Weapon?
Cops plead not guilty in Miron records breach case
By Daniel Tepfer
Staff writer
Updated: 07/08/2009 02:00:04 PM EDT
BRIDGEPORT — More than two dozen police officers from around the state packed a Golden Hill Street courtroom this morning to support two Stratford officers accused of illegally accessing the town’s computer system and releasing personnel data for Mayor James Miron’s brother, who had applied to be a police officer.
The two officers, who have been placed on unpaid leave by Stratford police officials, were charged June 24 for disseminating confidential information from the police job application by Christian Miron, the mayor’s younger brother. The arrest was made by inspectors from the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney following an investigation requested by Chief John J. Buturla.
The two officers, Lt. Joseph McNeil and Lt. Orlando Soto, pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of third-degree computer crime and conspiracy to commit third-degree computer crime. They elected to have jury trials. Superior Court Judge Maria Kahn continued Soto’s case to Aug. 6 and McNeil’s to Aug. 27.
The case against a third defendant, former police Sgt. Shawn Farmer, who faces the same charges, has been continued without plea to July 22. Farmer left the department shortly after controversy erupted over the Miron records breach.
It took the crowd of police officers longer to file out of the courtroom than the brief courtroom hearing.
Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney John Malone declined comment on the case.
Outside the courthouse, lawyers for Soto and O’Neil and the Stratford police union blasted Mayor Miron for what they described as a “vindictive campaign” against the officers, who had been active in the town’s police union.
“There is no question this arrest was politically motivated,” said O’Neil’s lawyer, Charles Tiernan. “Mr. McNeil had the right to access the records, he did not do anything wrong and when all the information comes out it will show no crime was committed here.”
Soto’s lawyer William Dow pointed out that his client was exonerated of any wrongdoing in the case by the town’s internal investigation of the incident. “We are confident that when the entire record is examined he will be exonerated in this court,” he said.
“This mayor has been constantly hammering this union,” said Richard Gudis, the police union lawyer. “There is a plethora of facts here that when they come out these officers will be exonerated.”
The mayor’s brother, Christian Miron, 30, had applied to be a Stratford police officer. Sometime in March 2008, while the application process was still ongoing, several members of the Stratford Town Council were anonymously mailed copies of Miron’s background information that they apparently believed showed that he was not qualified to be a police officer.
Miron, however, was given a conditional offer of employment as a police officer, but was not among the officers hired last July.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, a subsequent investigation by then-Deputy Chief Joseph LoSchiavo and Capt. John Popik determined that McNeil, then a captain, Soto and Farmer had accessed the Police Department’s locked computer system, and that McNeil and Soto used the department’s printer to make copies of Miron’s background report.
Christian Miron has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Stratford police union, current and former union leaders, and Town Council Chairman Michael Henrick, R-10, over what he contends was the improper release of his personnel records.
Today Shawn Farmer (former Local 407 President), Lt. Orlando Soto (Detective Bureau) and Captain Joe McNeil (President of Local 407) surrendered at Troop G pursuant to an arrest warrant. The Crime?
GENERAL STATUTES OF CONNECTICUT
TITLE 53A. PENAL CODE
CHAPTER 952. PENAL CODE: OFFENSES
PART XXII. COMPUTER-RELATED OFFENSES
Conn. Gen. Stat. @ 53a-250 (1989)
GENERAL STATUTES OF CONNECTICUT
TITLE 53A. PENAL CODE
CHAPTER 952. PENAL CODE: OFFENSES
PART XXII. COMPUTER-RELATED OFFENSES
Conn. Gen. Stat. @ 53a-251 (1989)
Sec. 53a-251. Computer crime.
(a) Defined. A person commits computer crime when he violates any of the provisions of this section.
(b) Unauthorized access to a computer system. (1) A person is guilty of the computer crime of unauthorized access to a computer system when, knowing that he is not authorized to do so, he accesses or causes to be accessed any computer system without authorization.
(2) It shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution for unauthorized access to a computer system that: (A) The person
reasonably believed that the owner of the computer system, or a person empowered to license access thereto, had authorized him to access; (B) the person reasonably believed that the owner of the computer system, or a person empowered to license access thereto, would have authorized him to access without payment of any consideration; or (C) the person reasonably could not have known that his access was unauthorized.
(c) Theft of computer services. A person is guilty of the computer crime of theft of computer services when he accesses or
causes to be accessed or otherwise uses or causes to be used a computer system with the intent to obtain unauthorized computer services.
(d) Interruption of computer services. A person is guilty of the computer crime of interruption of computer services when he,
without authorization, intentionally or recklessly disrupts or degrades or causes the disruption or degradation of computer
services or denies or causes the denial of computer services to an authorized user of a computer system.
(e) Misuse of computer system information. A person is guilty of the computer crime of misuse of computer system information when: (1) As a result of his accessing or causing to be accessed a computer system, he intentionally makes or causes to be made an unauthorized display, use, disclosure or copy, in any form, of data residing in, communicated by or produced by a computer system; or (2) he intentionally or recklessly and without authorization (A) alters, deletes, tampers with, damages, destroys or takes data intended for use by a computer system, whether residing within or external to a computer system, or (B) intercepts or adds data to data residing within a computer system; or (3) he knowingly receives or retains data obtained in violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection; or (4) he uses or discloses any data he knows or believes was obtained in violation of subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection.
(f) Destruction of computer equipment. A person is guilty of the computer crime of destruction of computer equipment when he, without authorization, intentionally or recklessly tampers with, takes, transfers, conceals, alters, damages or destroys any
equipment used in a computer system or intentionally or recklessly causes any of the foregoing to occur.
Before the next shoe drops, which will be the suspension of Joe McNeil (Again. And for the same thing) and Lt. Soto, let us all remember that Richard Miron was arrested and charged with 89 counts of first degree larceny. Mayor Moron let him serve out his term as Registrar of Voters without missing 1 day of pay claiming that he was “innocent until proven guilty”.
The persecution of members of Local 407 continues….
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 33 Comments
We Have One Of These?
Ethics Commission? What ethics commission?
Stratford ethics panel pushes anti-nepotism rule
By Richard Weizel
Staff writer
Updated: 07/07/2009 05:49:21 PM EDT
STRATFORD — The Ethics Commission will recommend a sweeping new anti-nepotism policy to the Town Council that would prohibit hiring “immediate family members” of top town, education and elected officials, despite a negative recommendation from Town Attorney Richard Buturla, who insists the policy would violate state law.
Can you imagine that the Police Chief’s brother would be against prohibiting nepotism?
While the commission approved the policy last September as part of an updated ethics code, the Town Council tabled the panel’s recommendation because Buturla had several objections, including the anti-nepotism policy.
The commission, however, which met Monday night with Town Councilman Gavin Forrester, D-3, chairman of the Ordinance Committee, and Council Chairman Mike Henrick, R-10, rejected Buturla’s opinion and indicated it will forward the new code including the anti-nepotism policy.
Buturla has advised the Ethics Commission not to include its proposed ant-nepotism policy in the updated code.
“Our research reveals the nepotism provision is violative of state law,” Buturla states in an Oct. 27, 2008, memo to the commission. “No person shall be denied the equal protection of the law and not be subjected to segregation or discrimination in the exercise of employment of his or her civil or political rights because of religion, race, color, ancestry, national origin, sex or physical or mental disability,” Buturla quotes state statute.
But Ethics Commission Chairwoman Susan Birge said the panel strongly disagrees with Buturla.
Doesn’t everyone? Except Miron.
“The Ethics Commission does not agree with the town attorney’s interpretation of ancestry,” Birge states in a May 12 memo to Buturla and Mayor James R. Miron. “Ancestry does not apply to one’s immediate relation.” Birge said Tuesday that with recent controversies regarding municipal hiring practices, “We believe this is very important to raise the bar in Stratford on the issue of conflict of interest. This is about integrity and the public trust.”
Forrester and Henrick agreed. “Ancestry has nothing to do with nepotism, I don’t see that connection,” said Forrester.
Err…Gavin? There’s a lot of connections you may have missed.
Henrick cited the recent controversy surrounding the hiring of Police Officer Justin LoSchiavo in 2006, despite a history of seizure disorder, while his father Joseph LoSchiavo was a lieutenant in the department and his mother, Linda, was the Human Resources Department assistant. “An anti-nepotism policy is more important than ever before,” he said.
Now that the horse has raced out of the barn.
Under the proposed policy, “immediate family members” of the mayor, chief administrative officer, Town Council members, employees in the Human Resources Department and Board of Education central office, and elected school board members may not be hired by the town. Immediate family members under the policy would include a spouse, domestic partner, children, stepchildren, step-parents, siblings and stepsiblings, grandparents and grandchildren. The policy will be presented to the Ordinance Committee in late July, and to the full council in August.
Ho hum….
Wake me up when some outside investigatory agency looks into Stratford’s hiring and business practices.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 5 Comments
Stratford council recommends mayoral raise; Miron says no
By Richard Weizel
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 07/01/2009 01:21:58 AM EDT
STRATFORD — For the second consecutive year, the Town Council wants to give the mayor a raise.
And for a second year, Mayor James R. Miron vows he will veto the measure.
The council voted 8-1 Monday night to increase the mayor’s salary from $90,000 to $98,000 starting in December after the chief elected official picked in November takes office. It has scheduled a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday in Town Hall for a final vote on the proposed raise.
Gavin?
The council is required to hold a hearing and vote twice on the measure.
Miron, the town’s first mayor, has not yet announced if he will seek re-election, but told the council Monday if it approves a salary increase for the office of mayor he will veto it again.
“I really appreciate that you are so determined to give me a raise,” Miron, a Democrat, deadpanned, in addressing the Republican-controlled council. “But I can tell you right now I will just veto it because I don’t think it appropriate during our present economic crisis for the mayor to receive an increase.”
Town Council Chairman Mike Henrick, R-10, however, who last year initially proposed a $35,000 increase for the mayor’s salary, then modified that to a $15,000 boost, argued Monday that the mayor is paid less than several of his appointees and hasn’t received a raise since taking office four years ago.
“It doesn’t matter who the mayor is, the office of mayor should have a raise at least every four years,” Henrick said. “We can’t do it once the new term starts so it’s now or wait another four years and that would be eight years without a salary hike for town government’s highest-ranking official.”
Err..why? What entitles anyone to an automatic raise? The last time we looked we did not find the Mayors Union demanding a wage increase.
Henrick also pointed out that the chief administrative officer, finance director, assistant finance director, police chief and fire chief all earn more than the mayor, with salaries at about $97,000.
And who set those salaries? The mayor?
“The mayor’s job is a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour-a-day position and he or she has the most responsibility,” Henrick said. “The mayor should be the highest-paid official in town government, and this raise is not even that much.”
Does that count daytrips to Mohegan Sun and excursions to Washington DC?
Miron repeated a theme he sounded a year ago when he vetoed the measure after the council voted 6-3 for the raise, but fell one vote shy of the seven needed to override his veto.
“It would not be fair to taxpayers to give the mayor a raise during such tough economic times,” Miron said.
Councilwoman Amy Wannamaker, D-6, agreed with Miron and cast the lone vote against the proposed salary hike.
“We have asked union employees to agree to a salary freeze,” Wannamaker said. “This wouldn’t be fair to them.”
Amy? How did you end up as the most intelligent on the Council?
There also could be another glitch, even if the council approves the increase and has the seven votes to override the mayor’s veto. According to the Town Attorney’s Office, the council’s deadline for approving the salary change must be prior to July 1, under the new town charter.
Anyone notice that was yesterday?
Henrick said he believes “as long as the council approves this by July 1 it meets the charter requirement and becomes law.”
Council Majority Leader Michael Julian, R-1, agrees if the council approves the proposal Wednesday “the increase should take effect after the November election.
In the meantime we have a mayor that has lied to the public (at least twice) on video, has caused the arrest of two fine officers, has hired applicants that were clearly a danger to themselves and the public, has tried to slide raises to his campaign donors and the Council thinks that giving a mayor a raise is an important issue? Someone had better check the HVAC in the Council Chambers.
And now a word from our candidates…Mr. Best, Mr. Costello, Mr Harkins? Any opinion on this? You are the only announced candidates for mayor that expect to win (I didn’t forget you, George). Do any of you support taking more of our tax money for yourself?
Note to Harkins: Silence (which seems to be your platform) will be considered an affirmative endorsement of your raise.
Note to Costello: Somebody read this to Dom. Tell him it’s one of those Internet things.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 23 Comments
Can We Take Our Town Back?
Congratulations to our own Patricia Clark-Sperling.
This is a wonderful idea! I have reprinted her request here. If you agree, please email or call your Councilman and demand this resolution.
from Patricia Sperling
to mhenrick@townofstratford.com,
mjulian@townofstratford.com,
aoneal@townofstratford.com,
gforrester@townofstratford.com,
ebrooks@townofstratford.com,
jdempsey@townofstratford.com,
awanamaker@townofstratford.com,
wstroomer@townofstratford.com,
tmoore@townofstratford.com,
jkubic@townofstratford.com
cc edit@ctpost.com
date Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 10:45 AM
subject Please make Stratford beautiful again!
Ladies and Gentlemen ~
I cannot believe how bad it has gotten in Stratford. Our beautiful Town is once again being dragged through the mud because of the games played by Jim Miron. The writing has been on the wall for over 3.5 years!
Two current members of our police department and one former member are being thrown under the bus by Jim Miron in order to take the heat off of him. Timing is everything – he was ripped apart in the Connecticut Post this week because of his part in the hiring of Justin LoSchiavo, and the warrants happen to come down at the same time. Something just doesn’t smell right in Stratford, and it not coming from our shore! The stench is coming right out of Town Hall!
As a voter and a taxpaying citizen, I am extremely outraged that charges have been leveled against Sgt. McNeil, Lt. Soto and Shawn Farmer! The Town Council should be talking to and supporting the people who voted them in to office. I can’t tell you how many want Miron to resign immediately and the Town Council should be taking all of this very seriously!
I have received numerous calls from fellow residents – all in disbelief at the games being played, all saying without a doubt that James Miron should resign from office immediately and all saying that an investigation into the goings on in Town Hall should occur immediately, if it’s not already happening.
As elected members of the Town Council, please, please, please, look into the drafting and passing of a resolution calling for an investigation of the events which have occurred at the strong-arming of Jim Miron and his administration! We need an outside investigatory agency, such as the FBI. There are too many within our Town connected to other branches of the law.
Thank you for your time and please – work for the citizens of the Town of Stratford. Work for the people who put you in the seats your sitting in!
Please, make Stratford a Town it’s citizens can be proud to say the live in once again. Three and a half years of embarrassment is three and a half years too much!
Patricia Clark Sperling
186 Holmes Street
Stratford, CT 06615
I guess we can’t.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 56 Comments
Miron and DTC Are Done
DTC Party Logo
Can the “leadership” of the DTC be any worse?
Stratford mayor fires back on hiring officer with seizures
Mayor defends hiring of cop with seizure disorder
By Richard Weizel
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 06/22/2009 11:40:45 PM EDT
STRATFORD — Mayor James R. Miron blasted the press and former town officials Monday while triggering a war of words with retired Police Chief Michael Imbro over a published report last week that the mayor hired a seizure-prone candidate in June 2006 against the recommendation of doctors and top town officials.
When Justin LoSchiavo, son of recently retired Deputy Police Chief Joseph LoSchiavo, crashed his patrol car into another vehicle on June 6, it renewed questions about why an officer with a seizure disorder was hired, contrary to the recommendations of a town-consulted doctor and Imbro.
During a Monday press conference in his Town Hall office, Miron demanded a “retraction and apology” from the Connecticut Post for what he termed its “unfounded and irresponsible article and hard-hitting editorial” that criticized the mayor for hiring LoSchiavo.
“There’s no retraction,” said Post Editor Thomas Baden. “The story was accurate.”
Imbro said Monday that Miron was “trying to cloud the real issue, which is very devious on his part.”
The Post article cited a police report by retired detective Nelson Dinihanian, who conducted a pre-hiring review of LoSchiavo in December 2005. The report recommend against hiring LoSchiavo for medical reasons.
The Dinihanian report includes confirmation by two doctors — one hired by the town and the other LoSchiavo’s personal physician — that the applicant’s 18-year history of seizures could be dangerous to himself and others. LoSchiavo had experienced a seizure months before applying for the job and had been involved in a car accident that occurred while he was having a seizure, according to Dinihanian.
Miron denied Monday he was ever advised by Imbro and then-Chief Administrative Officer Ben Branyan against hiring LoSchiavo. Miron produced what he said were recommendations by the former chief and other police officials to hire him, but both former town officials Monday stood by their previous comments decrying the decision to hire LoSchiavo.
“I still recall the conversation very well, and I did advise the mayor not to hire the applicant based on the police and medical evaluation,” said Branyan, now the chief operating officer for the school district.
Imbro explained Monday that what Miron distributed during the news conference was not a recommendation for hire, but the result of an initial “oral interview” by a panel of police officials that LoSchiavo could go on to the pre-hiring background check process.
“For the mayor to try and say that was a recommendation for him [LoSchiavo] to be hired shows he is lying and trying to cloud the real issue,” Imbro said. “He knows very well that those oral interviews are conducted prior to the background check, which later showed the applicant unfit for duty and that he should not be hired. That’s what I told the mayor.”
Dinihanian, in his December 2005 report, stated that “based on this information (from the doctors) we are not going forward with the background investigation.”
Justin LoSchiavo had applied to at least nine, and possibly 12, police departments for employment, according to Dinihanian’s report. One of those departments, West Haven, had called, “passing along that applicant did have medical issues,” the report states.
Asked about the Dinihanian report Monday, Miron said, “I haven’t seen it.”
“A report from Dr. [Joel] Kunkel [of Med Now in Bridgeport] stated he would not release applicant for medical reasons and that he ‘is not recommended’ for employment,” Dinihanian further states in his report. Dr. Philip Micalizzi, of Bridgeport, whom the report states had been LoSchiavo’s doctor since 2004 “for a medical disorder that began at age 13,” advised LoSchiavo “not to perform any activity which could cause serious injury were unconsciousness to be lost,” the report states.
Despite repeated inquiries from the Connecticut Post the past two weeks to produce any documentation that recommended LoSchiavo be hired, Miron, Buturla, Police Chief Richard Buturla, Chief Administrative Officer Suzanne McCauley and Human Resources Director Edmund Winterbottom declined comment or did not return repeated calls.
On Monday, however, Miron produced a May 19, 2006, document on LoSchiavo by retired Capt. Andrew Knapp that recommended he be hired.
“While there are areas of concern found during this investigation, none are sufficient to eliminate him as a viable candidate,” Knapp states. “The main problems relate to medical issues which are outside the scope of this investigation. The candidate is recommended for employment with reservation for that reason.”
Knapp’s recommendation, according to sources within the Police Department, came after Lt. Joseph LoSchiavo pressured officials to reopen his son’s candidacy when the Dinihanian recommendation had appeared to stall it. The senior LoSchiavo, who shortly afterward became deputy chief, warned of possible lawsuits should Justin LoSchiavo be kept off the force, sources said, and told a new departmental interviewer to forgo a medical background check.
Miron Monday said that Joseph LoSchiavo had not played any role in his son’s hiring.
Miron on Monday also produced two redacted medical forms that he said showed Justin LoSchivao was fit for the force. One was an April 27, 2004, document from the state of Connecticut Police Academy that found LoSchiavo was medically capable of participating in a basic recruit training program. A May 19, 2006, document from the academy reiterates his fitness to participate in the recruit training program.
On June 6, according to Stratford police, LoSchiavo rear-ended a car driven by Josephine Cicerale, of Stratford, at the intersection of Stratford and Beardsley avenues. After the accident, LoSchiavo drove the cruiser to a nearby car dealership and came to a sudden stop. Cicerale was not hurt, police said. Officials said Monday that LoSchiavo is on injury leave, pending the outcome of an internal investigation, while top police sources said his license has been seized pending a medical review.
Miron and Buturla said they could “neither confirm nor deny” that LoSchiavo was having a seizure during the crash.
LoSchiavo timeline Oct. 6, 2005: After an oral interview, former Police Chief Michael Imbro and other officers recommend that Justin LoSchiavo’s candidacy advance to the internal background stage. Dec. 22, 2005: A report issued by Det. Nelson Dinihanian recommends that LoSchiavo be rejected for medical reasons, citing a doctor’s conclusions that his seizure disorder made him a risk. Months later, Imbro and Ben Branyan, the town’s chief administrative officer, advise new Mayor James R. Miron to reject LoSchiavo. May 19, 2006: A background report issued by Capt. Andrew Knapp recommends hiring LoSchiavo, son of a high-ranking town police official, despite concerns related to “medical issues.” June 1, 2006: LoSchiavo sworn-in. June 6, 2009: LoSchiavo’s patrol cruiser crashes into another car. He is on injury leave pending an investigation into the accident.
Note to Emma Brooks and Amy Wanamaker: You should really find a new hobby. Everyone remembers your votes against charter revision and the dozens of others supporting Miron.
Now we will all wait and see how the RTC screws up this chance.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 81 Comments
You Are Cordially (Not) Invited
Upcoming events on Monday:
1. Swearing in of new DC ( Brian Meriviglia sends his regrets)
2. At noon Miron will hold a press conference regarding Justin Loschiavo in his office suite. Didn’t get your invitation? That’s because no one did. No one in the nasty public that is.
3. At 6 PM a meeting of the Pension Board
Any thoughts of holding press conferences in a building that WE own in an office suite that WE paid for and barring US?
This will disappear from the Post soon. We are posting it here just in case anyone would like to refer to it. Say in October 09?
No answers in Stratford
Staff Report
Updated: 06/23/2009 06:21:25 PM EDT
Stratford Mayor James Miron’s hamhanded attempt to justify hiring a seizure-prone man as a town police officer was as ineffective as it was offensive.
In fact, this episode — yet another in Miron’s growing catalogue of strange personnel episodes — is now more about Miron’s fitness for office than that of the police officer involved.
The mayor’s petulant little outburst earlier this week offered nothing in the way of explanation for the hiring of Justin LoSchiavo, the son of a former high-ranking department member, despite warnings from physicians and town officials that his medical condition was problematic.
Though Miron whined at a Monday press conference that the Connecticut Post reporting on the hiring was wrong, he offered nothing to substantiate his complaint.
So, when all the misdirected huffing and puffing was finally over, the question remained: Why did Miron go to such lengths to hire LoSchiavo?
In 2005, an investigation into Justin LoSchiavo’s background turned up recommendations from two doctors that his medical condition made him less than the best candidate for the job.
After he was eliminated as a candidate, his father, then-Lt. Joseph LoSchiavo, was instrumental in getting a second investigation, which, by the way, was to not include any physician interviews. During Monday’s tantrum, Miron trotted out that second report, written by then-Capt. Andrew Knapp.
“While there are areas of concern found during this investigation, none are sufficient to eliminate him as a viable candidate. The main problems relate to medical issues which are outside the scope of this investigation.”
Outside the scope of this investigation? Mister Mayor, did you not think that odd?
“The candidate is recommended for employment with reservation for that reason,” the officer wrote. Even the good captain had a reservation.
Stratford, of course, is living with its first mayor, having changed its charter and moved from a town manager to a mayoral form of government in 2005.
The voters clearly left too much hiring power in the hands of the mayor.
Especially this one.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 34 Comments
Runaway Runway
Noise? What noise?
Here we go again, as we knew we would. The City of Bridgeport and the CT Post are jumping all over the the “crash” of a plane into the blast fence last week. Let us be clear here. It is not about “safety”. If it were, the FAA by law, regulation and just common sense would have shut it down years ago. If it actually were about safety, the City of Bridgeport could simply sign an agreement that they will never expand the runways into Stratford and this “safety” zone is all they will ever ask for. The City of Bridgeport has refused. So much for “safety”.
What it is about is the City of Bridgeport’s acquisition of more Stratford land for free. It doesn’t get any more complex than that. If they are able to acquire more land and extend the runway to the magical 5,000 ft, larger and more frequent aircraft will be able to take-off and land. The revenue for the City of Bridgeport goes up and the property values in the 1st and 2nd districts go down. That will raise property taxes in the 3rd through 10th districts.
This is nothing more than extortion and theft by the City of Bridgeport.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 11 Comments
Liar, Liar…
Miron Campaign Logo (reprinted without permission)
Stratford mayor warned on cop hiring
By Richard Weizel
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 06/16/2009 05:11:20 PM EDT
STRATFORD — When Stratford Police Officer Justin LoSchiavo crashed his patrol car into another vehicle on June 6, it provoked a chorus of questions about how a cop with a history of seizure disorders was hired in the first place.
Documents and interviews obtained by the Connecticut Post reveal:
* LoSchiavo, son of the city’s recently retired deputy police chief, suffers from seizures, including one he had during another accident in 2004, before he was hired;
* A doctor evaluated LoSchiavo when he applied to the force in 2005 and found him unfit to serve as a police officer because of his medical condition. He was rejected for hiring at that time, despite a threat of a possible lawsuit from his father, then Police Lt. Joseph LoSchiavo, who was later named deputy chief;
* Joseph LoSchiavo later ordered another prehiring investigation, advising the investigator not to contact any doctors;
* Justin LoSchiavo’s own doctor warned him not to “perform any activity which could cause serious injury” if he lost consciousness;
* Mayor James R. Miron disregarded warnings from then-Police Chief Michael Imbro and former Chief Administrative Officer Ben Branyan, hired LoSchiavo in June 2006 over their objections.
“This was just an accident waiting to happen,” Imbro said of Loschiavo’s June 6 accident. “And we can all be thankful nobody was seriously injured or killed.”
It is unclear whether LoSchiavo’s medical condition played any role in the accident. He was not responding to an emergency call at the time, police said.
Stratford Police Chief John Buturla refused to release a copy of the report from the accident, citing an “ongoing investigation” and would not say whether LoSchiavo, 31, remains on active duty. Town Attorney Richard Buturla, the chief’s brother, did not return calls seeking comment.
Miron said no town employees have been hired without appropriate medical clearance, but declined comment on why LoSchiavo was hired despite warnings against doing so by doctors and top administrators. “What upsets me most is the illegal release of this officer’s background information to the media and the public,” he said.
On June 6, according to Stratford police, LoSchiavo rear-ended a car being driven by Josephine Cicerale, of Stratford, at the intersection of Stratford and Beardsley avenues. After the accident, LoSchiavo drove the cruiser to a nearby car dealership and stopped. Cicerale was not hurt, police said. The crash occurred on Stratford Day, which drew thousands of people along Main Street.
On injury leave
Police Capt. Kenneth Bakalar said LoSchiavo suffered minor injuries during the accident, and was taken to St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, where he was treated and released. He has not yet returned to work, Bakalar said, currently out on “injury leave” resulting from the crash.
Top police sources, however, say LoSchiavo’s driver’s license has been seized by the department pending a medical review. “I can neither confirm nor deny that,” Bakalar said.
However, Bakalar said in addition to the accident injuries there is a second medical condition (regarding LoSchiavo) “that I have been instructed by the chief not to talk about. That has to come from him.”
But Buturla declined comment on it too.
“While our Accident and Reconstruction team investigates the crash we cannot comment on any aspect of the investigation or the officer’s status,” said Buturla. Numerous calls to Buturla in recent days seeking more information have not been returned.
Joseph and Justin LoSchiavo also did not return numerous calls seeking comment.
Imbro and Branyan said that in 2005, the department conducted a prehiring investigation of LoSchiavo and the resulting report recommended that he not be hired, citing both his ongoing medical condition and the 2004 accident. They say they warned Miron in 2006 against hiring LoSchiavo because he suffers from a seizure disorder that doctors indicated could be dangerous to himself, the public and other officers.
Hired by Miron
But Imbro and Branyan said Joseph LoSchiavo ordered a second investigation, which resulted in his son being hired by Miron.
The deputy chief “specifically advised” the detective, Craig Nilan, who was conducting that inquiry not to contact any doctors, Imbro and other police sources told the Post. The senior LoSchiavo also warned an officer conducting the first investigation that his son could not be rejected for medical reasons, and threatened a lawsuit under the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Miron hired LoSchiavo, whose mother is Stratford Human Resources Assistant Linda LoSchiavo, shortly after the second evaluation. He later hired Joseph LoSchiavo Jr., Justin’s brother, as a police officer.
Imbro, responding to the accident, added, “It’s not that [Justin] LoSchiavo is a bad guy. He just never should have been hired as a police officer for medical reasons, and honestly, we also had better candidates.
“After the mayor took office it was out of my hands. He was the one who made the final decision, which is very rare for a mayor involving the hiring of a police officer. When we had the town manager government everything went through our department, and he just signed off on it unless there was a major problem.”
The first report on LoSchiavo, conducted in 2005 by Police Detective Nelson Dinihanian, who retired shortly afterward, includes confirmation by two doctors – one hired by the town and the other LoSchiavo’s personal physician – stated the applicant’s condition could be dangerous to himself and others.
“A report from Dr. [Joel] Kunkel [of Med Now in Bridgeport] stated he would not release applicant for medical reasons and that he ‘is not recommended’ for employment,” Dinihanian states in his report. “Based on this information we are not going forward with the background investigation,” the report concludes.
Dr. Philip Micalizzi, of Bridgeport, whom the report states has been LoSchiavo’s doctor since 2004 “for a medical disorder that began at age 13″ advised LoSchiavo “not to perform any activity which could cause serious injury were unconsciousness to be lost,” the report states.
The doctor also states that “although complete seizure control can never be guaranteed, the patient is now in very stable condition.”
Dinihanian, who resides in Stratford, confirmed last week the contents of the report are accurate and said after he submitted his recommendation not to hire LoSchiavo, his supervisor, former Police Captain Andrew Knapp, told him to discontinue the investigation because LoSchiavo’s medical condition precluded his consideration as a police officer.
“I was stunned when I heard he had been hired a few months after I retired, because the medical issues were very clear. No one with his medical condition should be hired to a job in which they have to carry a gun, and regularly drive,” Dinihanian said. “When I heard about the accident last week my first thought was, thank God no one was killed. My second thought was, hey, I told them so.”
So did former Town Manager and Stratford’s first CAO Ben Branyan, who is now the chief operating officer for the Stratford school district.
“When the police department made its recommendation not to hire the applicant for medical reasons, I was in complete agreement,” said Branyan, who was town manager at the time, but preparing for the transition to a mayoral form of government voters had approved in a referendum. After taking office in December, 2005, Miron appointed Branyan the town’s first CAO, and later made Joseph LoSchiavo deputy chief.
“During the second investigation the mayor and I spoke about Justin LoSchiavo and I reiterated my original opinion he should not be hired based on the medical information we had received,” Branyan said. “After that, it was out of my hands.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 120 Comments
Power Failure
Section 2.2.14 states – “Nothing herein shall be construed to deny to the Council or its members the right to make inquiries of the Mayor or his or her subordinates.”
Section 2.2.15 states – “The Council shall have the power to investigate town affairs. In exercising this power, the Council shall have the power to require any town elected or appointed official, officer, director, department head, or employee to furnish the Council or its designee all information, contracts, reports, papers, documents, records, or other material which is in the possession of the elected or appointed official, officer, director, department head, or employee, and which, in the opinion of the Council is necessary to enable the Council to discharge the duties imposed upon it by this Charter, or to properly and completely investigate town affairs. It is hereby made a duty and obligation of all town elected or appointed officials, officers, directors, department heads, and employees to provide the Council with the requested information, contracts, reports, papers, documents, records, or other material when so required by the Council. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, the Council shall have the right to appropriate funds, either by way of the budget or by special appropriation, to fund any costs and expenses which may, in the opinion of the Council, be necessary, proper and required to conduct the investigation or to procure any information, contracts, reports, papers, documents, records, or other material.
A little history:
On 14 Dec 2008, Gavin Forrester III, elected Councilman from the 3rd District, requested documents from James R. Miron (that’s the mayor) detailing the bid process concerning several projects that were funded by taxpayers (that’s us). Specifically included in the request was information concerning the contract to B&L Company for the report on the Shakespeare Theater, the contract for the Bunnell High School Athletic Field, the acquisition of Smart Cars, and the acquisition of investigative services by Tolomeo and Laske.
The excuse given by Miron was that this was too much work and he was busy with the 2009-2010 Budget. Never mind that he has a CAO, Purchasing Manager, two mayoral assistants and a clerk typist. Despite repeated requests, no documentation was provided. Not a single page.
On 12 April 2009, Mr. Forrester filed a complaint with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission. The complaint was dismissed on 15 May 2009 because he gave Miron too much time to comply (honest!). Wait, it gets stranger. The Town hires the law firm of Sousa, Stone & D’Agosto to defend the Town against…wait for it…Gavin Forrester III. At $350/hour. Why not Rich Buturla at $150/hour? Good question. Why, you may ask, does the Council allow Miron to withhold information? Because, apparently, Rich Buturla says he can.
Result:
None.
For some reason, Mayor Moron does not believe that this is a democratic government. He does not believe that it is OUR money, OUR government, OUR elected officials, OUR Charter and OUR town. And why does he continue to believe that? Because Rich Buturla, who serves at his pleasure, tells him he can.
Course of action:
In November we must remind this mayor that it is OUR money, OUR government, OUR elected officials, OUR Charter and OUR town.
Tick, Tock...
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 46 Comments
Whatever!
Here we are…again. Justin Loschiavo behind the wheel of a patrol car. At Beardsley and Stratford Avenue. It’s broad daylight of course. While waiting for the light to turn green he suddenly lurches ahead and hits the woman in the car in front of him. Then he lurches across the intersection into four parked cars.
How many accidents in a patrol car driven by Loschiavo is that so far? 3? 4?
Is this the result of your Dad being Deputy Chief and your Mom in HR or maybe even Miron allowing it to go on? Sooner or later he is going to hurt himself as well as an innocent victim or two.
Filed under: Stratford Political Theater | 43 Comments
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Citizens
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