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Friday, June 15, 2012

COTTO RESIGNS FROM COUNCIL

Councilman Luis Cotto has apparently resigned from the Hartford City Council effective July 31, 2012 according to a "tweet" he sent out this afternoon.

Cotto will be moving to the Boston area.

According to the City Charter, Cotto will need to be replaced by another Working Families Party member

Thursday, June 14, 2012

IS IT REALLY HPD'S FAULT?

As any regular reader of this blog is well aware, I have no problem criticizing the Hartford Police Department when I think they deserve it. I also believe in fairness and will defend HPD when I think that is fair.


Most people will agree the print media, and for that matter media outlets in general, are not what they used to be. The news cycle now is driven by the latest rapes or sex crimes, homicides and events that tend to emphasize the sensationalism that attracts readers and viewers like moths to a flame. I get that and I hope most people can understand what drives the media and realize that there is a lot more that we never hear about.


A "cartoon" and the attached comments in our local paper of last resort this week really set off my "fairness meter". The "cartoon" depicted a Hartford Police officer lying in a hammock with bullets flying with the comment "we're on it". After the violent weekend the city just experienced, is it fair to put the blame on HPD? Is HPD responsible for raising and nurturing young persons that think nothing of putting a gun to someones chest and pulling the trigger?

And for the comments from the retired Hartford Fire Department captain and former City Councilman quoted in both the article and the cartoon's explanation, this downfall of our City has been going on for decades, there is more than enough blame to go around.


Would it then be fair if we suddenly experience a weekend of tragic fires where people die in a fire to depict Hartford firefighters laying in a hammock with hoses leaking all around them? The rationale seems the same, if people die in a fire it must be directly attributable to the laziness of HFD.


The article also had a quote from the former Councilman that he only sees police officers in his neighborhood when the officers are working construction jobs.


With the amount of road work going on in the City, those officers are a much appreciated presence by most neighborhoods and residents. They should be even more appreciated when people realize that those officers cost us nothing, not one penny, since they are paid for by the contractors. In reality, the city actually makes money off every one of them standing out there.


The fact of the matter is also that even though they are there to direct traffic around construction sites, they are still police officers and just their presence is a deterrent. Is there a problem with a handful of officers and the hours they work and is the City being properly served when their work their regular shift? Most likely, but that is something for the next Chief to address.


The cartoon might have been more accurate depicting Hartford's Chief Operating Officer David Panagore in the hammock with Mayor Segarra serving Panagore an iced tea. That is rightfully where the blame properly lies. Most people would agree that Segarra seems to answer to Panagore. If the opposite were true, Segarra would have ended the sham search with Panagore's consulting buddies and we would have had a permanent Police Chief months ago.

The truth is that acting Chief James Rovella is working with one hand tied behind his back and that hand has been tied by Panagore.Rovella is unable to make any major personnel changes and his Command Staff at this point is more about survival for themselves than it is about assisting Rovella to move the Department forward. Segarra is well aware of this and continues to let it happen. Rovella knows what he needs to do to make Hartford safer, but he is not being allowed to do it.

It might be interesting to see a reporter go to the resident's of Edwards Street or Williams Street to interview them on their opinion of HPD. The offices for the Shooting Task Force as well as the PAL program and the Police Academy sit squarely in this neighborhood in a school that was pretty much written off by the Hartford School System.

Maybe the resident's would tell the story of how Chief Rovella went to the obvious drug dealers conducting business on the street corner and told them it was time for them to move. Guess what? They moved.

Since the Shooting Task Force took up residence on Willaims Street almost a year ago, the reduction in crime and calls for service in the surrounding streets has been dramatic. Neighbors are no longer afraid to come outside, their street is no longer run by drug dealers and crime. The numbers citywide have also been impressive overall and the number of shooting victims and homicides is well under this time last year. That didn't happen by luck.


Although the work of the Shooting Task Force under Rovella has been impressive, the Task force doesn't work in a vacuum. The Major Crimes Division has also been doing a stellar job in bringing about arrests of those thugs responsible for the homicides. Prior to the recent homicides, which I am told have solid leads that will most likely result in arrests, four of the first five murders of the year had resulted in arrests. That is a pretty good average that isn't achieved by detectives swinging in a hammock while the bullets fly.


Even the Patrol Division has been decimated by attrition that City hall refuses to keep up with. A class of twenty or twenty-five new officers hardly keeps up with the projected loos of up to 50 officers this year alone. That attrition rate is from the Mayor's own numbers, and if the way City Hall runs the numbers, that number is probably far from accurate.


The Patrol Division is not only understaffed, but its resources are being taxed by the implementation of "Shot Spotter". So far the activations are running between 95 and 98% false. Although we were sold on "Shot Spotter"at community meetings as being such an intelligent system that would differentiate between gunfire and other noises such as fireworks, car backfires and other noises, that seem to be proving untrue.


We definitely now know that we have a problem with fireworks in Hartford and even that the Barry Square neighborhood has seen a drastic increase in "construction noise". Yes, even jackhammers and dumptrucks are setting off shot spotter. Unfortunately for HPD, every activation requires a response by two officers and a supervisor from Patrol, whether it is a jackhammer or 9mm round. One officer familiar with the system half-jokingly told me he thought he could stand in the street and if he clapped his hands loud enough "Shot Spotter" would go off.


I was going to get into the root of the problem, the breakdown of our parenting structures and our mentality that children seem to be brought up now that shooting someone is "OK", but I think you get my point. Our Police Department is there to enforce laws, not to be raising Hartford's children and teaching them right from wrong. I really don't think that is fair to blame HPD when we have parents, schools, churches and neighborhoods that should be doing that.


We will see many more "bad weekends" if that message doesn't start getting out.

Friday, June 8, 2012

ANDREW'S FUNDRAISER


I have posted previously about my nephew Andrew who is in training to hopefully compete in the 2014 Paralympics in Russia. Andrew has become a competitive skier despite having Cerebral Palsy. You can read more about his efforts at his website, andrew races.com
His first fundraiser for the upcoming ski season will be held tomorrow at the Outback Steakhouse in Enfield, CT. Details are in the flyer above

Thursday, June 7, 2012

REACHING MY BOILING POINT...OR...HOW MUCH MORE CORRUPT CAN HARTFORD GET?

I think I am pretty even tempered and it takes a lot to get me close to my boiling point, but I know I came close to that point two Thursdays ago when it comes to Hartford's political scene. A close friend of mine that has a whole list of unusual sayings and one of them is that when it comes to politics, "if you stand in the middle of the road, you are going to get run over". Two many people in Hartford's political scene are standing in the middle of the road afraid to cross over to the right side.


I don't mean the "right side" as in my side or those that coincide with my political wishes or beliefs, but rather the "right side" as in knowing the difference between right and wrong. Corrupt government should not be known as a Hartford value. A few details are going to be detailed below, but Hartford is not going to change until the political mindset changes.


You can't talk about change and do nothing to make it happen. You can't talk about change while still propping up the dirty habits of the past. You can't talk about change and overlook the facts that are right in your face. Everyone knows the political dirt, but it seems to be more about personal gain and deal making than doing what is right for Hartford and actually forcing change to happen.


The biggest thing that offended me about Hartford politics at Hartford's Democratic Town Convention was the deal making for the endorsed candidate of Registrar of Voters. It is no secret at this point to anyone that Ramon Arroyo, husband of 3rd District State Representative Minnie Gonzalez, was arrested when he was a City of Hartford employee for allegedly soliciting a prostitute. That in and of itself might be bad enough, but he also did it on City time and from what police sources had told me, in a City of Hartford vehicle.


The "prostitute" he attempted to pick up was actually an undercover Hartford Police officer.
Everyone wants to talk about second chances as they try to validate their support of Arroyo , even when knowing his history. It really isn't about second chances though and has nothing to do with "redemption" What it is about is the deal making and the "back scratching" that has gone on for years as political patronage and payback.

Many of those that talked about "redemption" and "second chances" seemed to have a warped view of the theory though. Several of the people that tried to explain their choice apparently have different criteria for who receives the "second chance" and "redemption. I asked many of them if they would want a school teacher who was out soliciting prostitutes teaching their children in school. A resounding "NO" was the general answer.

I also asked if they would think it was right to hire a police officer that had been charged with soliciting prostitutes.Again, the answer was a resounding "NO". I guess the redemption theory only applies when there is a political "quid pro quo".

Now another saga of corruption that has been ongoing for far too long, the Hector Robles arrest. Robles was terminated as a Hartford Police officer in 2010 after he apparently admitted in a statement to Internal Affair's investigators that he was "padding" his hours and was eventually charged with felony charges for stealing from the City.


Robles faced re-nomination to his position as the 6th District State Representative at the time the arrest was imminent, yet he told his town committee members that the matter was purely "administrative" . Both Robles and myself knew that was an outright lie as he misled the 6th District Town Committee in order to gain their support.


Now here we go again. Two years later, Robles is once again up for re-nomination to the 6th District Rep seat. He once again sat before the 6th District Town Committee and fought for his political survival by telling them that all of the charges were going to be dismissed. He further stated that he would be getting his job as a police officer back as well as all back pay.


Again, that appears to have been a lie. As recently as last week several sources reported to me receiving calls from Inspector's from the Office of the Chief States Attorney's regarding potential evidence in the Robles case. Sources familiar with the case have told me that the case against Robles is stronger now than the day he was arrested. Another aspect of the case, which may prove to eventually be the State's "trump card" hasn't even been played yet.


It seems as though Robles is playing loose with the truth when it comes to telling town committee members what they want to hear. Regardless, the 6th District endorsed  Robles's challenger, Ed Vargas.  Apparently many of Hartford's politicos don't seem to be offended by being lied to, as several Democratic operatives are still following Robles and supporting him like the rats behind the Pied piper.


Now lets look to one district to the north of Robles. The 4th District State Representative seat is held by corrupt former Mayor Eddie Perez's bag man Kelvin Roldan. Roldan survived a challenge by a felon two years ago by a handful of votes. This year he did not receive the endorsement  which was given to community activist Angel Arce.


Roldan began his stint in the 4th by what many perceive was a deal cut between the former State Representative Evelyn Mantilla and the felonious Eddie Perez. Mantilla stepped aside, Roldan was able to run and Mantilla landed as a paid consultant for Perez at City Hall. Her "paid consultant" position eventually evolved into a paid staff position in Perez's office and prior to Perez's downfall and conviction, Mantilla was moved into a civil service position in the Health Department to protect her and was then moved to MHIS, the City's "IT" department.


Ask most people in MHIS or the Health Department what Mantilla does, and the answer will most likely be  "Evelyn who?".


The audacity and entitlement of Roldan continues though. Recently during the challenge from another slate for the overthrow of the incumbent 4th District Town Committee, Roldan and others claimed that one challenger, Jose Contreras, a Hartford Police Officer, did not reside in the 4th District. That was interesting since it is common knowledge that Roldan is alleged to suffer from the "Bill diBella Syndrome". For those not familiar with that malady, it is where you claim to live in one location by keeping your name on a mailbox while actually residing somewhere else.


I feel very comfortable saying this based on the amount of mail falling out of Roldan's mailbox on Broad Street, his alleged residence. The fact that his neighbors have no idea who he is and one more  very interesting coincidence.


I was recently at an event and had a conversation with a man from West Hartford. We began talking and he related to me how he was able to walk to the event. He said he lived across from Hartford's Mayor on the West Hartford side of Prospect Avenue. I asked if he lived in the Condos' there and he said yes. I asked if that was where the Halloran's live. (Kaitlyn Halloran is Roldan's fiancee) I knew that was where Roldan was rumored to be laying his head at night for at least the part year.


I didn't even have to pull the information out of him. He readily volunteered that "oh yes, Kaitlyn lives there with Kelvin Roldan. He parks his car next to mine in the garage every night". It doesn't get much clearer than that. Needless to say, Roldan was none too happy when I confronted him the night of the convention with this information. How do you ignore the rules so blatantly. If you want to represent a district, then live in the district at the very least.


 But when do the rules ever matter, it is Hartford politics. Is this the future of Hartford or will people finally choose a side. Do we enjoy being run over by corrupt politics?

DKR TO NEW BRITAIN?

Several unrelated sources have confirmed that Hartford's former Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts will be named as New Britain's police Chief, possibly as early as tonight.

More on this later

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

WHERE ARE THE "REFORMERS"

re·form
(r-fôrm)
v. re·formed, re·form·ing, re·forms
v.tr.
1. To improve by alteration, correction of error, or
removal of defects; put into a better form or condition.
2.
a. To abolish abuse or malpractice in: reform the government.
b. To put an end to (a wrong). See Synonyms at correct.
3. To cause (a person) to give up harmful or immoral
practices; persuade to adopt a better way of life.
v.intr.
To change for the better.
n.
1. A change for the better; an improvement.
2. Correction of evils, abuses, or errors.
3. Action to improve social or economic conditions
without radical or revolutionary change.

During the recent Hartford Democratic Town Committee citywide elections, it seemed as though everyone was suddenly a "reformer" with the intent of cleaning up Hartford's political process. Well... as the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. And for those that claim to be reformers, look at the definition above if you don't understand what reform actually is.

When I think about the political process, I find the potential encouraging but the reality very disappointing. I read that former State Senator and convicted felon Ernie Newton was endorsed by the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee to run to regain his seat that he gave up before his journey to a federal prison. I just wonder what runs through a convention delegates mind when they endorse someone that used his elected position, a position of trust, to solicit bribes to benefit himself?

The Hartford Courant posted an editorial this afternoon entitled "What Are Democrats Thinking Endorsing Ernie Newton?". You can read the full editorial here.

The Courant may be able to cut and paste that editorial Friday morning and substitute the word "Bridgeport" with Hartford. Hartford's Democratic convention for the position of State Representative's and Registrar of Voters will be held tomorrow night at Hartford City Hall.

The "reformers" may actually step up in the 6th District as they have to make a choice between the incumbent 6th District Representative Hector Robles or challenger Edwin Vargas. Robles who had promise as a State rep found himself embroiled in a scandal that resulted in his arrest and termination as a Hartford Police officer.

Robles's fellow Democratic legislators seemed to turn a blind eye to his arrest on felony charges and he remained in his seat at the Capitol. Luckily for Robles he wasn't a Republican otherwise he probably would have been forced to a quick exit like Senator DeLuca or John Rowland a few years ago. Robles's "dollar amount" for his alleged thefts was higher than Rowland's and DeLuca's charges were misdemeanors if I remember correctly.

To read more about the Robles investigation and subsequent arrest, click here, or here. Word is that the 6th District delegation is poised to actually bring about "reform" and usher Robles out as they endorse Vargas.

The Democratic Registrar of Voters endorsement will be a real test to see who the real reformers are and who is just putting up a smokescreen.

Hopefully the Hartford Courant's editorial title Friday morning won't be "What are Hartford's Democrats Thinking?".

Most people you speak with will readily agree that overall the top three choices for Democratic Registrar are far from desirable. All three are political, which is where there strength lies. It is not about who is capable, qualified or even who will do the best job. It is purely about who can leverage their political clout the best and garner their votes. It is not about past arrests for soliciting prostitutes, arrests for illegal drug possession or even the number of ethics violations, conflicts of interest or even the law suits filed over incompetence .

Like Ernie Newton in Bridgeport, I guess Hartford's Democrats have the potential to overlook a lot when it comes to returning political favors and payback. Why should anyone question a candidate for Registrar of Voters who was arrested while they were a City employee, soliciting a prostitute in a City vehicle on City time. The only problem was that the "prostitute" was actually an undercover police officer. The video recording of the event pretty much speaks for itself and the intent was pretty clear, it wasn't a case of mistaken intent.

But then again, if Robles, who is accused of stealing from the taxpayers is able to pull it off, why shouldn't others? What does it matter if our elected officials are able to violate the public trust placed in them as long as other politicos are willing to endorse them and the voters remain ignorant on election day.

I wonder if the Hartford Police Department would hire a potential police officer after they were arrested for soliciting a prostitute or Larceny 1st charges? I doubt they would, and the Office of Registrar of Voters requires as much integrity (if not more) than that of a police officer.

Tomorrow night the true "reformers" will be identified as the roll call vote is taken and they will go on the record as to whether they support reform or more political nonsense and patronage. In the meantime, will Hartford and Bridgeport continue to be political jokes or will the "reformers" actually come through on the promises they made to the voters who elected them in March.