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!