most likely criminal activities.It is even more bothersome that Kelvin Roldan is also a State Representative and apparently has no regard for FOI Statutes if these actions are any indication.

Roldan's actions as a Perez puppet have been well rewarded though. At Tuesday evenings post-arrest Board of Ed meeting, Roldan was approved as a full time permanent employee of the Board of Education at a $99,000.00 a year employee. Hiring freeze, what hiring freeze. It may cost a couple teachers their jobs to afford Roldan's salary, but at least the loyal puppets know they will be taken care of.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

WHEN IS CORRUPTION OK ?

As a city, Hartford continues down the path of accepting poor leadership and apparently tolerating corruption, for some, if you belong on the right side of the political fence.

At last nights Hartford City Council meeting, appointments to the MDC were on the agenda. Among those named for re-appointment were William DiBella, Anwar Al Ghani, and Gertrude "Trude" Mero. Now Trude Mero I have no issue with, she seems to have done her time in Hartford politics and emerged unscathed by any scandals, from what I have been told. I actually met her for the first time last night and she seemed very cordial and we had a very good conversation. I look forward to speaking with her more in the future.

I prepared for the meeting with facts and figures as to why DiBella, a lifelong politician found guilty by a jury of his peers in Federal Court for being part of a fraudulent scheme to fleece the citizens of Connecticut of over $370,000 dollars, should not be re-appointed to the MDC.

I had high hopes that at least a couple of the members of the Council were starting to do what is right for Hartford after seeing their actions lately, especially demanding information into the finances of the Perez Administration. I had even higher hopes when I stopped by the Council Office before the meeting and saw one staffer working on information as to why Anwar Al Ghani would not be re-appointed because some councilmembers felt that the Hartford address he was using on Westland Street was nothing more than a maildrop scam to show Hartford residency, allowing him to qualify for a seat on the MDC. And furthermore, Al Ghani has allegedly been linked to the ongoing corruption investigation of the Perez Administration and his financial dealings with Digg's construction by apparently benefiting financially from his vote to appoint Digg's as the Hartford School building committee's construction manager.

Well, I figured I was on pretty solid ground opposing DiBella's re-appointment.
After all, if they were taking a hard line approach to someone only being rumored to be corrupt, they surely would take a stronger approach to someone who has been proven to be corrupt in Federal Court, after a trial by a jury of his peers, and after a Federal Judge called the funds he received from his "fraud scheme" the "ill-gotten gains" and ordered Dibella to re-pay almost $750,000 in fines. And if Anwar al Ghani's address was an issue brought into question because of a label on a mailbox, then most definitely DiBella's Federal Election Commission campaign filings
for his donations to both Senator Chris Dodd's campaigns and Congressman Chris Murphy's campaigns, listing his address as Old Saybrook, Connecticut should seal the deal. And if that wasn't enough, even the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission, in their filing of the fraud charges against DiBella, clearly list the defendant as "William A. Dibella, 59, a resident of Old Saybrook Connecticut".

I felt as though finally, Hartford's motto was going to start coming into play. "After the clouds, the sun" and the city that many of us care deeply about has been under a cloud of corruption for too long. Not only by the likes of Perez and his band of thieves (I guess I should say alleged thieves, unlike Dibella it hasn't been proven....yet), but also by the likes of William Dibella who have benefited throughout their political careers on the backs of some of the poorest people in the state of Connecticut.

I started adding the votes in my mind. I knew Council President Torres, Majority Leader Rosezina Winch and Councilman Boucher would vote true to form as King Eddie would instruct them. Vote yes for Dibella, a lifelong Democrat that may have been one of Perez's tutors on the fine art of public corruption. On the other hand Councilman Segarra has been leading the charge to bring the current administration's activities "out of the clouds and into the sun", so there is one vote. Councilman Kennedy has been very outspoken lately and helping to lead the charge for "all that is right and ethical for Hartford", so there is vote number two. Councilman Deutsch really does seem to get it, that he was elected to represent the people and seems to attempt to do what is right for them, even in light of the mindless majority leading the council, so there is vote number three. Councilman Cotto, seems to relish in being the champion for the "little people" without voices, so surely he wouldn't vote for someone that made over $370,000 for a few minute phone call at the expense of the "little people". That $370,000 "finder's fee" more than many of Hartford's residents would make in a lifetime at minimum wage jobs. So Councilman Cotto surely would be vote number four. And Councilman Ritter, a tough call for him. Ritter comes from the Democratic side of family politics who most likely worked along side DiBella in the legislature and have some strong connections to Dibella. I have the highest regard for Councilman Ritter and his potential as a future leader, but at this stage I don't think he is ready to make waves, he doesn't want to alienate any voter by aggravating them. I used to be like that,( I know, hard to believe) but as you get older you realize that principal accounts for something, you stand by it and at the end of the day, you can still feel good about your character and not being compromised.Councilman Ritter recused himself and abstained from the vote. And finally, we get to door number three, Councilwoman Veronica Airey-Wilson. Airey-Wilson is no stranger to the ongoing corruption investigation, her house was searched by Inspectors from the State's Attorneys Office, Public Integrity Unit. Although she appears to be a close ally of Perez, she also is rumored to be a Republican. Anwar al Ghani is also apparently a Republican and was rumored to be working hard to deliver votes for Airey-Wilson in her recent failed run for the state Senate. I thought that would seal the deal, vote number five.

Three votes from the Perez puppets in favor of DiBella's re-appointment, five votes against (with at least four of those votes doing it for the right reasons) and one abstention, motion fails.

Just when you think you have it figured out and as a city we are moving in the right direction, people are stepping up and forgetting the politics and doing what is right morally and ethically, the headlines were "DiBella re-appointed to Water and Sewer Board".

As one Councilperson explained to me, he thought Dibella has done a good job and politically they had to re-appoint him, other wise one of the suburbs might get the Chairmans seat, and we couldn't risk that. I guess if the yardstick we use to measure our public officials is not how corrupt or self serving they are, but whether they do a good job, Dibella's reappointment works. But in that case, shouldn't John Rowland, Joe Ganim and Buddy Cianci all still be in office?

Friday, October 24, 2008

How Low Can We Go?

Last night I attended the City Council Budget hearing and once again watched in disbelief as Lee Erdmann bobbed and weaved as he has throughout the hearings. Every effort has been made to avoid information becoming public to answer the question as to how we now find our City in a huge budget deficit at the hands of a corrupt and incompetent administration. Despite Sarah Barr's mantra that the Perez Administration is open and transparent, accurate numbers, if in fact there are any real numbers, are not forthcoming, even to City Council members.

But as I sat there and listened to Erdmann and Jim Keaney, both from the Mayor's Office, I began to think about the pending layoffs coming today, Friday. I wondered how the Mayor could face a laid off employee in the grocery store and explain why a lay-off was necessary, when at the same time the Mayor's staffer, Mr Keaney would be driving home from his $85,000 plus a year job in his $30,000 city provided SUV. How do you explain that Mr. Keaney apparently "negotiated" his SUV as a perk for his hiring contract, when at the same time some of the lowest paid employees are being laid off due to mismanagement by Perez? How do you explain to a laid off employee that their job is being cut, while at the same time positions are being created for Perez's political allies. As an example, former State Representative, Perez political "consultant" and recipient of a lucrative $65,000 consulting contract, Evelyn Mantilla recently landed a $71,000 a year job in the Hartford Health Department. Mantilla also abandoned Hartford a couple years ago and moved to the suburbs. How do you explain these actions to a laid off employee and make any sense out of it?

How do you explain laying off an employee while at the same time the Mayor and a staff member decided that the city should pay almost $3,000 for their airfare to Ireland at the onset of a budget crisis. How can you explain that someones livelihood is being eliminated while at the same time Councilmembers continue to fly around the country on junkets. One councilmember even went so far as to justify these trips claiming that is how she learned that councilpeople in other parts of the country are paid upwards of $80,000, and that is why the Hartford City Council deserves a raise.

As I spoke with a few city hall staffers at the rear entrance of City Hall, laid off employees passed us on their exit from the building carrying boxes and bags of personal belongings that they were forced to clean out of their desks, some under Police supervision. Again, I thought to myself , how could you possibly face these people and justify the layoffs.

When I thought that Eddie had reached an all time low for his actions as Mayor, I received a phone call and was asked if I had read the Hartford Courant yet. I replied no, and the caller told me to read it, quickly. When I picked it up and read about the childish antics and mudslinging on the part of the Mayor and Council President and Perez puppet Cal Torres I was furious and my belief that Hartford suffers from a total lack of leadership was reinforced. Even more so, I was aggravated that the comments regarding Councilman Kennedy's "child out of wedlock" were newsworthy. I have a lot of respect for Jeff Cohen, the reporter writing the article, and was surprised that he would even write an article with those comments in it. By luck, minutes later I crossed paths with Jeff Cohen, and made my opinion known to him. After the conversation was over, I left with a totally different opinion of the article. A cloud that had been hanging over Ken Kennedy was now lifted, and issues that had been rumoured in the community for a couple years were now out in the open. I had expressed my disaapointment to Kennedy almost 2 years ago when he was at a meeting at St. Augustine's Church, and at that time in a private conversation he explained the matter in an honest and candid way and did not try to spin the situation or lie to me about it. He did not owe me any explanation, yet he did explain the situation, and his honesty was refreshing. Ken Kennedy is someone I do not always agree with, but none the less, he is an honest man, and showed that by admitting his errors and apologizing for his actions (not that he owed an apology or explanation to anyone other than his wife and family). But as for Cal Torres and Eddie Perez, they might want to read a chapter in the Ken Kennedy handbook on being a man with integrity and accepting responsibility for your actions. The day is coming when Perez, Torres and many others, men and women, will be answering questions about their actions in regards to corruption in Hartford city government. We will see if they face it like men of integrity and accept responsibility for their actions like Mr. Kennedy did, or will we see more disgusting excuses such as when Perez's house was searched by the State's Attorneys office and he blamed it on being distracted by his wife's aneurysm and poor health.

What this city needs is leadership, not the petty politics and sniping that we have come to accept. Unfortunately we are not going to get that leadership from Eddie Perez or Cal Torres, but there does seem to be hope and promise in Ken Kennedy. Remember Ken, Hartford's motto is "After the clouds, the sun" , your cloud has just been lifted, go for the sun.

Hopefully, Hartford's next round of layoffs will be coming courtesy of the Connecticut Chief States Attorney's Public Integrity Unit, and as Cal Torres says, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander". Eddie, Cal and others, prepare to be goosed.