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Friday, December 5, 2014

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH



The worst day in any Fire Chief or Police Chief's life has to be the day they lose one of their own. To compound the issue by not doing everything possible to get to the truth and facts of the death and make every attempt to change so it never happens again is absolutely wrong.  I think every Chief has that responsibility and moral obligation as part of their leadership.

I recently had a conversation with Hartford's Fire Chief Carlos Huertas after the death of Firefighter Kevin Bell. Huertas told me that he had formed a Board of Inquiry to look into the death. He had apparently appointed several members to serve on the panel. At the time I commended his efforts and he said all he was interested in was getting to the truth.

Then he stunned me by telling me that he had appointed Deputy Chief Dan Nolan to head the inquiry. I don't mean that in a negative way. Chief Nolan  is probably one of the most, if not the most qualified Fire professional in the State of Connecticut and also in the Military through his military service to our Country.

Dan is not the right person to choose if you want to control the outcome of the message. One thing I have learned about Dan is that he doesn't normally think about the negative repercussions. The truth is the truth with him. You may not like what he is going to say, but he is going to say it to your face, no games, no cover-ups. I have a similar problem so I guess it might be an Irish trait.

I told Huertas I was surprised by his choice since there had been some bad blood between him and Nolan recently. He assured me that they had agreed to "bury the hatchet" and the Board  of Inquiry was the start of a new working relationship between the two. "In fact, I am taking Dan out to lunch next week" Huertas told me to , I guess, convince me that him and Nolan could work together.

An October 9, 2014 email from Nolan to Huertas seems to start the reconciliation process. Nolan wrote to Huertas:
. "I know we have had our differences lately but we need to put them behind us in order to provide the safest environment for the members of this department, please advise me in what direction you would like my involvement to this matter."

He said his instructions to Nolan were clear. Get to the truth wherever it goes, period.  I told Huertas if that was in fact his goal, he had chosen the right guy.Numerous e-mails provided subsequent to an FOI request I made to the City seems to prove otherwise

Apparently that wasn't Huertas's intention though. The lunch never happened, communications between Nolan and Huertas broke down and Nolan was removed by Huertas as the Chairman of the Board of Inquiry. According to several sources, the Board of Inquiry has essentially been shut down. Individuals at City hall were not happy with the direction the investigation was taking and Nolan's attempts to get at the truth.

Deputy Chief Nolan was advised of his removal in an e-mail on November 9, 2014 from Huertas:

Deputy Chief Nolan,
Effective immediately You are no longer the Chair of the Board of Inquiry.
You are still a member of the Board of Inquiry per Department Directive 2.42
but I have reassigned that responsibility to Fire Marshal Roger Martin.


One of those City Hall malcontents forcing Nolan's removal  may have been Corporation Counsel Saundra Kee-Borges. Kee Borges has a vested interest in the outcome of the investigation as she is by many accounts romantically involved with the highest ranking HFD member at the scene of Bell's death, Acting Assistant Fire Chief Terry Waller . Waller is reported to have not followed HFD policy by neglecting to take command of the scene upon his arrival at the Fire as is normal policy. Did Waller's actions cause any behavior that led to Bell's death or the injuries of the other firefighters? We will probably never know without a thorough and legitimate inquiry.

In the e-mail below from Deputy Chief Nolan to Chief Huertas, Nolan apparently is asking to clarify conflicting messages he claims to be getting from Huertas. Nolan is questioning the function of the Board of Inquiry  after Huertas apparently told him to "stand down" due to orders received by the Corporation Counsel. Why would the Corporation Counsel have any involvement in the Inquiry?
Was it to avoid possible embarrassment to the City or was she protecting her love interest?

A more troubling e-mail describes the lengths Kee-Borges would allegedly go to to advance Waller's career. In the e-mail from Nolan to Huertas a disturbing picture is painted of Kee-Borges using her authority to play politics with the Hartford Fire Department. Nolan wrote to Huertas the following:
Chief Huertas, 

I can’t believe you would tell me to address my concerns with Terry Waller. Have you forgotten the conversation I had with you and Leigh Shapiro in your office a few months back, where you informed me that Mayor Segarra and  Saundra Borges were forcing you to make Terry Waller the Assistant Chief or they would not make you the Chief of this department? You then went on to tell me several stories of how incompetent Terry Waller has been in his acting position of Assistant Chief. Now after sharing with me his lack of intellect and abilities you expect me to address my concerns regarding the life safety of our department members with him? How do you rationalize your hypocrisy of addressing the safety of our firefighters directly to me by pawning it off to someone you deemed inept as a leader?  

I will not be contacting him regarding this grave concern for you have made it clear to me that this is far beyond his capabilities. I have tried to reach out the olive branch to you for the betterment and the safety of our firefighters, you have in return have chosen to become my adversary and  refuse to interact with me directly as a competent leader would have.  

I will be contacting OSHA directly on this matter, we will see how you make out pawning Terry Waller on them 

Sincerely, 

D/C Dan Nolan
 
 
 
Much more to come on this I am sure, keep reading, this is only the beginning
 
 


NO POLICE HIRING, BUT MARIBEL GETS AN ASSISTANT


Another thing coming out of Hartford City Hall today should have many people shaking their heads in disbelief.

Apparently Mayor Segarra and his Director of Communications Maribel Laluz have found the hiring of an assistant for Laluz more important than policing Hartford's streets. The Police Academy class that was promised by Segarra to begin in January has apparently been pushed off to at least March from what sources are telling me.

La Luz's new assistant, former Hartford Courant reporter Hilda Munoz starts Monday. Her last day at the Courant was today

Priorities I guess

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

GROSS MISCONDUCT

That is how the Office of the Connecticut  Secretary of the State Denise Merrill referred to the debacle created election day by Hartford's Democratic Registrar of Voters  Olga Vazquez .I think there is plenty of gross misconduct to go around, starting with Mayor Segarra, Council President Shawn Wooden and possibly even Merrill herself. Was it a newsflash to any of them that Vazquez was a disaster waiting to happen?

All any of them had to do was open their eyes to the numerous Superior Court decisions or SEEC rulings to realize that Vazquez has very little regard, if any, for obeying election law or State Statutes. Didn't the fact that Vazquez has routinely over spent her approved budget by millions of dollars while regularly turning out some of the lowest voter participation in the State.

It was just a matter of time.

What is interesting is how Segarra and Wooden were able to quickly pull together a dog and pony show on the steps of City Hall to voice their apparent indignation. They never seemed to mention one interesting fact though. The only charter revision question approved by the voters over a year ago was authorizing the restructuring of the Registrars Office  to a professional  operation of one Registrar.

This move would  hopefully remove the political patronage of the three Registrars and establish one professional election administrator. City Hall has sat on this restructuring and it is no further along now than it was the day it was put on the ballot over a year ago

It would be interesting to hear Segarra and Wooden explain why they have ignored the will and the mandate of the people of Hartford who went to the polls last November to vote for Charter reform.

It is easy for Segarra and Wooden to jump on the bandstand and thump their chests what a travesty this was and how terrible it is that voters were disenfranchised, but look at the facts they disenfranchised those same voters when they refused to follow their will  and clean up the disaster that is and has been the Registrars Office under Vazquez

 Last Tuesday should have surprised no one, especially Segarra and Wooden who have had to deal directly with Vazquez's .Misconduct for several years now.

Here is one more example of Vazquez's blatant disregard for election law, just enter her name in the search bar above and you will  find many more examples that have been posted here

MERRILL'S COMPLAINT



From: Bromley, Ted
Sent: Tuesday, November 4, 2014 7:04 PM
To: Ahern, Kevin
Cc: Reeves, Peggy; Merrill, Denise; Wegele, Shannon; Spallone, James; Harris, Av; Button, Lewis
Subject: SOTS Complaint Re: Hartford Registrars of Voters

 

 

Dear Attorney Ahern:

 

I am writing to inform you of our intention to file a complaint with the State Elections Enforcement Commission regarding the gross misconduct of the Hartford Registrars of Voters during the election of November 4, 2014.  Based upon recent facts that have emerged regarding the conduct of the Hartford Registrars of Voters during Election Day and based upon the testimony presented in the matter of Dannel P. Malloy v. Olga Iris Vasquez, Sheila N. Hall, Urania Petit and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, Superior Court, Hartford (November 4, 2014) it is our understanding that the following election law violations have occurred:  (1) failure to properly prepare the final registry list pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-38; (2) failure to properly prepare and open the polls in violation of Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-174; (3) failure to properly mark the official registry list regarding absentee ballots in violation of Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-140c; (4) failure to properly implement and follow the voting process in violation of Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-261; failure to properly transmit the official registry list to the moderator of each polling location in violation of Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-259; and neglect of their official duties pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 9-355.

 

We will certainly provide your agency with additional material and details as they become available.

 

Sincerely,

Ted Bromley

Staff Attorney

 

 

THANK YOU AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

A SAD NOTE

Alyssa Peterson, a tireless advocate for the people and the neighborhoods of Hartford has announced the passing of her father, James Peterson, after a long illness. The details are below. Condolences  to Alyssa and her entire family. Alyssa was faithfully committed to her fathers care over the last 10 years. Your compassion for your father is admirable.

James H. Peterson, 83, of Simsbury, passed away Saturday, October 18, 2014, after bravely fighting illness for many years. Born in New Haven to Greek immigrants Peter E. and Sophie (Yaknisi) Peterson, James or "Jim" moved with his family to Hartford during World War II and later settled in West Hartford. Jim attended Hall High School and UConn College of Pharmacy where he graduated in 1954. Jim spent two years in Germany on a tour of duty with the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He returned to Connecticut to work in the pharmacies of Maxwell Drugs around the Hartford area, and he managed the Torrington store for 17 happy years. He continued as a neighborhood pharmacist at the Doyle's in Newington before completing his career at UConn in Farmington in the Correctional Pharmacy. A devoted husband, father, and grandfather, Jim is survived by his wife of 55 years, Helen Karras Peterson, and his devoted children: Alyssa S. Peterson of Hartford; Demosthenes James "DJ" Peterson and his partner Daniel A. Nadeau of Los Angeles, CA; and P. Christopher Peterson and his wife Christine Bilotti-Peterson also of Simsbury, plus their four beautiful children, Alexa, Athan, James, and Nico. Jim also is survived by his very dear sister, Bette O'Brien of Farmington and his brother, Charles "Chick" Peterson of Charlotte, NC. The Peterson Family would like to thank the many talented health professionals of UConn Health Center and Avon Health Center for their years of extraordinary care. Jim's gentle style, hard work, compassion, and wry humor made him loved by all. His family will receive friends Thursday, October 23, 2014 from 5-8 pm at the Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center, 301 Country Club Road, Avon. A brief Trisagion prayer service will be held at 5 pm. The Funeral will be Friday, October 24, 2014 at 11 am at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 433 Fairfield Avenue, Hartford. Burial will follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford. Contributions to honor Jim may be directed to a
. For directions or condolences please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.

Published in The Hartford Courant on Oct. 22, 2014 -