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"THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING"

9 Comments -

1 – 9 of 9
Anonymous peter brush said...

All too often we hear "innocent until proven guilty", but does it really take a guilty verdict to confirm that an elected official isn't worthy of the public's trust placed in them by the electorate?
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No.
The guy has been "terminated" at the PD. He violated the public trust by stealing from us. If he's found innocent in a criminal proceeding hurray for him; in the mean time he should exit stage left, just get out, move on... Not that it distinguishes him from the rest of our elected officials, but we can surely do without him. Of course, while a comparatively honest Rep is preferable, we're highly unlikely to get a replacement who is cognizant of the State's fiscal crisis, let alone one willing to address the matter.
And, while I don't care about this sort of stuff as much as you, I agree that the silence on the matter is striking. Indicative of our fundamentally corrupt political culture/electorate/press.

March 23, 2011 at 8:07 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anyone who follows this blog can attest to how often Hartford makes poor decisions but in this case I think they made the right one and Robles is done for. He will never win his job back and eventually will be forced out of office one way or another.

Most politicians would step down out of shame and embarrassment but as we learned from Eddie and others, many Hartford "leaders" have no shame.

March 23, 2011 at 9:49 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is fairly common knowledge that Robles hired an attorney who is conducting an investigation into others who did the same thing. He subpoenaed time cards and rolls and other public records. This investigation encapsulated the top earners in the PD (supervisors and officers). The scope of the investigation is minimal. The bad news is the Union has already been informed by Robles’s attorney that they have discovered seven (7) other cops who did the same thing. The Union, however, knows the numbers, but does not have the names. This is where it gets ugly and interesting.
Now what to do.? Does the chief now finally order a deeper and more thorough investigation on his own? A little late now huh? When this surfaces (and it will) look for Command 1 to run as far away from this as possible; as it will stink of one part cover up and one part witch hunt- covering up for the boys club and the witch hunt for Robles/Dailey. Do you fire all other 7 officers and supervisors? Do you discipline their supervisors with suspensions, ala Lt. Dailey? I guess to be fair, all 7 should be summarily fired (like Robles) and all their supervisors suspended for 5 days (like Dailey). What if one of the supervisors is from IAD, yikes? Does the chief say, “Ooops my bad, we should have done our own investigation, but we will do it now, and make some new time card system” ? Look for the State to get involved with this at some point.
Moreover, you know, yes Kevin- you know Robles is not the first cop to run this scam. I completely agree with you though. This in no way clears Robles for his wrong doing. So where will blame lie then? The IAD investigators are on record as stating they know other officers are involved. But then, for some unknown reasons, there has been no thorough investigation into this mess. Robles’s Attorney is holding a big bomb. When and where he drops it is going to be painful, ugly and interesting.

March 23, 2011 at 10:53 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

The best thing about Kevin's blog is the amount of information that can be learned. "Anonymous at 10:53 PM", your posting was incredible. I hope others from HPD post with more insider info.

None of us had heard about Halloran's subpoenaes, very impressive amateur detective work if it yields others who did the same. But as Kevin said, that is no excuse for Hector's conduct as people don't go out and rob banks because others do it.

And Kev -- don't you think the MDC has already done enough for Hector? All of that lucrative legal work given to Halloran is footing Hector's legal bills.

March 23, 2011 at 11:18 PM

Blogger KEVIN BROOKMAN said...

Anonymous @ 10:53pm:

I have said all along that Hector Robles is not some rocket scientist who dreamed up some great scheme to defraud the City. I agree with you that this probably does go deeper and needs to be investigated fully if for no other reason to be fair to Robles. There are a few problems though. This may extend up through the ranks and it is probably more difficult to document the hours for some Sergeants, Lieutenants and Captains who like Robles normally do not sign "on-the-line" for their regular hours but are also some of the biggest money earners in the Department because of their PJ hours. Explain to me how someone can do their primary job and still earn over $150,000 a year without "double-dipping. This doesn't include the lives they jeopardize by being too fatigued to properly supervise and do their regular job.

I would venture to say that if a full forensic audit was completed by the State's Attorneys Office, the number would be higher than the 7 possible offenders you mention. We can both probably name the 7 that would be at the top of the list already without any audit.

I'm glad you agree that even if there are more, it doesn't lessen the allegations against Robles.

And for those reading that wonder what "Command 1" means, that is the radio call sign for the Chief.

The other problem with launching a full scale investigation is pervasive with the corruption that runs throughout Hartford government. No one will step up to shine light on many of these problems because chances might be good that the light will shine right back on them and the skeletons in their own closets. "You can't rat on me because I remember that time that you did that and I'll turn you in". It's a vicious circle, but it will only take one person doing the right thing to start breaking that circle. It could be Chief Roberts, it could be the State's Attorney, I guess we'll see eventually.

March 23, 2011 at 11:24 PM

Anonymous peter brush said...

others who did the same thing...
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Two issues here.
Not sure what finding others who did the same thing will do for Robles, but it will be useful to the taxpayer if a more systemic problem is identified and fixed.
The other relates to Robles as State Rep. Whether others did it at PD is not relevant in the least to whether Robles now disqualified as legislator. He should have resigned already. Given his not having done so, there should be calls from his colleagues, particularly Dems, for him to exit out of respect for the body and for his constituents.

March 24, 2011 at 8:57 AM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kevin you make a great point concerning the higher ranks and not signing in or on line. Why can't they? Everyone should be accountable and there needs to be a check and balance in place for fundamental fairness to take place. If HPD is serious about corruption from within then make the necessary changes. The problem is there is a leadership vacuum there that needs to be addressed. Bring a chief from the outside or appoint a commissioner to oversee the department.

March 24, 2011 at 1:12 PM

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Where is the Mayor in all of this? If he wants change and to earn the public trust then maybe he should step up and demand a full investigation. Have the City's own internal audit department conduct an investigation. Fire all those involved, and if it means Command 1, then so be it. The Mayor needs to LEAD Hartford not just show up for his paycheck.

March 25, 2011 at 9:35 AM

Anonymous peter brush said...

Where is the Mayor in all of this?
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A very good question. Our municipal guys were all hot and bothered a couple of weeks ago about School Board business, stuff not strictly within the City's jurisdiction. The Police Department is just that; a department of the municipal government, something completely within the Mayor's and Council's control. I don't know what should be done by whom, and prejudice in favor of cops policing themselves, so to speak, but the taxpayers are on the hook for their misappropriations. Our local pols should at least express concern, have some public curiosity about the issue, certify that any problems have been addressed.

March 25, 2011 at 11:57 AM

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