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.
Dan, will you then apologize to me? You tried to bully me into running to the local Republican Party to tell me what to do because the "old guard" was gone. In fact all the people you named in your tirades against me are now running the Town of East Haven. So set a good example for Gene and do the right thing by me. No one ever told me how to vote when I was on the police commission. I examined all the facts and voted how "I" felt best. You did not agree how I voted and you bullied me. You may have used your real name but either way trying to bully someone is wrong. You could have said to me, I don't agree with how you vote, but I respect your right to vote your conscience. That you did not do. Set the example Dan. Marie
ReplyDeleteMarie you call it what you like. I questioned you. I challenged you I never bullied you. If you are a PUBLIC official you need thick skin.
ReplyDeleteYou try to bully everybody. Especially women. Your mother and wife must be proud. If you don't get your way you try to sue people and blog ridiculous things about them. Get a life!! I have thick skin.
ReplyDeleteMy mother is dead and my wife is still married to me so I must be doing something right.
DeleteIf you cross the line with me I will exercise my rights, blogging is an avenue of the truth.
Sorry you don't like it. By the way, my deceased Mother was very proud of me and I was the one who took cared of her and cared for her during her dying days. So much for a "bully"
Dan intimidating someone to get them to do what you want is bullying. You insisted that I resign if I did not do what you wanted. You tried to humiliate me by insinuating that I was a puppet and did not have the ability to make my own decisions. You never asked "me" singularly or directly a question at any police commission meeting. You talked to the chair and that was it. Then you sat in the back of the room and I wont go into detail what I had to watch at every meeting, since you knew I could see you. I was not an elected official. I was appointed. Appointed officials are expected to act in an honest and forthright manner which I did. They are not expected to run back to the town chairman to find out how they should vote. They are expected to use intelligence, reasoning, review the facts and vote based on what they feel is the best outcome. You did not "challenge" me, you acted like a bully. I knew all the people in the Republican heirarchy, old and new. They knew me. If they wanted to talk to me they knew how to reach me. You took it upon yourself to bully me to go to them, or leave. You didnt ask me to go talk to the citizens in town to poll their opinions, that would have been reasonable. I agree what Gene did was wrong, but you have accussed him of influencing the votes of appointees at the same time insisting that I allow the republican leaders to influence how I voted. You can't have it both ways. You did not even realize that the Mayor did not have to appoint a republican. There was already minority representation on the board by Mr. Pierogrossi. When I moved, a democrat took my place. So, if you are Gene's victim, I am your victim. As you were made to feel uncomfortable and "worry about your safety" by comments he made under a false name, I was made uncomfortable and "worried" about my safety by your comments. Did I wonder if some day you might lose it and go off the deep end, yes I did. I also worried that one of the millions of people out there in the world that are on the internet might read what you wrote and go off the deep end and do something. Look at the shooting at the Board of Ed meeting in Florida, the attack on Gabby Giffords, shooting at schools, etc. We live in a world today where people have short fuses and sometimes, it only
ReplyDeletetakes a few words spoken at the wrong time to set them off. You portrayed me as someone who did not respect the police. But I have someone I love dearly who puts on that uniform every day. What if some unstable person read your rants and decided to take things into their own hands. I felt bullied because of your actions Dan and that is all that really matters. Marie
Marie you really need to get over it. Your comparisons are very weak and honestly a stretch. I never threatened you or anyone. As a citizen I objected to you playing with the rest of the BOPC in an attempt (my opinion) of collusion against our PD. You in my opinion were self serving and really had other interests that I believe were not in the best interests of the Town of East Haven. I respect your opinion and thank you for posting here anytime you wish. However, the argument and comparison is weak.
ReplyDeleteDan, the last paragraph of your post...if you replace " Mr. Roucco " with "Mr. Maturo" ..it still works perfectly; perhaps even more so as Mayor is a higher position than DTC. Just thought I'd point that out. I do not defend the actions of Mr. Roucco but I do believe this has gotten blown out of proportion bordering on the inane, but hey, that seems to the the norm for S'taven. I'm quite sure that anyone using an alias to post were to be "outed" there would be a lot of red faces in town. There is a reason Stephen King always sets his horror stories in small towns such as ours, truth is stranger than fiction......
ReplyDeleteWeak Dan? Did you know that I did experience an incident where my safety was compromised? That it happened on town property. But unlike many I did not go running to the press for attention. When someone is made to feel bullied that is wrong. I felt bullied. That is what matters. You have a right to speak your opinion but it is how you utilize that right and it is the tone and manner in which you do it that changes everything. I would be willing to sit down and discuss this with you further in private in the hope that and understanding could be reached. It is hard to "let go of it" Dan, when someone is put in a position where they fear for their safety. Marie
ReplyDeleteHad other interests other than the good of the town? How would you know this Dan? You never had a one and one, face to face conversation with me. You must base that belief on gossip spread by others. The offer is out there Dan.
ReplyDeleteI am willing to sit down and talk in private in the hope that how you comment and the tone you use to comment will change. That in the future the subject of your commentary will not feel bullied. Marie
I will sit with you anytime....
DeleteDan, You have done a great service for our town by holding these phony's accountable for their actions !!!!!!
DeleteDan........ EXCELLENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeletewhen is all the rhetoric and vitriol going to end? to when end did you file charges? what did you hope to gain, other than the obvious boost to your online ego? obviously it was not a threat and obviously gene is embarrassed for posting it so what was the point of all of this? is being right so impotant now that we have to resort to criminal complaints and lawsuits in this town when we don't get our way?
ReplyDeleteIs this really how we want the world to see us? because make no mistake this is just the kind of crap that goes viral and is seen globally now, ever since tacogate.....
Is this really the lesson we want our kids to learn out of all the crap that has and is still going on in town?? If you don't get your way call in the authorities....if you don't get everyone to agree with you, call in the authorities ....if you aren't put on a team or given the starring role file a lawsuit....
life is full of disappointments....not everyone is going to agree but if we can all agree to act like adults and discuss things without all the vitriol then perhaps we can actually move forward...
Becki at the time of the blog I had no idea who this was and I was concerned that some nut wasn't out there stalking me. When I discovered that is was Mr. Ruocco I actually chuckled and realized that he was nothing more than a hypocritical lost soul and decided that I would publish the story.
DeleteIt's important to hold our public officials accountable and so yes it is important to teach our children that you can be held to account. Mr. Ruocco learned that lesson.
Hopefully one day we will be rid of politicians like Gene Ruocco and others that live in the hypocritical life of do as I say, not as I do.