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Sunday, November 22, 2015

HARTFORD'S DEMOCRATIC REGISTRAR MELTS DOWN ....AGAIN

According to Hartford City Hall sources, Hartford's Democratic Registrar of Voters Olga Vazquez went off the deep end once again Friday. This seems to be becoming and election time tradition for Vazquez who was the focus of scrutiny after last years poll debacle. Her actions then were the motivation by the Legislature for new laws regulating the Registrar of Voters Office , specifically in Hartford.

According to sources, on  Friday a Hartford Police Officer was sent to the payroll office at City Hall on the report of a disturbance. Upon the arrival the officer was met by Daniel Bonilla , a payroll supervisor at City Hall. Bonilla informed the officer that at about 1:00PM Friday,   the Democratic Registrar, Olga Vazquez, came into his office regarding a payroll issue for poll workers from the recent  Mayoral primary ( September 16th). Instead of the full $180.00 , the workers were only paid $25.00.

Bonilla apparently advised Vazquez that she would have to process the correct paperwork through Human Resources and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Apparently Vazquez then insisted that Bonilla "go into his computer and make the proper adjustments immediately"

Bonilla told Police that Vazquez then began to yell and swear at him. Vazquez, acting aggressive toward Bonilla and standing about a foot away from him continued to yell and curse at Bonilla, yelling "you have a f**king batch open why don't you do it?" continuing to yell, Vazquez screamed "This job is going to your f**king head , why don't you just do your job?'

Vazquez continued her yelling and screaming to the point that witnesses in the office overheard the disturbance. One witness, Marlene Fleeting, another employee in the office  who was several cubicles away went into Bonilla's office to see what was happening and reportedly saw Vazquez about a foot away from Bonilla yelling and swearing at him. Fleeting intervened and told Vazquez to calm down because Bonilla has some sort of medical condition and shouldn't get excited. Vazquez told Fleeting to mind her own business  because"this was a management matter".

Vazquez then apparently told Fleeting that if Bonilla had a medical condition "then maybe he shouldn't be working here".

Bonilla also told Police that he apparently felt threatened by Vazquez's actions.

HPD also apparently talked to another employee Padma Patel who is another supervisor in the Payroll Office. She also confirmed the disturbance and that she heard the suspect, Vazquez, yelling f**k and f**king during the altercation. Another witness, Ellen McCreery , also heard the altercation and asked her supervisor , Patel, if she should call the Police. Patel apparently said no and then went back to her desk.

It is unclear why under the circumstances no arrest was made, or if and arrest warrant application will be submitted for Vazquez. It would seem that the City's Zero tolerance Policy for workplace violence doesn't really mean Zero tolerance, depending on who you are.

If we are arresting Fire Lieutenants for similar incidents, will Vazquez skate on this one? And will those who reported the incident to Police now also receive 89 day suspensions? Luckily Chief Huertas and Assistant Chief Brady don't run the Payroll Department. If they did no one would be left to cut the City Payroll..

Neither HPD or City Hall have made any comment on the altercation but it seems to add more weight to the argument for the need to professionalize the Registrar's Office.

WHAT WILL THIS COUNCIL'S LEGACY BE?

As we count the day's until the Segarra Administration ends, it is interesting to see what the outgoing Council will set as their legacy. They have the potential to be seen as the most corrupt group of Hartford politicians in Hartford's history. They are already known for their corrupt deals and political paybacks that have most likely cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Their actions have already resulted in a Federal Grand Jury into some of these alleged dirty deals they ushered through, unchecked.

That has so far eclipsed anything corrupt former Mayor Eddie Perez ever accomplished. His grand total of corruption dollars , at least those we know about, totaled about $70.000. A Federal Grand Jury is currently investigating Hartford City Hall and that could reach into millions of dollars in over paid invoices and missing funds

Tomorrow nights Council meeting can potentially set their legacy. An item on their agenda that is attracting interest is the deal concocted with a tax delinquent property and its owner, multi millionaire and Hartford resident Alan Lazowski of LAZ parking.

Lazowski purchased the Talcott Street property in 2011. The building was part of the former G. Fox Department store complex and consists of a parking garage on the lower levels and several upper floors of former warehouse and office space.

Lazowski must have apparently realized the purchase was a poor investment quickly after buying the property. The parking facility was in deplorable condition structurally, essentially due to damage to the structural concrete and steel caused by road salt from the vehicles parked inside over the years. Len Besthoff , at the time working for another Hartford TV station before he moved to NBC Connecticut, had done an investigative story on chunks of the structure falling on vehicles in the garage as large portions gave out from the decay.

The garage was subsequently closed to the public and quickly became a non-producing asset for Lazowski. Even though Lazowski , as I said before. is a multi millionaire he apparently stopped paying the property taxes on the property. There is apparently still about $2.1 million in back taxes due as well as a tax lien for $1million dollars that was sold by the City.

Now the Segarra Administration  has concocted a plan to rescue Lazowski  and still allow him to keep control of the property by forgiving the back taxes and allowing the City to invest in the repairs and modifications to the property to bail Lazowski out. Lazowski would then be handed the parking concessions from the freshly renovated property, apparently in violation of existing State law requiring any City owned parking operations to be managed by the Hartford Parking Authority.

If this Council goes along with the deal they should be ashamed of themselves for several reasons.(I'm not sure they are capable of any shame though after watching their actions at November's first meeting of the month.)

First and foremost is a City Ordinance that forbids the City from negotiating or doing business with any Company that is delinquent on property taxes. Mr. Lazowski clearly is that. The City has put many others out of their homes and business out over far less in taxes than what Mr. Lazowski owes. He should not be allowed to benefit from his delinquency and then be funded by Hartford's taxpayers,

Second. there probably aren't too many Hartford politicians on the local, State and Federal level that have  not had checks put in their pockets by Mr. Lazowski at campaign time.  There are probably quite a few hard working people that have been removed from their homes by Hartford's Tax Collector over back taxes and never got a sweet deal like the City is offering to Lazowski.. Is this a classic example of buying political favor through sprinkling donations around ?

And what is the actual condition of the building? Will it ever be able to be used "as is" without extensive structural repairs. Have any engineering studies been done detailing its current condition? Or will we find out too late that the building is beyond repair and Hartford taxpayers will have to eat the cost of demolition? And Mr. Lazowski walks away free and clear of his tax debt to Hartford?

And what is the rush for this Council to slam Lazowski's action through in the next to the last meeting before they are shown the door? The incoming Administration and Council should be weighing this deal  rather than being saddled with another bad deal similar to the Yards Goats and the Dillon Stadium deal that have surely become the legacy for Council President Wooden and Councilman Ken Kennedy.

It will also be a good test to see whether political donations and influence drive Hartford's public policy or does the best interest of Hartford take priority?

I guess we will know after the Council meets tomorrow night.

Friday, November 13, 2015

ANOTHER CONVICTED FELON WITH A GUN

FROM HPD:
On the November 12th, 2015 at 12:40pm, Hartford Shooting Task Force investigators conducted a motor vehicle stop at 690 Albany Avenue. Upon stopping the vehicle, the operator suddenly jumped out of the driver’s seat and attempted to approach the STF Detectives. The operator was detained for officer safety without incident. The operator, later identified as Joseph Steele, stated he did not have identification or any paper work for the vehicle he was operating. Upon approaching the vehicle, a strong odor of marijuana was detected. As detective's checked the center console to locate paperwork, narcotics and a firearm was observed. Detectives also located a second firearm hidden behind a pull out AM / FM radio. Marijuana, Heroin, Crack Cocaine, prescription pills and a digital scale were located. 

Arrest; Steele, Joseph 29 of Hartford, CT. (18 previous Hartford arrests)

Charges:

1.       Failure to Obey Stop Sign

2.       Possession of Narcotics

3.       PWITS Narcotics

4.       Possession Controlled Substance

5.       PWITS Controlled Substance

6.       PWITS 1500 ft School

7.       Drug Factory

8.       Failure to Keep Prescription in Original Container

9.       Carrying a Pistol w/o a Permit

10.   Weapons in Motor Vehicle

11.   Criminal Possession of a Firearm

12.   Unregistered M/V

13.   Operating Under Suspension

14.   Misuse of Plates.

 

Firearm #1: Smith & Wesson .32 caliber revolver color silver, 4 live rounds, 2 spent rounds.

Firearm #2: Silver revolver, unknown make / model, not loaded.

 

Thursday, November 12, 2015

MICHAEL PATTERSON: DESCRIPTION OF HIS STELLAR CAREER AT HFD, IN HIS OWN WORDS



If the situation was so bad, why are we just hearing about it now? Did Patterson ever report any of this before his arrest? Interview from You Tube posting

THE FACTS, THE TRUTH AND THE LIES AT HFD

I am still trying to justify in my mind how the person that by most accounts is identified as the aggressor in an incident at the Hartford Fire Department received a mere 14 day suspension and the victim of his actions received an 89 day suspension.

The only thing that seems to make sense is that this is all part of the dysfunctional operations of Carlos Huertas, HFD's Chief.  LT. Michael Patterson was identified by most of those present at the incident as the aggressor. Patterson was subsequently arrested after HPD, a prosecutor and a Judge all determined that Patterson's actions were criminal in nature.

In the documents I received today from HPD pursuant to my FOI request, HPD chose to redact the names of all firefighters involved. This appears to be an illegal redaction under Connecticut's FOI laws , but that is an issue for an FOI Complaint and eventual hearing. Under CT law, only the home address of a firefighter can be withheld. There is no exemption for firefighters who are witness to a crime.

In the affidavit, one redacted firefighter claims  that he observed Patterson "exit Ladder 4 and charge at Dalton". He further relates that  he could see that Patterson was charging at Dalton "clearly in an angered manner" He also saw Patterson "punching at Dalton and yelling at him in a hostile manner".

All of this while Dalton reportedly "stood quietly, and did not feed into the incident with any verbal backlash"

Another firefighter, whose name was redacted illegally from the affidavit by HPD, provided the same account claiming that he was "frozen in disbelief by what he was seeing"

Although Chief Huertas appears to have ignored the facts and come up with his own theory of the incident, suspending Dalton for 89 days and Patterson received only a fraction of Dalton's punishment, a mere 14 days.

 Another one of his Department members also confirmed Patterson's actions, stating to the investigating Police Officer that he witnessed  Patterson "approach Dalton in a hostile manner, clearly hearing obscenities and an overall angered tone being vocalized by Patterson at Dalton". From his observations, Dalton "appeared to stand in the yard without responding to Patterson.

Another firefighter, describing the incident , said Dalton "stood in silence while this was taking place"

According to sources familiar with the investigation, a resident also confirmed and identified Patterson clearly as the aggressor and Patterson's actions drew his attention to the altercation. He did not wish to give a statement to police for fear of  retaliation.

Patterson further relates that he called Dalton "a bitch m*****f**ker". Patterson denied approaching Dalton , but he does admit to members of his crew came to restrain him. From what Chief Huertas? And would his crew have had restrained him if they didn't perceive the threat of an altercation?

 And again, is this the type of behavior we  wish to see ranking officers of the Hartford Fire Department display in public, or anywhere else for that matter?. Chief Huertas's decision making in this matter was deplorable, but then again we have become used to it from Huertas.

Read the attached reports and make your decision who the aggressor was, and is this reasonable and just. I think a judge will be awarding some substantial damages in this case, and it won't be to Michael Patterson.

No where in any of the reports or statements is Captain Thomas Dalton portrayed as the aggressor , except in Patterson's statements where he claims he and Dalton "have never gotten along". I think Patterson has shown that he is the one with the anger issues.

And in the meantime, I guess "zero tolerance for workplace violence" has a different meaning when you work within the Hartford Fire Department.

Patterson Dalton Incident Reports0001

Saturday, November 7, 2015

THE TONY TERZI INTERVIEW TODAY

We covered a variety of topics on the radio today, so take a listen and let me know what you think. Just click on the play button below to hear the audio.