Miron and DTC Are Done

23Jun09

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   |  160 Comments