More Details on 3rd District Candidate Mr. Robert Hoff

 

It seems that only after the truth is fully told then Mr. Hoff comes clean. Mr. Hoff still hasn’t learned the lessons that sometimes it better to retreat and say nothing and maybe just maybe they will not say anymore. After his attempts to quote biblical passages and admit to the world that he in fact was arrested he once again is blaming everyone else for his peculiar behavior and at time downright violent behavior.

In the 2011 series of Hoff’s violence exposed it begins with a call from 50 Michael Street on 4-5-2011, unknown caller to complain about harassment. The police investigate and spend 11:23am to 12:40pm on the street. There was no reported harassment. However, the next day April 6, 2011 Mr. Hoff calls the EHPD because he says he hears the next door neighbor screaming obscenities at him while he was playing with his dogs outside. The Officer investigates and it turns out the neighbor was yelling at his cat.

 

 

 

On April 24, 2011 the East Haven Police were once again called to 50 Michael Street for a Domestic Violence call when the PD arrived they there was the complainant Mr. Victor Bell and the aggressor Mr. Robert D. Hoff. This incident occurred because Mr. Bell ate all of the fruit! Yes we had the police called because Mr. Victor Bell ate food and Robert began to threaten Mr. Bell and when the EHPD investigated the claim they stated that Mr. Robert B Hoff was not cooperative with the Police Officers and was making false claims against Mr. Bell. You simply just can’t make this stuff up!

 

 

On April 27, 2011 The East Haven Police Department once again is called to 50 Michael Street for a Breach of Peace. Mr. Hoff alleges that Mr. Bell is causing a breach in the middle of the street and that Mr. Hoff is hiding in his room!

On June 1, 2011 Mr. Hoff again called the EHPD for a dispute with his neighbor there are no specifics on the report but we can only assume it is the dog situation once again.

But ladies and gentleman this story gets more bizarre!  On June 4, 2011 the East Haven Police were once again summoned to the Hoff residence because Mr. Bell and Mr. Hoff can’t play nice and according to the official police report Mr. Bell told Robert’s dog to “Get the F*** out of the way. “ While the Officer was taking the statement Mr. Hoff was holding in his hands the East Haven Town Charter and said that Mr. Bell’s words were causing his dogs “undue stress and anxiety and get this…..It was a violation of the East Haven Town Charter.” Folks….we have a serious problem here. Again I ask, is Robert Hoff fit to serve in any capacity in the Town of East Haven?     

 

 

On July 8, 2011 this Bell v. Hoff finally comes to blows for a family dispute and both Hoff and Bell are placed under arrest. But what we see here is Hoff becoming very aggressive and actually placing Mr. Bell in a headlock after jumping on him! You know it’s funny…I could have sworn I read somewhere that Mr. Hoff is disabled,  also has a degenerative disc problem and epilepsy and was very concerned this past summer that Senator Fasano was looking at him the wrong way almost causing him to have seizures. Now I’m no Doctor but wouldn’t you say if you could jump on someone’s back, place him in a headlock that you are physically capable? Maybe this blog can open up an investigation and report it to the State of Connecticut that we have a person claiming disability and maybe a fraud!

 

 

On August 13, 2011 Again, Hoff and Bell are at it again. This time it’s a violation of protection order and a breach of peace. These two, who live at the same address, have orders of protection against each other. Hoff is now accusing Bell of giving him the middle finger. Both of them are issued warnings by the East Haven Police.

 

 

On a day of remembrance 9-11-2011 where we all should be remembering what happened on that day 11 years ago prior The Hoff v Bell situation explodes once again but expands to involve Mr. Hoff’s Father. This situation started because Hoff’s dog jumped on Bell and got his shirt dirty. Bell obviously upset objected and Hoff came charging at him yelling and screaming. Now remember the there is an order of protection so someone is going to be arrested and guess who? Yep you got it Mr. Hoff is arrested. But the cherry on top is Hoff’s Father’s statement in the police report. “Upon speaking with James he stated that he did witness the incident and Robert approached Victor and began yelling at him. James stated he was not sure what exactly was said when Robert approached Victor, however Victor was the one who turned around and walked away from the incident so the situation would not escalate. James stated Robert HAS AN ISSUE WITH ANGER AND IT IS NOT UNCOMMON FOR ROBERT TO COME FACE TO FACE WITH VICTOR OR OTHER RESIDENTS OF THE HOUSE.

 

 

 

Then again on 10-17-2011 Robert calls the East Haven Police once again claiming that he had a problem with Victor Bell, who was the aggressor. Victor denied the charge and said that Hoff was the aggressor. The police deemed it to be an on-going dispute and Robert left the home for the day.

The final call of 2011 went right back to the neighbor where Mr. Hoff called the East Haven Police Department complaining that the neighbor was threatening to kill Hoff’s dog. The police found no reasonable complaint here and just documented the issue.

 

 

In conclusion this evidence that I promised to deliver shows that Mr. Robert Hoff, The 3^rd District Candidate is not only a liar but has serious impairment in anger management and frankly is a danger to himself, his family and the general public. This man is perpetrating the biggest fraud on the East Haven Taxpayer since April Capone said she was a business executive for Verizon Wireless. In April’s case she at least waited till she was in office to be arrested and was proud that she was and at least her Father backed her up, Hoff’s Father was a witness to his son’s arrest and agreed with the complainant!. Maybe Hoff can show us the three mug shots he received by the EHPD as mementos! Again I say if the people of the 3^rd District vote for this lunatic it may be time to put the house up for sale cause you just can’t make this stuff up!

Mr. Robert Hoff East Haven's 3rd District Town Council Candidate a Ticking Time Bomb

It’s a terrible shame when a Public Official will lie and deceive. However, when that public official uses his position to attack others and then gets nasty at times it makes it even worse. Mr. Hoff has been an attack dog questioning the ethics, morals and many more things of several public officials in the Town of East Haven when he has a very colorful past himself and one has to wonder what the Capone Administration was thinking when they appointed Mr. Hoff to the Americans Disabilities Commission and now serves as the Chairman of that Commission. Mr. Hoff should hang his head in shame for his past discretions but mostly for his attempts to cover them up.

In addition on December 4^th Mr. Hoff declared that he was going to seek the office of Town Council in the 3^rd District and it was his responsibility to disclose all information that would be in the public interest. I have tried to get him to come clean but all I get is the typical political run around. It is the East Haven’s Vine intent to properly vet every candidate that seeks office. In the case of Mr. Hoff there is plenty to tell and some of which is very alarming and should raise a lot of eyebrows to those who don’t know Mr. Hoff personally.

When I made the request to the East Haven Police Department I figured I would go back a full 2 years so I could maybe get a hit on something with Mr. Hoff. It had been long rumored that Mr. Hoff had been arrested but when I arrived at the police department this morning I was shocked to receive 46 pages of documentation on Mr. Hoff’s past.

I will be disclosing all of these documents over time for the public to view and to make up their own mind to whether they want Mr. Hoff to represent them. But here is the true story on the violence that has occurred at 50 Michael Street from candidate Hoff. There are other stories to 50 Michael Street that shows Mr. Hoff calls the EHPD for nonessential emergencies as well.

Here are the incidents that occurred in the year 2010.

 

On 6/12/2010 at 9:49am the East Haven Police Department was dispatched 50 Michael Street for a Family Dispute. Sargent Joseph Mulhern was assigned. The report came in as a family dispute between a Beth Malak from East Haven and Mr. Robert D. Hoff at 50 Michael Street.  The offense listed on the report is a breach of peach. There arrests in this incident but the names of the arrestees are redacted but the officer’s incident report is not redacted.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is another incident that occured in August 2010. These charges were levied by Mr. Hoff but were shown to be unchargeable since the responding officer saw that there was no violation of the protective order. Calling the East Haven Police by Mr. Hoff seems to be a regular occurance and in some cases calling the EHPD seems to be a waste of time, money and effort. 

It's also not just family members Mr. Hoff has problems with it's also his neighbors that find him to be problematic. In the last month of 2010 Mr. Hoff has the EHPD visit his neighbor because he feels that his neighbor is giving him a hard time about his dogs. This story further develops in 2011.

 

In this first part series of Robert Hoff the 3rd District Candidate is just in the eye of the storm. In the next segment you will see the growing time bomb on Michael Street as there are physical altercations, harrassment charges and other things that are just wasting the taxpayers dollars on resources that should be given to fighting real crime.

East Haven Town Council Hears Sub Committee Plans on Old High School

Every Town Council Meeting in the Town of East Haven happens on the First Tuesday of every month but previous to that meeting there is the Administrative Services Meeting that sets the agenda. It is not a common occurrence to "add" items to the agenda the day of the meeting unless of course it happens to be a matter of urgent business or you're trying to sneak an item on the agenda that might be controversial like say.... mixed use of senior housing and public use of 200 Tylers St aka The Old High School? Something the taxpayers in 2009 DID NOT VOTE for!

The underlining matter is something has to be done with the Old High School; I think everyone in the Town realizes that but at who's cost, expense and benefit? Back in 2007 the Maturo Administration tried to pull a fast one by selling the Old High School for under $500K when the property alone is worth far more. The goal was to develop over 200 units of senior housing and when this was presented to the general public there was almost a riot. In my 7 years of service on the Town Council I never saw the public so upset. I got the message loud and clear and stood up against the project and eventually it died. It's the behind the scenes operation and schemes the East Haven Tax Payer needs to be aware of. Again who benefits by so many various projects?

Well the East Haven Vine has some interesting information and a possible connection on this current project that you the tax payer and reader might raise an eyebrow at. The presentation of concept delivered by Councilman Paul Carbo and his 200 Tyler Street Sub Committee. It included a presentation by Landmark Architects of East Haven and its President Paul Pizzo. Landmark's Organizational Chart includes several companies but one is of particular interest to Mr. Arthur Desorbo, East Haven Director of Administration, Nafis and Young of Northford.

After Maturo's defeat in 2007 to April Capone Almon, Mr. Desorbo gained employment with Nafis and Young and according to Mr. Desorbo's, Zoomifno.com profile the relationship has been quite extensive. Take a look for yourself....It’s quite clear that Mr. Desorbo definitely has something to gain by employing his former employer, longtime business partner and political contributor. Maybe if Maturo loses this fall there is another position awaiting him? See below where Mr. Desorbo acknowledges his longtime relationship with Nafis and Young.

http://www.zoominfo.com/#!search/profile/person?personId=49698475&targetid=profile

Tonight at the Town Council Meeting, I raised two points to Mr. Pizzo and the Town Council. First, if we were to build a mixed use facility to include senior housing has this been done anywhere else and how did it work? The answer from Mr. Pizzo was no. My next question was since there will be children at this facility using the pool, basketball court or auditorium what would happen if we had a sex offender or other unwanted individuals that are forbidden to be around children residing in this facility? How would that work? Who would be liable? Town Attorney Joe Zullo injected that we haven't gone that far in the process and he would have a lot of research to conduct to make sure that Town wouldn't be held liable.

These are questions that need to be asked at this point because I can assure you that this is an election year and there is money to be made and short time to do it. The Maturo Administration has demonstrated by the 1st attempt of sale of the Old High School and the Candlelight Project that it has no handle on managing a large scale project without it starting to smell of backhanded deals and corruption because of the lack of honest and forthcoming proposals. Tonight there was no need to "add" this project to the agenda. It could have waited until the next Administrative Services meeting to be added in January 2013. Once again we all need to keep a very close eye on this proposal and hold our elected officials and their appointees to account! We cannot allow valuable Town property to be mishandled nor given away to friends of Joe Maturo and Art Desorbo.

 

 

 

 

 

The Republican Party Needs To Wake Up! If It Doesn't Want To Become the Whig Party of the 1800's

Right here in the Town of East Haven you can see the national trend that the Republican Party is in deep, deep trouble if it doesn’t get it’s proverbial head out of it ass. A few years ago a quiet movement was put into motion to try to move the older East Haven Republican Party Bosses into retirement to allow the younger members of the party to control the platform. We all recognized the glory days of Joe Maturo were long gone and the party needed to evolve into the 21^st Century if it doesn’t want to become like the non-existent Republican Party of New Haven or the Whig Party of the 18^th Century.

I’m middle of the road as a Republican despite what many may believe. My value systems are built from my parents who were depression aged folk who believed in many traditional things such as marriage, God and the 1950’s America. As much as I don’t want to let that go it has become apparent that those values are becoming increasingly sparse. I’m Generation X and I have seen many things. The end of the Vietnam War, the Iran Hostage Crisis, The Reagan Era, The Fall of Communism, A New World Order, 9-11 and the immigration of people of the Americas into our country. Many of them are of Spanish origin from Central, South America and the Caribbean. Some people distain these people but have we forgot that Spanish influence has been in the Americas since 1492 when Christopher Columbus was paid to come to America by the Spanish Monarchy. The Caribbean, South and Central America, Western North America, The Gulf of Mexico and the State of Florida were all a part of the Spanish Empire in America.

Today’s states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, North and South Dakota and Florida were all under Spanish control where the indigenous people spoke Spanish and had Spanish culture. Yet, we somehow have forgotten that as Republicans. How ironic that half of those territories are in the Republican red territory! The Republican Party, the party that freed the slaves has yet to embrace the largest growing population in the United States and we wonder why we’ve lost two consecutive national elections?

Culturally, in many ways the divide in Europe in the 19^th and 20^th century still exists here in America. When the Italians and Irish came to America it was their fellow Europeans who also immigrated to America that discriminated against them. They were Irish, Polish, German or whatever Northern European groups. Today those Northern European groups could care less about Irish, Italian, English or whatever yet we still have a problem with Spanish. My question is why? Those Spanish that some despise have a direct European link but are treated like they are 2^nd class citizens. It’s almost like there is Europe and then there is the Spanish. To me it makes no difference and it is a terrible position the Republican Party has put itself in because I can bet that the majority of the Spanish population has the same core values of our party but because they speak Spanish, they come from Central America, Caribbean or South America they cannot be Americans.  In turn we have allowed the Democrats access to this group uncontested and what a missed opportunity.

As for East Haven, there is no better example of how not act than Joe Maturo. His ignorance and his spice to be the class clown has alienated the growing Spanish population of this Town. It’s people like Joe Maturo that give opportunists like Fr. Manship, Eric Holder and Barack Obama the mantle of their cause and frankly I’m sick of it. I know many Puerto Ricans, and by the way they are just as American as I am. I know their Roman Catholic culture. I know their core beliefs and I know at the end of the day they are like minded. I know many Cubans they too are like minded and are very much aware of the dangers of Socialism. I know some Mexicans and do you know what? They too are very similar to us. Did you know that their system of Government is almost identical to ours? They are the United States of Mexico with a Federal Government like ours. So how can people that are of European decent, of Christian values, some that fly an American flag and some that have a Representational government like ours not asked to be with us? Why isn’t the Republican Party leading the charge to get this group on our side of the issues? Why is it that people like Joe Maturo continue to be the face of what we don’t believe and represent? Our Republican party needs to move into the 21^st Century and finally incorporate others like the Democrats have so successfully done. It burns me to see a neophyte like Gene Ruocco come on top and you know what? If you’re a Republican in East Haven it should burn you too! It burns me to see it on a National Level and we need to change.

There is no one more qualified in this Town that can make this statement than I. Back in 2004, I made a major issue of Gay Marriage and I was wrong. I hurt people, I embarrassed people and made many people uncomfortable with my approach. I made that a political weapon and I was incorrect in calculating that there were many, many like minds like me. Or was I thinking like my parents from the 1950’s? Sometimes your thoughts and your actions cloud your vision. Sometimes it’s best to let free people to decide on their own. Have I changed my personal beliefs on the subject? No, I still don’t believe in Gay Marriage but I’ve learned that I have no right to stop someone to have one either. That’s between them and God and I have made peace with that. Do I think the Republican Party should have anti gay marriage in their platform? No! I don’t anymore, why? Because it is not politically savvy in the 21^st century and with early childhood indoctrination in the 1980’s and 1990’s it’s a losing cause. Once again the Republicans were asleep at the wheel and allowed that teaching in our schools and today it’s socially acceptable. That ship has sailed and that war is over.

There is nothing more intriguing than a smart, self-reliant woman who has an opinion. I live in household full of women. Even my dog is a female and I had no problem at all with “fixing her” reproductive rights so why do I care if the girl next door wants to have an abortion or has access to birth control? Am I socially responsible for her actions? Is she my child that I have to care for? As I see it, I have the responsibility to my three women in my home. I set my expectations along with my wife and we together set the expectations in my home. Do I believe in abortion? No, I don’t but then again, it is not up to me to make that decision that’s between that person and God. Again, indoctrination of children has happened, it’s socially acceptable and that ship too has sailed and that war is over.

Do you see the pattern fellow Republicans? We are fighting the wrong fights and there are 55% who are always going to be against those stances. You cannot mathematically win. Is Dan McCann becoming a liberal? Not in the least, in fact maybe he’s become a realist and someone who has to evolve with the times so that the Republicans can win on the real issues that affect us all. Maybe all we really need is to do away with the Republican label and call us the “Realist” party that is open to everyone even if you speak Spanish, has an opinion on women’s issues and has a same sex spouse. It could be that simple!

The 2012 campaign should be a LOUD wake-up call for all Republicans that taking minority positions on social issues is a losing battle even though you might think you’re right. It’s time to figure out how to get more people on our side of the National economic issues, military issues, global issues instead of playing in the Democratic Sandbox of personal attacks and distractions that really don’t mean a whole lot. That also applies to the East Haven Republican Town Committee that needs a big wakeup call and needs to find someone other than Joe Maturo and Art DeSorbo to lead the Republicans of East Haven.  We need young, fresh blood to lead this party or there will be no party locally or nationally. It’s time to become real and realize that Republicans got beat on issues that are between the four walls of one’s ever changing home.

Ronald Reagan Award Dinner a First in East Haven But With a Questionable Pick

Ronald Wilson Reagan is the icon of the Republican Party. To many Republicans he is the Jack Kennedy of our party. The symbol of the American vision of hope, honesty and integrity and the pillar of strength. To be honored by his name at his dinner is indeed a great feat. I personally know two of the East Haven receipents Charles Doc Schlegel who will receive the " Charles Doc Schlegel Service Award and Frank Cappelloni who will receive the East Haven RTC Distinguished Service Award. Both of these men have served the East Haven community well and are pillars of the community.

If there ever was an environmental issue, a question on the East Haven Land Trust there was Doc. While I was serving on the East Haven Town Council Doc helped acquire more land in the Bradford Manor Area to widen and secure the beautiful East Haven marsh area in the 2nd District. He also was one of the longest serving Republican members on the East Haven Board of Finance and served with distinction and several balanced budgets saving millions of dollars for our residents.

When I first entered into East Haven politics the leader of the East Haven Republicans was Mr. Frank Capelloni. Frank is a very gentle man with a big heart but was behind the resurgence of the Republicans that took back Town Hall from Hank Luzzi. After that victory Frank handed the regins over to the next generation. To me Frank was a true mentor who always told me to kill them with kindness and to this day is a big fan of the East Haven Vine and continues to encourage me to expose the truth wherever it may be. Frank is also an major supporter of the East Haven Police Department and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the men and women of the EHPD during the Capone Administrations blistering attacks that have left our Department the focus of national attention.

There is no doubt that both of these men deserve the biggest thanks from many Republicans in East Haven but most importantly for all the great work they have done for the entire East Haven Community.

Lastly it is the opinion of the East Haven Vine that the selection of Joseph Maturo Jr. for the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Service Award is simply a major mistake and a lapse of judgement of the East Haven Republican Town selection committee. This committee seems to have forgotten that it was only a few months ago that Joseph Maturo for his own political gain and purpose took the entire East Haven Republican party down a dangerous road by leaving the party and creating a 3rd line to avoid a primary. A cowardly move because if he had gone head to head against John Finkle he would have lost. With several sleazy backroom political maneuvers from his internal circle Finkle was forced to remove himself from the race and then Maturo came back to seek the endorsement. This strategy and posturing was not in anyway shape or form an honorable, honest or distinct way and Maturo should not be rewarded for his behavior. I am certain if Ronald Reagan witness this behavior he certainly wouldn't want his name associated with Joe Maturo.

On the bright side it is encouraging to see the East Haven Republican Town Committee introducing this dinner as a avenue of collecting additional revenue to advance the Republican cause in the Town. The past two treasurers of the East Haven Town Committee, James Farrell and now Sal Maltese have done a fantastic job of raising money and keeping the war chest filled, as of the last filing date the East Haven Republicans had just over $12K ready to do battle. See the report below.

http://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/Data/Attachment/Unassigned/SEEC20_121377_1.pdf


Unlike the past years where money was always an issue and reporting was always lacking. The East Haven Republican Party was always struggling to support candidates, all except Joe Maturo who received the lionshare. These are the last filings before Farrell and Maltese assumed treasurer duties and as you can see the East Haven RTC had less than $500.00 on hand.  It makes one wonder what was going on during the good economic times?

http://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/Data/Attachment/Unassigned/SEEC20_100570_1.pdf

If you are interested at looking at all reporting filings of the East Haven political parties you can visit this website

http://seec.ct.gov/eCrisReporting/SearchingDoc.aspx

Then type in "East Haven" under "Committee Name" you definitely will learn quite a bit!

Happy Searching!

Mansfield Grove Rd Traffic Light....Maturo is just lying

When I was apart of the East Haven Republican establishment I used to sit there and watch all of these politicians jockey for position and prestige and would feel something was just not right. I never felt comfortable because some of these people would just say and do things just for political favor or statue. This is certainly the case for Joseph Maturo Jr in regards to his involvement with the Mansfield Grove Road Traffic light. What he says is simply not true. As a matter of fact the only things he said that were true is he was the on the Council in 1992 and was Mayor while petitions were being circulated. He could give a damn if the light went in or not. We in fact had a direct conversation about the light when I was on the Town Council and his exact words to me was..."Don't go f***ing me up with stop signs and traffic lights."

He even had the Chairman of the Police Commission at the time, Pat Romano try to deflect attention away from Mansfield Grove Road at a couple of meetings when we successfully lobbied to get a three way stop sign on Mansfield Grove Rd and Gurney Street. Why, because the Joseph Maturo Administration's policies are to lay low and do nothing. His quote above was a direct response to not cause controversy and have phone calls coming into the office and having constituents being upset in favor or against.

The facts are these. The idea for the traffic light came when the Mansfield Landing Condominiums were built. With the increased volume of traffic it became necessary to install the light because the alternate route out of Mansfield Grove Road (Hoop Hole Lane) was an absolute pot hole nightmare at the time. The plan was to install the light and I know Mariam Amendola was involved because she circulated a petition around the neighborhood. I did not live on the road at the time of the 1st petition but I was certainly there for the next two. The 2nd petition was started by myself because the State had signed a deal with the Mansfield Landing and Mr. Lippincott to purchase the land which we know today as the Farm River State Park. Now with additional traffic it became more necessary to get the light because the Marina was going to be active once again. In addition, Clemente builders was trying to get the Jessica Road project off the ground off of Wheaton Road which would have put up to 10 more homes in the immediate area. When I began this petition I was the 2nd District Representative and do you know how many times Joe Maturo asked me the status? ZERO. I asked for meetings and was denied. I was told that Joe did everything he could and he won't meet with you about it.. We never stopped though. Calls were made by several residents on the road even getting as high as the Director of DOT and each and everytime they said they would study it. To their credit they did. We saw signs of rubber strips to count the volume of traffic several times and saw the DOT even clear the line of sight. At the time there was only one flashing light and then there was two. So some progress had been made.

Then the State Representative race came in 2006 and the light became a campaign issue. The only reason why Maturo is even mentioned in the press release was for political respect and to show the residents we were unified.

http://ctsenaterepublicans.com/2006/10/mayor-maturo-senator-fasano-and-councilman-mccann-petition-state-for-traffic-light/

 I had accused Mike Lawlor of failing to do anything to help the residents of the Town and circulated a 2nd petition to get to the State. I was not successful in my attempts at Mike's seat but I certainly drew his attention to the light because then we started seeing significant movement and even some construction to improve the sight line. It was after Mike Lawlor was appointed to the Transportation Committee in 2009 the light really became a reality. Please read below.

 http://blog.mikelawlor.com/2009/01/mike-appointed-to-transportation.html .

http://www.townofeasthavenct.org/pdf/minutes/tcouncil/tcouncl-min-july6-10.pdf

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2009/01/15/news/metro/b1-ehlawlor.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Here is a blog post between myself and Mike Lawlor regarding the Traffic Light on Manfield Grove Road

Dan McCann

7:38 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2010

What about the traffic light promised at Mansfield Grove Road and Short Beach Rd? Both Lawlor and Santino promised and nothing has been done?

Mike Lawlor

7:09 am on Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Hi, Dan, thanks for the question. The last update I received on this issue was in July. The light has been authorized by the state Department of Transportation and is awaiting funding. As you know, the state is facing a rather severe fiscal crisis. Here is the entire email which I received from Pam Sucato, legislative liaison for the DOT, dated 7/6/2010:
Hi Mike: Last we spoke, I think I mentioned that the Department's Division of Traffic Engineering indicated to the the Town of East Haven that we are willing to recommend the installation of a traffic signal to the State Traffic Commission . The attached file contains copies of our 9/17/09 letter to Chief Gallo and the Town's subsequent 9/22/09 response indicating their concurrence with the local cost participation. We're unable to provide a time frame for either design or construction due to funding constraints. The future signal installation project that this signal will be in is not programmed nor is funding available for design activities. I'm sorry - I wish I had a better update, but nothing has changed. Please let me know if you need anything else. Pam

So there East Haven those are the true facts about the Traffic Light on Mansfield Grove Road and Short Beach Road. Other than the press release from the Len Fasano's 2006 campaign do you see Joe Maturo's name anywhere?

Once again the facts show that Joe Maturo will say and do anything to grab credit for something he had nothing to do with. The credit due is to the residents of Mansfield Grove Road, Short Beach Road and all of the surrounding roads that use this strip of road everyday and signed the petitions, made the phone calls, wrote the letters and demanded that politicians to work for them. A special thanks to Mike Lawlor who had the courage to take a political issue and really work hard to get funding for a project that was so needed. As for Joe Maturo....Nice try but you still don't get it Joe...The instant media, videos and 21st century technology is your worst enemy.

 

Malik Jones Case Is The Baseline for the DOJ Being in East Haven, Now That the Jones Case is Done It's Time For You to Leave Now!!!

When I was on the East Haven Town Council and we were in Executive Session then Councilwoman April Capone said, "Well maybe we should settle the case with Malik Jones." I strongly opposed that idea along with the other 13 Council members. I said for as long as I sit on this Council I will never vote to give one red cent to the Jones Family. Not because of hate but because of justice being served. When the jury trial resulted in a $2.5 Million Dollar judgment for Jones I said you must continue to fight it because if we cave, if we settle everyone will be lined up at the door waiting for their payout and our community and tax base will foot the bill.

It wasn't the money so much, after a while it all blends together but what was most important was to stand next to our Police Department which was being labeled as a racist department that hunted minority groups and would shoot to kill because of the color of their skin. That was the farthest thing from the truth and the 2nd Circuit Appellate Court concurred in their decision today.

What is and will always remain the truth is that Emma Jones lost control of her child Malik. Maybe Malik was a good person in her presence and as a parent it is sometimes very difficult to see the wrong your children do but unless Mrs. Jones was completely blind there was no way she could not have known the many criminal things that her son was doing and whom he was doing it with.

First things first is the rule of law. My two daughters are no angels but I know they are good kids because my wife and I keep track of their activities, whom they associate themselves with and hold them to account for their actions. I'm not saying that because I'm the Father of the Year, I'm saying that because it's my social responsibility to you and everyone else to hold my child to certain social expectations. Selling drugs, carrying illegal weapons, running from the police, endangering the countless lives with a high speed chase and associating with convicted felons is not in "my social expectations" for my children. Maybe that was acceptable behavior to Emma Jones but not to the millions of families who raise their children  to respect the law and the Police that serve the public.

As a parent I can only imagine the anguish Mrs. Jones felt with the loss of her child but what I cannot understand is her total lack of accountability for her failure as a parent and expecting the Town of East Haven and the residents to shoulder the blame for Malik's lack of respect for the rule of law. Mrs. Jones fails to realize that her son was a drug dealer, was selling guns and moments before he was killed he placed the lives of many motorists and pedestrians in harm’s way by driving recklessly through the streets of East Haven and New Haven. Why is Malik Jones dead? It's not because Officer Floodquist killed him it's because of the life he lived and the lack of parental guidance that continued to allow the destructive behavior to end at the barrel of a police officer’s gun. Does Mrs. Jones for once ever think she owes the people of East Haven an apology for the way her son conducted himself in our community? Does she ever apologize for the poison her son sold on the streets that ended up in our community? Does she every hold her son or herself to account to Robert Floodquist for having to make a tough decision to use his firearm to defend himself against a 2 ton motor vehicle? The answer is no and it will remain no until she dies because she believes that her son did no wrong.

That's the difference between New Haven and East Haven. That's why there is gun violence every day in New Haven and not East Haven. That's why you can walk the streets of East Haven without fear. Try to do that in some neighborhoods in New Haven and it’s not that East Haven is a racist Town it's because we hold people to account and our Police Department enforces our laws. Emma Jones will never get that concept because she has never accepted the  responsibilities as a parent for her part in the violent epidemic of crime that plagues the Greater New Haven Area,

As for the United States Department of Justice and their political collaborators, April Capone, Michael Lawlor, Frank Capone, Gene Ruocco, Paul Hongo. Patricia CoFrancesco, Fred Brow, Joseph Civitello and Frank Perigrossi what now? What's your case now that the hearsay about the East Haven Police Department has been once again NOT proven? These local people turned to the United States Department of Justice to seek political retaliation and used the Malik Jones case as a basis of their suspicion to bring about the biggest political witch hunt in modern time.

To quote East Haven's Defense Attorney on the Jones case Hugh Keefe, “The decision will have an effect on the Department of Justice’s civil complaint. It undermines the claims of the Department of Justice as outlined in a letter to the mayor in December of 2011.  The only specifics cited in the letter is the Malik Jones case, Keefe said. The new decision, takes the water out of that argument completely,”

So now what United States Department of Justice? What is the basis of your current argument? Pack up your boxes, your investigation and all the destruction you put on our Town and get the hell out of here. The people of East Haven have put up with this case for over 15 years and where is our apology for being called racists, bigots and an unfriendly town? I suspect it will never come. Where is the apology to the men and women of the East Haven Police Department who serve with honor, diginity and valor? Well this resident will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with all of them and say to them I'm sorry for the way your government treats you and if that means anything it's aleast something for all the pain they and their families suffer and continue to suffer.

You can go home now DOJ because you and your minions are the only ones not welcomed here in East Haven.

Old High School and Maturo's Bag of Tricks

So in the same election that returned Joe Maturo back to Town Hall the people of this Town also voted to keep the Old High School in the hands of the Town and out of the hands of private developers. The Maturo Administration thinks that your vote is non-binding therefore it doesn't count. I wonder how Joe Maturo would feel if we felt his election was non-binding and decided to put in someone else? Well we know he would be pissing and moaning and holding his breath just like he did when the Town Committee Republicans voted for John Finkle by a 2 to 1 margin. He used back door tactics to disrupt the process of the will of the Republicans of the Town of East Haven and he's doing it again by ignoring the will of the people and pushing his Administration's idea to a developer to place senior housing at the Old High School. Their argument is that the cost to rehab the facility would be too much money and that maybe the case but the underlying problem with this whole idea is not the cost factors but whom is involved and whom will be the benefactors?

Back in 2007 while I served on the East Haven Town Council this same Administration attempted to do a similar move buy trying to sell the property to a "select" few bidders at a cost of less than $500,000 when the property alone is worth so much more. I recall being very upset because I too began to understand that this Administration's ethics and integrity is severely lacking. Thankfully the Town Council would not fall for the underhanded tactic and flatly rejected the idea. That night, unlike the current events, the public was involved in the process. So now you can understand why Mr. DeSorbo is trying to keep these meetings under wraps and low key.

Please read the New Haven Register Article about the Old High School

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/07/23/news/metro/doc500de4739693f019754148.txt?viewmode=fullstory

The New Haven Register article says that Maturo knows nothing about these meetings. You just cannot believe that Mayor Joe Maturo knows nothing about these meetings. This denial comes from the same man who has a computer database of all registered voters in the Town and knows exactly who contributed to his campaign, placed lawn signs and voted for him and awards those contributors and supporters with key positions on Boards and Commissions and possible future contracts for development. Makes one think, doesn't it? Joe Maturo is a micromanager and there is nothing that goes on in this Town without his direct knowledge. Don't believe me? Make an appointment to see the Mayor 203-468-3204 see how he acts and see if he touches that keyboard.
So lets think for one minute that Mr. DeSorbo is correct that the cost factors are too much to rehab this complex. Where are his facts and figures? Where is the proof of what he is talking about and what about the arrogance of this Administration to ignore the 71% of the voters who said THEY DON'T WANT SENIOR HOUSING at this location!

The bottom line is there are two major issues with this location that need to be resolved before the thought of any Senior Housing is placed there.

1. Will a developer pay 100% of the cost to have a new pool built at the New High School?
2. Will a developer pay 100% of the cost to replace the gymnasium that is used for the children of this Town?

I would suspect the reason why the voters of this Town voted to keep this facility in the hands of the Town is they know like I know that no developer would agree to 1 or 2 or both and that the mixed use of this facility is only going to cause problems. In addition, a few years back I proposed an idea to seek government assistance just like Torrington, West Hartford and other Connecticut Towns did to convert the old  high school building to a Government Center with full use and access to the public. The Old High School would provide ample space to move every government office into one building and could create some very interesting and creative ideas to sell existing Town properties and terminate rental leases that we currently have. That idea must be to complex for this Administration to expound on and it's obvious that they could care less that some of that same 71% of the East Haven voters think the same way I do.

You the voter should take a ride around Town and visit three Town owned offices that are not in compliance with the American Disabilities Act and have our Town Administrators sitting in conditions that lack privacy and professionalism.

1) East Haven Fire Department
2) East Haven Building Department
3) East Haven Public Works

Once you see these locations you can see why the idea of having the Old High School as a Government Center would be a good idea.

Maturo Needs to Slow Down on DOJ Consent Decree

It is very understandable that the Maturo Administration wants to try to get to a consent decree to try to avoid a lawsuit by the United States Department of Justice but with the DOJ's recent track record of no significant convictions and publically humiliating its purpose I don't understand what is all the rush? I mean this group couldn't even bring home a conviction on Roger Clemens and we all know that he perjured himself in front of Congress. <Don’t get upset Yankee Fans I’m one of you.>

We've told our Police that we will stand by them and despite what public opinion; Gene Ruocco or Paul Hongo says these Police Officers deserve their day in court which is not scheduled till the winter of 2013. So what is the rush? Any agreement with the DOJ can sell these men down the river and its awful that politics once again is raising it’s ugly head in East Haven.

Could it be that the DOJ has just gone from an institution to serve and protect to an organization that is corrupt and is in shake down mode? Forget politics for a minute. What happened in Arizona with Fast and Furious should make us all think for a minute about the DOJ, Eric Holder and now President Obama. What do they have to hide? 

The DOJ has ignored the Black Panther voting right scandal in Philadelphia and it has gone to war with Arizona Governor Jan Brewer because it cannot set a Federal Policy on illegal immigration and somehow that has become all of our problem. Why the inconsistency?

With the DOJ's track record and an increasingly prospect of an Obama loss in November I'm not saying not to talk but lets not sign anything with the DOJ until after the election. It is very likely that with a Romney win most of the current cases will be reviewed and could possibly be thrown out including the United States vs. East Haven Police.

Give John Miller, Dave Cari, Jason Zullo and Dennis Spaudling a fighting chance! Settling now could affect their cases before they even start.

Gene Ruocco, East Haven DTC Leader and His Shallow Excuses

It's taken me sometime to figure the right words to describe how I feel about what has gone on with Mr. Ruocco and his threatening comments back in December 2011. Mr. Ruocco obviously has some very serious issues. First, for not feeling any remorse for what he has done. Secondly, acceptance of accountability for his actions. Lastly, for not only embarrassing himself but his family, his fellow Democrats and the residents of the Town of East Haven.

I find it incredulous that Mr. Ruocco would find the audacity to actually justify his actions because I wrote articles that he found personally offensive. He actually came up to me at one of the Board of Police Commissioners meetings and tried to intimidate me by stating that what I write is liable and slander. I challenge anyone to find one thing I report as liable or slanderous. I report the truth and the facts and because they do not favor Mr. Ruocco or the people he tries to defend, he finds it offensive. What Mr. Ruocco fails to realize or accept is that I also do the same thing to the Republicans when they step out of line. The last resignation I called for was for Mayor Maturo, a Republican.

What is more comical is his efforts to explain himself. Little ole me, affectionately known to Gene as "Danny Boy" is what drove him to "his breaking point" to put me in my place. Just who does Gene Ruocco think he is? Is he that smug and arrogant to believe he himself is the moral authority for us in East Haven? Then Mr. Ruocco goes on accusing me of a desperate attempt to damage his political and personal reputation within the East Haven Community and making a big thing over a foolish thing. The only thing Mr. Ruocco got right in that whole statement was that it was a foolish thing, the damage to him politically and personally is all self-inflicted just ask around Town Mr. Ruocco.

Mr. Ruocco in his defense also seems to single me out that he would never resign his leadership role because of a person like me. You see, Mr. Ruocco and others find people like me very dangerous to their survival in the political world. Because of the great world of blogging the traditional ways of politics have been exposed for what they are and Mr. Ruocco and others can't handle the truth and the facts. Their ways of burying the truth and twisting arms are exposed and people then find out who their leaders really are. In an ironic twist Mr. Ruocco, an ill advised user of the internet thought he could hide behind surnames, fictitious names and spew his hate and disdain for those who opposed his view. Oh how he probably wishes he never did what he did but to continue to try to justify his actions just shows he's nothing more than a scurvy little spider in the whole vast configuration! How's that for a movie quote Mr. Ruocco? it's from "It's A Wonderful Life" an American Classic of the honest, humble man who inspires to care about people instead of his own personal agenda.

In closing, this sad but enlightening chapter on Mr. Ruocco should be a lesson for all that when you continue to trounce on peoples will and their rights it will come back to bite you. Mr. Ruocco will have to spend the rest of his days here in East Haven as "Josy or Mr. Wales" and it's a rightful characterization of him because he tried to use his power, his influence and his muscle to control yours and my will. I am certainly not perfect nor do I ever claim to be but when I do wrong I will stand by it and admit it and when I am wrong I don't act like a punk and thumb my nose at everyone else and tell them it's their fault. Mr. Ruocco should do the right thing and resign from public service, period and then seek the necessary counseling to help him cope with whatever is disturbing his soul.

East Haven Republicans Still Don't Do As Maturo Wants

It seems somethings are starting to change with East Haven Republicans and Joe Maturo. We all know that Joe Maturo wanted and Rich Anania at the helm of the Republican Town Council and he got his wish with some crafty arm twisting but this time around Maturo's hand picked Republican Town Chairman candidate Paul Carbo was defeated by Ben Mazzucco. This time around the right candidate prevailed, under Mazzucco you will not see a Joe Maturo "Yes Man". Paul Carbo, a nice fellow, should never have been allowed to take helm as the party Chairman after he, Anania and Maturo caused the spilt of the Republican Party this past summer by going third line, eventually bullying their way to the Republican nomination. Ben is fiercely independent and will do what is right for the East Haven Republican Party, not Joe Maturo. When he was asked by Joe to join him on third line, Ben said no and stayed true to the East Haven Republican Party. That shows class and character, something the East Haven Republicans need after the rough start Maturo put East Haven through in his first 100 days. 

Could it be that some Republicans are starting to see what "this so called Republican" already knew, that Joe Maturo with too much power is just too much for East Haven and the Republicans? I had to laugh with the comments that came from Mr. Desorbo the last RTC meeting where I was the subject of his public conversation because I called for Maturo's resignation. The word is dissent Mr. Desorbo, which means I have a different opinion. It's the 21st century, we have several communication methods and as you and Joe learned when you say something it can go viral, the days of backroom conversations are done and gone and despite what you think many people disagree with you and don't forget many of those are more than willing to speak with me.

On the Maturo matter, it's not the content of what he said, it is how he handled himself unprofessionally in a time when we needed the right thing to be said. Maturo still just doesn't get that though, but I think by Mazzucco prevailing, some of the RTC members are starting to wake up and that is a good thing! I think Maturo knows it and I'm sure many RTC members are saying to themselves that Maturo in 2013 must not happen. The Republicans need to start looking to the next candidate now so we never have the possibility of the return of Joe Maturo, but then again maybe Maturo and Carbo can go third line again. Oh what a political system we have here in East Haven you just can't make this stuff up!

Is Maturo Serious About Being East Haven's Mayor?

It is very seldom that I ever agree with East Haven Democratic Town Chairman Gene Ruocco but he is 100% correct that Joe Maturo belongs right here in East Haven not in Florida. The Town of East Haven has several crises’ ongoing, many caused by Gene Ruocco’s very own people on the Board of Police Commissioners, Board of Finance and various other boards. The thing that concerns me most is that it seems that Joe Maturo just doesn’t get it. So let me try and help by injecting some business reality, some practical common sense and intelligence.

Joe, are you there? Are you listening? You and your Administration are under constant watch, not just by your opponents but possibly by the United States Government. Do you really think after your infamous comment it is wise that you even think about leaving Town on a personal vacation? Today your department heads are handing in their financial budgets for 2012-13 after you promised a 17% tax roll back in property taxes. You just had a march calling for your resignation after you told the Republican Town Committee that the real purpose of the march was to bring unity to the Latinos. You have the media just chomping at the bit to catch you doing the slightest thing wrong and the Town of East Haven is the subject of a newspaper article almost every single day.

Now after being a leader in business for the past 20 years myself I can say what Joe Maturo is experiencing is a crisis. In a crisis the leader does not walk away from the post especially since 50% of the crisis has been self-inflicted. You stay at your post, you work your tail off to fix the problems or you walk away admitting that it got the best of you and it’s time for someone else to take over. Joe, are you there? Are you listening? Call me what you want,   (the last East Haven Republican Town Committee meeting I was referred to as a “so called Republican” ) for calling for Joe Maturo’s resignation but I call it as I see it and what I see is what I hope many are seeing, a man at the helm who just doesn’t get it. To answer the question about my affiliation, I am a proud Republican but I am not a Joe Maturo Republican, whatever that really is.

Joe Maturo must get serious and buckle down and work his butt off to deliver on the promises of fixing the many problems in this Town. Taking off to Florida which he did for over 10 weeks in his last term sends the wrong message to the taxpayers of the Town of East Haven. Joe Maturo needs to learn about TRUE ACCOUNTABILITY and not a couple of feel good pictures and sound bites. He defeated April Capone which was definitely a good thing in many ways but it was him and his lack of work ethic that allowed her star rise in the first place. Like the Bruce Springsteen song, “Trapped” it says a lot about the people of East Haven that just can’t win with either side. When will the people of East Haven finally get what we deserve and have a decent honest government that works for us and not them? The only thing that is acceptable with Joe Maturo in Florida is if he stays there and sends us notice that he’s not coming home.

As George Steinbrenner would say...."Lead, Follow or Get the Hell Out of the Way.:"

A Little Justice Served But Not Enough For All The Damage Done By The East Haven Board of Police Commissioners

Last night during the first meeting of the newly appointed East Haven Board of Police Commissioners everyone was wondering what the post Fred Brow and James Krebs era would be like under the new Chairman Joseph Civitello and surprisingly it went off without any controversy. However, what I was surprised about is the appointment of Carl Perez as the Vice Chairman of the Board after all of the allegations were floating around Town about his pending arrest for threatening a minor at East Haven High School.  

Mr. Perez serves as the East Haven High School In-School suspension officer and has come under fire for threatening a 14 year-old child while serving in a position overseeing our men and women who uphold the law. Mr. Perez is also a retired Connecticut Corrections Officer and has dealt with many prisoners who have been held for violent crimes and maybe even murderers. Therefore, it comes as a very big disappointment that person with his background would put the Town of East Haven back in the negative spotlight by his own conduct in addition to potential legal action. There is no doubt by Mr. Perez’s alleged actions as a Town Employee and his service on the very board that is supposed to uphold the law should resign immediately from the East Haven Board of Police Commission.

If Mr. Perez resigns from his position it would allow Mayor Joseph Maturo to fill the spot with a person, either Democrat or Republican, that would give Maturo the majority and control of the Board. Although I do not support Mayor Joseph Maturo, I know that replacing Perez would completely end the disastrous term of Fred Brow and James Krebs as well as the policies of the Capone Administration that declared war on the East Haven Police Department.

Lastly, with this Perez situation I wonder what the Department of Justice thinks of this latest turn of events?  After-all the Department of Justice made it very clear that intimidation and violence would not be tolerated after they swooped in and made the arrest of our four Police Officers. The DOJ said they had to take action because those officers were in a position to continue to harass and intimidate the very population they served. Well one might think the same of Mr. Perez. Maybe the Department of Justice should begin to investigate Mr. Perez and his interactions of the student population at East Haven High School. How many students are involved? Are there any civil rights violations? Are there any acts of intimidation, maybe even racial profiling too? After-all, who other than the DOJ should investigate Mr. Perez and his actions? Of course I say this all with tongue and cheek and in all seriousness how could the Department of Justice take anyone of these self-righteous clowns that served under Fred Brow and James Krebs seriously? How could they even think they are a credible source of information or even reliable witnesses when certain members have questions of their own character? Each one of them served knowing that the public did not support what they were doing. Fred Brow publicly denied he called the Department of Justice, when the States Attorney’s Office said there was no case against Officer Cari and this blog proved he lied by showing you the truth with the actual documents. It was discovered that James Krebs failed to pay property taxes to the Town of East Haven for years on vehicles he owns and he held a seat on a board that was supposed to uphold the law. Now the latest disgrace to hit this board and one that actually ended up in an arrest! Is Perez going to blame Police Union intimidation, The East Haven Vine or whomever for this being reported? Don’t be surprised if he does but it will never hide the fact that Mr. Perez or any of his former board members can ever paralyze the truth!

Mr. Perez should do the right thing for the Town of East Haven and resign his position and let a little justice be served along with some sweet karma.

Is Erica Berg and the Former Capone Administration Kidding Us or What?

If you really want to know the entire truth about what happened down on the beach that summer day in July 2009 you have to know that it didn’t start that day, it started back in 2006. The whole concept of Beach Parking started as a campaign idea to wedge open the Republican strong hold in the 2^nd District. At the time Democrats were losing 2 to 1 in every election in the district and April Capone and her gang figured that if the won the district it would be the biggest prize in the election for Mayor. It was a good strategy because it worked.

I had warned Mayor Joe Maturo and Art DeSorbo on several occasions to watch out because April was unlike any other opponent they faced. She had a knack of getting under your skin and to push it to the next level.  As Chairman of the Subcommittee for Beach Parking, April openly challenged me when I asked her to produce “the hundreds” of letters she received regarding residents complaining. I had to use threats of court orders and finally when I received the “6 or 7 letters”, all from the same person, I knew that we were dealing with a deceptive person. My political instinct kicked in and I wanted to call a press conference to call her out on what she was doing but I was told by the Administration. “Danny come on she’s a nobody, please don’t make a big stink about her, ignore it.” No one would listen.

Then the infamous Candlelight by the Sea debate came and when I folded to political pressure I knew my time serving was done. I made a big mistake supporting that cause for what I was told was going to be for the betterment of the Town. If I could take back one vote it would be that. In November 2007 the unthinkable happened Joe Maturo was defeated and the 2^nd District Republicans were swept out of office. April Capone Almon had done the unthinkable and we all knew that life at the beach would never be the same as well as the Town.

When I did not run for re-election Officer Mike Sorbo stepped in my place to run. Unfortunately, he was not successful in retaining the seat but after the debacle of the Candlelight, I don’t any Republican would have won. The summer of 2008 we received our first parking passes with our tax bill and were told to place them on our cars. There was no plan, there was no discussion and as usual with anything that came out of the Capone Administration it was a disaster from day one. People who didn’t have the pass were given tickets and then they began to park on the streets near the beach. Our Community Police Officer was converted from Patrol of the Beach to writing parking tickets in the Beach Parking Lot. It was a big waste of time and a waste of resources, all for an idea that was just plain stupid from the inception.  In its first year the beach parking pass did not cause any major problems until the Splash Park was constructed.

In July 2009, word got out that East Haven had built a Splash Pad and it became a popular destination for the entire Greater New Haven Area. We had hardly any infrastructure to handle what we already had and adding the Splash Pad in addition to the Little League and Beach was just not a good idea. Do you think April knows she screwed up?  You bet. Do you think she was getting pressure from the residents about the horrid parking situation at the beach? You bet. So what better way for someone to cover up their mistake but to BULLY her position and straighten out Officer Mike because he was writing tickets and towing cars? She assumed he was doing it for political reasons.  As I always say only guilty people do the things they do!  Now I can understand the Mayor going because she was getting pressure but she should have called the Chief instead.  But why would Erica Berg even go near the place? Her job was to receive calls and type emails in the Mayor’s Office not to enforce policy or the law. Erica Berg had no business being there and instead of suing the Town of East Haven she should sue April Capone for putting her in that position to begin with. April Capone’s pure lack of judgment placed Berg in this position along with her verbal tirade of Officer Sorbo. So who started it? It looks to me as Officer Sorbo was dealing with cars blocking the parking lot entrance and a potentially dangerous situation where cars were attempting to drive through the play-scape area to exit the area. Who’s responsible? April Capone and Erica Berg. Neither of them had a right under the law to interfere with a lawful order of a police officer.

I find it ironic that in this case the Department of Justice hasn’t weighed in on it yet. But because  Sgt. John Miller is involved,  I wonder how the DOJ feels about the lack of following the chain of command from the Mayor’s Office? After all the DOJ said that Sgt. Miller skipped the chain of command and that was one of the reasons why he was indicted and called a “bully with a badge”   In the organizational chart of the Town of East Haven the Chief of Police reports directly to the Mayor. The Police Officers in the Town report directly to the Chief and the Supervisory staff of the Department. NOT THE MAYOR.  So did the Mayor April misuse her authority to POLITICALLY BULLY and INTIMIDATE a politically defeated candidate, Officer Sorbo? Did the Mayor use her position to usurp the Chief and give direction to unlawfully return vehicles that were legally towed? Why did she do that? Were these political friends? Where, oh where, is the Department of Justice in this case? Two wrongs don’t make it right and as I reported in my previous blogs I believe there was Political Profiling happening in East Haven. Isn’t that a crime? Should April Capone be indicted for being a Political Bully? Where is the Special Grand Jury Investigation?

Regardless Erica Berg and April Capone got exactly what was coming to them. When a Police Officer tells you to stop, you stop regardless. When a Police Officer tells you to disperse you disperse. If you don’t like the actions of the Police Officer you file a complaint, not make a public disturbance. April Capone and Erica Berg were lucky I wasn’t the officer on duty. Officer Mike Sorbo showed considerable restraint by not arresting them on the spot, I would have cuffed and stuffed them right there and then. The bottom line is this is more of the same circus atmosphere that April Capone and the rest of the Democrats want to play. These people are very sick to put this town through this and for what the title of Mayor and the Power of being the party boss? Both sides better wake up soon because before you know it the Town of East Haven will be placed in receivership and it’s both parties fault.

As for Ms. Berg’s claim of being fearful of coming to East Haven or not being able to go to a bar without having a fight. It takes two to tango Ms. Berg. A fight won’t ensue if you’re not looking for one and maybe at the age of 34 it’s time to grow up and be held to account for your actions and stop hanging out in bars. You made the decision to go to the beach. You made the decision to participate with interfering with an officer and just in case you forget the charges were only dropped after Mayor Capone had to apologize for her actions. Apologizing is admission that you’ve done wrong. Here are some words to live by, taught by Officer Mike to the 5^th Graders of East Haven. “Guilt by Association” and “Consequences” Think about it before you yourself drag yourself down the slippery slope of eternal embarrassment.

Beginning Evidence in the US vs. EHPD Is Weak At Best

So the United States Government’s beginning argument to keep Officer Jason Zullo and Officer Dennis Spaulding out of East Haven is based on the transcripts written below and a statement by Officer Zullo? Is the United States Attorney kidding us or what? While these statements are not the most politically correct words they are certainly nowhere near the level that would constitute racial profiling and or intimidation of Latinos.  So lets look at what these statements could mean?  

·         9 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2009, if Zullo had sprayed a substance referred to as “oc” in Spaulding’s car, Zullo allegedly responded, “NAH, THAT’S ALL THE MEXICANS U GET IN THE BACKSEAT!”

What car are they referring too? Could it be Spaulding’s personal car? Police Car? What is the relevance?  Maybe they are talking about Mexican take-out food? Maybe they are talking about Mexican friends they have? At best, if they are using Town owned computers to transmit these conversations they could receive a written warning and or maybe suspension.  However, where is the policy and procedure that governs this type of computer use?  Does this constitute the violation of someone’s civil rights, which by the way is very questionable?

·         On Feb. 8, 2009, Zullo allegedly reported to Spaulding that La Bamba’s, an Ecuadorean-owned bar on Main Street “only has 5 cars.”
“Thats 5 cars to (sic) many!!” Spaulding responded

Feb 8,^, 2009 was a Sunday. What time of day was this taking place at? Was it after 2am when the bars are supposed to be closed? What do the 911 records show since LaBambas has been opened?  How many calls have made to the Police over the years about LaBambas? Has LaBambas ever had its liquor license suspended?  Certainly these statements mean absolutely nothing without knowing the details! But maybe we can find out why there was only 5 cars…..Here is the weather statement for that day. It was raining and maybe snowed. Maybe they stayed home because of the weather!

http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/CT/East%20Haven/2009-02-08

·         On Feb. 25, 2009, Spaulding allegedly asked Zullo, “Why is (Barra’s, another Latino-owned Main Street bar) empty???”
“havnt been that way yet.....prob cuz of you,” Zullo allegedly responded.

February 25, 2009 was a Wednesday. Again what time of day did this take place at? What does the statement imply? Maybe Wednesday was not a busy day. Maybe Barra’s doesn’t have a happy hump day or half price beers?  Let’s take out the detective Hats and check the weather. Again it was raining and maybe snowed. Maybe no one went there because of the weather! Maybe the statement meant nothing at all but was an observation of good police work.

http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/CT/East%20Haven/2009-02-25

·         Then on Feb. 28, 2009, Zullo informed Spaulding, “That party is at labambas tonight.”
“No one there yet!” Spaulding responded. “You run your guy through ICE?”

Here’s the case cracker. I mean Vincent Gambini would be so proud! It was the third time these two officers worked during rain & snow!!! All three damning communications were held in February of 2009.  What else do we need to prove that they are in collusion and conspiring to profile Latinos? Maybe Labamba needs a marketing plan to effective put fannies in the seats?

Here’s the proof!

http://www.almanac.com/weather/history/CT/East%20Haven/2009-02-28

All of these statements mean absolutely nothing and seem to be reaching to point out what could be the thought of racial profiling. Again these statements went before the Grand Jury. The Grand Jury has a prosecuting attorney that asks questions of witnesses looking for indictments and looking for any excuse to allow the case to move towards an arrest.

 If these statements from the car computers are going to be introduced as key statements and proof that these two officers were profiling then we are going have a very short case resulting in an acquittal if the charges. 

In addition, is this information that US Attorney is relying on to hold Zullo to the Yadanny Garcia case? Where he said that Officer Zullo used his Taser gun on him? If you recall the case, Mr. Garcia avoided a DUI Checkpoint, fled his car and ran into the bushes next to Michaels Cafe and when confronted to be placed into custody, he resisted arrest. The four accused officers, including Zullo, were accused of using excessive force and then Garcia dropped the case because he lied to the Department of Motor Vehicles, unraveling his lawsuit.  Do you see why the civil case is so important to the Defense of the four officers?

These four officers are not the criminals the United States Government is making them out to be and by holding them to a standard of high bonds, frozen assets and restrictions that are given to hardcore repeated criminals it reeks of harsh retaliation. These men are sworn officers, not flight risks or a danger to the community. They certainly know the consequences if they were to re-engage the community that is accusing them and if they did do that it would be monumentally stupid. There needs to a be fair level playing field where our officers are not convicted of crime even before the trial starts. Like I have said for a long time, there are two sides to every story and somewhere in the equation there is the truth. The only way justice will be served is by everyone having a level head, being fair to all parties involved and to stop the drama that is being played out in the media.

Lastly, what I and many others are struggling to understand is the application of the 14^th Amendment in this case especially to those whose reside here illegally. The 14^th Amendment is clearly written as provided in Section 1

Section 1.
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

How do these provisions apply to the some of these defendants if they are not citizens? Why is a judge allowing a Constitutional Right to people who have not naturalized or became a citizen to the United States?

I’m not saying that visitors, tourists or others shouldn’t have protections but to use the provisions that I rely on and pay taxes for is not only an insult but when it’s used as a weapon in the detention of our four officers it becomes deplorable. If anything it seems that the last section of section 1 in the 14^th Amendment applies to Sgt. Miller, Officer Zullo, Officer Spaulding and Officer Cari where the State shall not deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protections of the laws.

Who is looking out for these Officers and their families Constitutional Rights? It’s certainly not the US Attorney’s Office.