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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

AM I BEING A MOUTHPIECE FOR THE SEGARRA ADMINISTRATION?

I guess that is what some are thinking because I haven't sunk my teeth into the Segarra Administration as I had with the previous Perez Administration. So far my posts have been relatively positive regarding Mayor Segarra's first few weeks in office.

A couple of comments today somewhat aggravated me suggesting I was giving Mayor Segarra a free pass and that a transfer of Sixto Lazu from the Mayor's Office to a permanent civil service position was ripe with cronyism.But if nothing else, that's one of the things I like about the blog and the comments is that I can hear the other side of issues and respond. Many bloggers don't allow comments, especially anonymous comments, but if I can't defend my position or if I realize I am wrong, I'll say that.

Here's what "Don" thought in his comment:

"The interviews and the final decision seem to have been made without any influence from the Mayor."

Yeah, whatever.

We've been told about new hirings for the Police, Fire and even Parks. I don't recall seeing a posting for a position at the Town Clerks office.

How many people did the town clerk interview? Who were the final candidates? Are there more openings? What is his starting salary?

The Mayor has already stated that he will not be here more than the 18 months remaining in the term. This smells of someone taking care of an ally.

Also, is this person related to Edward Lazu?

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

July 28, 2010 1:36 PM


I posted my response also in the comments section, but I need more space to vent, I mean explain.

I'll be the first to say that if I was a first time reader of the blog, I'd think that the postings were overly favorable of Mayor Segarra since he took over. I like to think that my blog is guiding the actions of the new Mayor. I would hope that his first order of business each morning is to read my blog and see what suggestions I have for him and if I approved of his work for the previous day. I'd like to think that.

Unfortunately I know that isn't true. If it were, Sarah Barr would be on the unemployment line, followed by Lillian Ruiz, Erick Jackson, Lydia Rosario and a few others. Chief Roberts would have a new contract, Dan Nolan would be back to work and Matt Secore would once again be walking a beat after signing an agreement to be satisfied with getting his job back less the 90 day suspension ordered by the Labor Board.

With that being said, most people would have to admit that our former Mayor, now convicted felon, Eddie A. Perez lowered the performance bar so low that anything Mayor Segarra does will make him look good. But I think that in the first couple weeks he has taken the challenge of inheriting a corrupt, and what many considered a racketeering operation, and attempting to rebuild and restore confidence in Hartford.

For some reason this blog has developed a reputation as being fair and honest. I have had people call me and apologize because they just assumed I would be all one sided and then they read the blog and realized I actually go out of my way to try to be fair.

I would hope that those that see me as a "mouthpiece" for Mayor Segarra, and even Mayor Segarra if he actually reads the blog, will realize that. Right now I think Mayor Segarra is in the honeymoon period from a shotgun wedding. Does he need to remove more people from City Hall that are holdovers from a corrupt administration? Absolutely. Am I happy with the speed that he has moved so far? No, definitely not, but I'm not the Mayor.

Does that mean a month or two from now that I will still be so supportive of Mayor Segarra if Perez kool-aid drinkers are still lingering in City Hall. Probably not, I think that every day people like Sarah Barr (sorry Sarah but you know the respect level for you is zero)are still wandering around City Hall undermines any rebuilding of Hartford's image.

Most people never trusted Sarah Barr when she was spouting the "Gospel of Perez" and to see her anywhere near Mayor Segarra she spreads her stain onto the Segarra Administration. I know the Mayor can not remove everyone immediately, it would be a very lonely place if all of the Perez cronies and puppets were gone, all those empty desks. I also think that the Mayor realizes that everyday some of the Perez holdouts are allowed into City Hall the efforts to undermine his turnaround continue.

I do think it is important that we give Segarra some leeway for a short time to see what he does. We tolerated a Mayor that we knew was corrupt and potentially a criminal for several years. Am I willing to tone it down for a couple months to see what Mayor Segarra does? Absolutely, so far the indications are that he is moving in the right direction.

Back to Lazu now. As with Eddie Perez, it got to the point that even if he did something that could be seen as positive for Hartford, he was suspect because of his reputation. He could have walked across the Connecticut River and people would have thought there was fraud involved. Unfortunately that cloud hasn't completely lifted and the suspicions continue.

Look at the facts though. Sixto Lazu has been loyal and made Mayor Segarra look good as a Councilperson through his organization skills and the things he did everyday behind the scenes to keep Councilman Segarra on top of things. In transitioning to the Mayor's Office, Sixto Lazu was the one person Mayor Segarra was very familiar with and who Segarra could count on to "have his back". Segarra was entering a den full of wolves loyal to a corrupt Mayor, who would eat the new Mayor alive if they could.

Does it make sense to anyone that Segarra would pull strings to get a job outside of his office for the one person he knew was loyal? Maybe 15 months from now as he prepared to leave office to make way for a newly elected Mayor, but not now as he needs people around him who have his back.

And it is not that I "focus" on Torres or Winch. If I should hear of the Mayor taking any trips such as the jaunt to San Antonio that Councilwoman Winch took and billed to a city that is one step away from bankruptcy, I'll make sure to post it. In case yo don't remember, it's the trip that she "forgot" how much it cost until I posted all the vouchers here. Somehow I doubt Mayor Segarra will repeat her stunts.

And read back a week or two about Hector Robles. I took a lot of heat on that because Hector is actually a friend of mine, with comments like "with friends like you who needs enemies". But in the end it is the truth and that will most likely become quite evident in the not too distant future. So not even friends skate, and a new Mayor won't either. But keep the comments coming.

ANOTHER CHANGE IN THE MAYOR'S STAFF

Sixto Lazu, the long serving Administrative Assistant to Mayor Segarra during his Council tenure will be leaving the Mayor's Staff. Sixto followed Mayor Segarra from the Council offices to the Mayor's Office recently when Mayor Segarra assumed the role of Mayor.

Lazu won't be leaving the employment of the City of Hartford though.

Both in the Council positions and those in the Mayor's Office, the employees serve at the will of the elected official that appoints them. If a Councilperson leaves office or decides not to run again, their assistants in most cases are out of a job. According to Lazu, he began looking for a more permanent and secure position with the City several months ago.

After several interviews, Lazu was accepted for a position in the office of City Clerk John Bazzano. The City Clerk's office also serves as the record keeper and the secretary for Council records and meetings. Lazu's knowledge of City Council operations should prove helpful in the Clerk's office.

And before the rumours start, all indications are that this was an amicable change and no pressure was put on Lazu to leave. The interviews and the final decision seem to have been made without any influence from the Mayor. Sixto Lazu has been an asset to the Council during his time there and has always been very helpful and responsive whenever I have had the opportunity to deal with him.

Congratulations Sixto and best wishes on your continued service to the people of Hartford.

Monday, July 26, 2010

SORRY, HERE'S THE CORRECT ARBITRATION AWARD FOR VILMA RIVERA-SAEZ

This is the corrected award for the Rivera-Saez Arbitration award. For some reason in the earlier posting it only showed every other page.


Arbitration Award Vilma Rivera Saez

IN MY OPINION , WHY IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE


At the July meeting of the Maple Avenue NRZ, Senator John Fonfara, co-chair of the Legislature's Energy Committee, gave a presentation about the Energy Bill he introduced in the last session. He spoke about the wonderful benefits of the bill and made it a point to tell everyone how much they would save on their energy bills under his legislation. He went on and on, accompanied by his co-chair on the Energy Committee, Representative Nardello.

I would imagine many in the room were already counting their savings under the "Fonfara Plan". Many of the people in the room are senior citizens living on a fixed income or young people trying to raise a family where every penny counts.

The only problem with Fonfara's bill is that it failed. It was vetoed by Governor Rell and Fonfara didn't have the clout to force an override of the veto with his fellow legislators. As it stands now, Fonfara's plan will not see the light of day and will not save anyone one single penny.

When it came time for questions, I asked Fonfara why he would waste the time talking about all the wonderful benefits of a bill that failed and we would never see any effect from it. We went back and forth a bit and when I stated that there was no incentive for legislators to pass energy legislation because lobbyists and energy company executives funded their campaigns.

Fonfara quickly fired back that what I was saying was untrue and lobbyists couldn't donate to his campaign. I'll admit when I'm wrong, and due to changes in campaign laws, lobbyists can't donate to campaigns. That may change again if a recent Appeals Court ruling stands, but right now they can't donate.

Fonfara didn't say anything about energy company executives funding his campaigns, and now I see why. After reviewing his donations received from by his campaign it appears that a large portion are energy company executives. Is it any wonder why legislation to curb the utilities and energy providers goes nowhere?

And just to give Senator Fonfara the benefit of the doubt, I didn't include donors in the list below that actually live in his district. If you would like to see his complete list of donors, the entire report is below.


HERE IS THE LIST OF ENERGY AND UTILITY EXECUTIVES DONATING TO FONFARA 2010:











Juan Rodriguez, VP,Public Power , $100.00
William Bucksee,VP,Public Power, 50.00
Robert Zappone,Supplier, Starion Energy , 100.00
Robert Wesson, Owner, Wesson Energy Inc., 100.00
Donald Mitchell, Petroleum Distributor, N.E.Mitchell Inc., 100.00
Alexanger Martinez, Manager, Starion Energy, 50.00
Rachel Schmidt , Admin Asst, Starion Energy, 20.00
Ruzdhi Dauti, President, Starion Energy, 100.00
Steven Haigh , IT Energy Consultant, 100.00
Kevin Zupkis , Executive, AT&T , 100.00
Ben Kaplan , CFO , Solar US Inc., 100.00
Raymond Necci , Consultant , 100.00
Erik Bartone , Owner, DBS Energy Inc., 100.00
Tina Bartone , DBS Energy Inc., 100.00
Brian Forshaw , Dir of Power, CMEEC, 100.00
Tracy Gionfriddo, Envir.Spec., Northeast Utilities , 30.00
Robert Smith , Director , Northeast Utilities, 100.00
Melissa Lauderdale, Gov Affairs, Integrys Energy Svcs, 100.00
Peter Podurgiel, Competitive Power Ventures , 100.00
Douglas Egan, Developer, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
Julie Egan, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
Robert Burke , Atty. , Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
Gary Lambert, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
Sherman Knight, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
David Magil, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
John Foster, Competitive Power Ventures , 100.00
Paul Buckovich, Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
Sean Finnerty , Competitive Power Ventures, 100.00
Joseph Wood , State of CT, DPUC , 100.00
Trevor Herbst, VP, Public Power Utility , 20.00
Sharon Bloomer, Apple Oil Co , 75.00
Juan Gantomasso , Analyst, United Illuminating , 100.00
Bonnie Heckert , Tech Supp., United Illuminating , 100.00
Fred Shaffer , Dir.Gvt.Rel.,Kimberly-Clark, Wisconsin , 100.00
Fitor Mamudi , Supplier, Starion Energy, 100.00
Deborah-Anne Verbil, Attorney , AT&T , 100.00
Jason Calabrese , Public Power,LLC , 50.00
Michael Cassella , Director , CT Muni. Elec.Energy Corp , 100.00


***NOTE: Raymond P. Necci, listed above as a "Consultant" is the former president and chief operating officer of The. Connecticut Light and Power Company (CL&P), Connecticut's largest electric utility.

The maximum donation allowed is $100.00 per individual,

One of the big complaints against Senator Fonfara is his lack of attention to his constituents. People routinely complain that he doesn't return phone calls. Do you think he returns calls when Competitive Power Ventures is on the line?

Fonfara Citizen Election Program Filing

Friday, July 23, 2010

NOW THAT JOHN ROSE HAS BEEN TERMINATED, LET'S BRING COMMON SENSE BACK TO THE CORPORATION COUNSEL'S OFFICE


Last week WNPR's Jeff Cohen posted the back and forth letters of John Rose and Mayor Segarra when Rose refused to resign (the letters are below). Mayor Segarra requested letters of resignation from all department heads after he was sworn in as mayor. In the typical John Rose style, he dug his heels in and refused to resign for Mayor Segarra , who he described as the "interim" Mayor.

Rose always seemed to have an issue with his "fantasyland" interpretation of Hartford's Charter and also State and Federal laws. The letters can be read below, but as you can see from the final sentence in the last letter, Mayor Segarra was able to finally accomplish as Mayor what he couldn't do as a Council Person.

On July 8, 2010, Mayor Segarra informed Rosie that as of July 9, 2010 his "service as Corporation Counsel is terminated". Long overdue, but finally common sense prevailed and Rose was done. Yes, long overdue, but John Rose has been terminated

Rose Segarra Letters

Now that Rose is gone, it is time for someone to start culling the files from the (less than)Rosie John Rose years. A couple of immediate cases come to mind.

First off would be any case with the three magic letters of FOI associated with them. At the very least, tens of thousands of dollars have been spent on nonsense FOI appeals and hearings. Not just FOI requests I had made, but numerous others including the Hartford Courant and a group consisting of writers for a prisoners newsletter. In that case thousands of dollars have been spent to fight a fee for copies of under $30.00. The waiver of the fee appears legitimate because the complainants could prove "indigence", as allowed under the FOI laws.

Another case that I have written quite a bit about is the Dan Nolan termination. Any lawyer would have, or should have, advised their client that this was a loser of a termination. An Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran, an exemplary member of the Hartford Fire Department who had been firefighter of the year in the past, all of a sudden terminated. And the terrible conduct he participated in? He encouraged fire department recruits to participate in charity events. He disciplined recruits as a total group to encourage teamwork.How awful!

What may prove more even more interesting though is potential testimony on information that has come to light in the last couple months. I had received information regarding a situation that was reported several years ago in the Hartford Courant about the "burnmaster". It had been reported that Teale and two other officers working at the Hartford Training Academy had received payments from neighboring towns for using Hartford's fire academy facilities.

Teale and the two others pocketed the money paid to them, rather than pass it through to the City of Hartford. When the Courant's article came to light, apparently the Teale Trio were forced to repay the City about $3,000. Teale paid the re-imbursement for all three members of the Teale trio back to the City. Apparently during that period, the City was adding laser eye surgery as a benefit for police and firefighters. By this time, Teale was acting Chief of the Department and for some reason he met with Dr. Fichman of the Fichman Eye Center. During that meeting, Dr. Fichman handed Chief Teale a check for the amount he had paid to the City and Teale accepted the check.

I have attempted to contact both Teale and Dr. Fichman to get their version of this payoff, but neither would comment. Teale angrily stormed away when I asked him for his version, and Dr. Fichman's son returned my call with a "no comment". Repeated calls to the senior Fichman were never returned.

I would hope that a union attorney representing Nolan would raise the question of this payoff during a Labor Board hearing. It seems rather ironic that Chief Teale would terminate Nolan for having recruits get involved in charity events when he was in fact taking potential payoffs for himself.

The only issue here is that the new Corporation Counsel, Sandra Kee-Borges, was also the City Manager at the time this scandal first surfaced and was responsible for disciplining Teale at the time. I would hope she can look at the facts objectively and realize that this is a loser of a case and if it eventually ends in front of a jury, it won't look favorable for the City.

I did speak to a source in the Connecticut States Attorney's Office and explained the facts as I knew them. They informed me that for Teale, or any public official to accept a check made out to them under such circumstances would be illegal. Fortunately for Teale, they said the statute of limitations would have expired by now. I'm sure there will be some "silver tongue" explanation from Teale, but is he willing to offer proof ?

Settle with Nolan now and avoid paying any larger settlement than we already are going to have to pay.

Another interesting case currently under appeal was the termination of a Tax Office employee branded a thief by her bosses in the Finance Department. The only problem was that the Labor Board didn't see any evidence of her being a thief, the City and her boss Lydia Rosario couldn't provide any evidence of her being a thief, and the Board of Mediation and Arbitration ordered the employee, Vilma Rivera-Saez reinstated to her position. The City under the direction of Rosie's legal masters has refused and is appealing the order.

One of the big problems was the fact of documented thefts from the Tax Office, but the evidence didn't point to Rivera-Saez, who the City labeled a "thief" according to the arbitration award. Testimony actually pointed to another individual who apparently is related to Deputy Finance Director through marriage to Rosario's niece, who also by coincidence works in the Finance Department.

Another stinker of a case headed to , I predict, a big payout if the City continues to appeal.

Here's the Arbitration Award for Vilma Rivera-Saez:
Vilma Rivera-saez Arbitration Award

And finally, to end this for today is the pending appeal of another Labor Board decision regarding Hartford Police Officer Matthew Secore. Secore was terminated after he struck the nephew of former Mayor Perez after Perez's nephew brutally attacked Secore's brother.

The Labor Board determined that termination was too severe a punishment and ruled that Secore should be re-instated less a 90 day suspension. The City has refused to abide by the decision and the case is winding its way through the courts. Several attorneys I have spoke with tell me that the appeal has little or no chance of winning and Secore will most likely prevail in the end. The short version is that these decisions are very difficult to overturn unless the City can prove wrongdoing on the part of a hearing officer. There have been no claims of any wrongdoing.

It also appears that the punishment served to Secore doesn't fit the past practice of the degrees of punsihment. As an example, Secore was honest from the start and didn't try to deny the incident. On the other hand, an Officer who was involved in an incident where she shot an individual with a less than lethal shot-gun blast and initially lied to investigators, has since been promoted to the rank of Lieutenant. This as well as other incidents appear to have figured into the Labor Board's decision.

This is another one to settle and get Officer Secore back to work as the Labor Board ordered.

Matthew Secore's Arbitration Award is below:

Secore Arbitration Award

In a cash strapped City we can hardly afford to pursue cases and appeals that are clear losers and have already cost the taxpayers of Hartford enough just in legal fees, never mind the potential jury awards down the road.

Labeling an employee a thief without documentation,as the Deputy Director of Finance Lydia Rosario allegedly did most likely will not sit well with a jury. Signing a letter of termination to a respected veteran, Deputy Chief Dan Nolan with one hand while having the other out to accept a check from Dr. Fichman I'm sure will not impress a jury. And the photos of Matthew Secore's brother Slade Secore after his severe beating by Reuben Perez will most likely not sit very well with a jury either.

Common sense should prevail and a sense of justice should prevail in the new Office of the Corporation Counsel.

IS THE PEREZ LEASH OFF HPD?



I might be reading too much into this, but it seems to me that we have seen a much more active Hartford Police Department since the end of the Perez Administration. Just this week alone raids of small neighborhoods stores resulted in the closing of a couple stores as well as arrests of some operators.

The part that was even stranger is that the media was actually invited along to show the good work that HPD is doing. What a difference a few weeks makes.

It used to be like pulling teeth to get a press release or even photographs of weapons and drugs seized. Now today on the heels of yesterdays raids, a press release and photographs of drugs and weapons seized was sent out from HPD. The press release is below.

It may just be a coincidence, but hopefully Chief Roberts and the men and women of the Hartford Police Department will be allowed, and encouraged, to do what needs to be done.

HARTFORD POLICE NEWS
For Immediate Release: July 23, 2010



HARTFORD POLICE DETECTIVES EXECUTE 2 SEARCH WARRANTS -

SEIZE 8 FIREARMS AND ILLEGAL DRUGS

(Hartford) - On July 22, 2010, detectives from the Hartford Police Department’s Intelligence Division executed search and seizure warrants at 58 Annawan Street and 6 Regent Street. As a result of the execution of the warrants, detectives made one arrest and seized over 10 pounds of marijuana, PCP, $14,945 dollars in US currency, two (2) long guns, two (2) revolvers, four (4) pistols and numerous rounds of ammunition.

The arrested party , a previously convicted felon, was identified as Jorge Oquendo (03/20/58) of 58 Annawan Street. He was charged with eight counts of Criminal Possession of a Firearm, three counts of Theft of a Firearm, two counts of Possessing a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Operating a Drug Factory, Possession of a Restricted Substance and Possession of a Controlled Substance within 1500 feet of a School. Some of the evidence seized is pictured below.











Jorge Oquendo