Connecticut government corruption
From Sunshine Review
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Connecticut attorney gets two years in prison for bribery
Ciarcia is a past president of the Meriden Community Action Agency where he served for 20 years on the governing board until City Council removed him for serving in violation of a city code that requires board members to be appointed by current council members. He also operated a law firm in Meriden. The attorney bribed the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs in order to receive favorable contracts for two construction companies he represented. In addition to the 24 months behind bars, Ciarcia will be under two-year supervision. [1]
Court documents allege that from July 2002 until November 2005, while Ciarcia was representing the two Meriden-based construction companies Escarnio Construction LLC and Fischer Supply LLC, he helped to formulate several illegal contract deals between the USVA and the companies.[1]
Milford mayor again declines to release report
"Mayor James L. Richetelli Jr. declined for a second day to release a consultant's report on the operations of the city Building Inspection Department.
"Basically, I want to read it first," he said Thursday of the eagerly awaited report by L. Robert Kimball and Associates of Ebensburg, Pa. The $48,000 report was paid for by the Board of Aldermen, which is also waiting to see the document.
Thomas Hennick, public education officer for the state Freedom of Information Commission, said Richetelli's claim that the document is a "work product" does not seem to apply to the consultant's report.
"It would seem that the exemption for a draft might not fit," the state FOI official said. "I don't know exactly why he would claim that.""
FOI officer recommends city victory
"A state Freedom of Information Commission hearing officer has recommended that the Herald’s FOI complaint against the city for withholding environmental reports regarding pollution at Willow Street Park be dismissed.
The city had known about the pollution for more than a month, after contractor Leo Camosci of LTC Construction LLC discovered remnants of a former structure in the Willow Street public housing project, and petroleum-based contaminants in the dirt.
But the mayor’s office and the Parks and Recreation Department director remained mum."
Ex-official claims selectmen held illegal meetings in Winsted
"The Board of Selectmen may have conducted illegal meetings via e-mail, a former selectman says.
David Villa says he has 1,500 e-mails between board members using town accounts that he received after filing a Freedom of Information request.
“There are communications occurring between members of the Board of Selectmen,” Villa said. “Town business is discussed and does not have the benefit of public notice or minutes.”"
Report opposes decision to keep addresses private
"The report in a Freedom of Information Commission case about whether the town correctly interpreted a state law keeping private the home addresses of public employees recommends deciding against the town.
The case goes before the full commission this week, to the worry of multiple state agencies that expressed support for the town's perspective."
We Should Know Where Our Public Officials Live
"A growing crusade to hide the home addresses of any and all who govern us should warn honest citizens that government of, by, and for the people is at risk. Since when is an address a state secret?
If we believe in democracy, in a free and open society, then we should fix seemingly contradictory state laws or risk becoming a nation of scaredy-cats."
Friends of Open Space consider their options after commission ruling
"The Friends of Open Space are considering their options with respect to the recent ruling by the state's Freedom of Information Commission, which concluded its investigation into two separate complaints filed by the group early last year against the Town of Fairfield, the Conservation Commission and the Inland Wetlands Agency. Kathryn Braun, the attorney for the group explained they may try and convince the commission they were wrong in part of their ruling or take the group's complaint to the "next level.""
Winsted FOI hearing reopened
"The Freedom of Information Commission has reopened a hearing on behalf of a former town official, who is accusing the current Republicans on the Board of Selectmen of conducting illegal meetings through e-mail.
David C. Villa was informed Thursday by the FOI Commission they were reopening the hearings, in which he filed a complaint against Republican Selectmen Gene Berlinski, David Cappabianca, Michael Hamm, Jeffrey Liskin and Mayor Kenneth Fracasso."
Towns seek relief from state Web site rule
"Visitors to the Voluntown municipal Web site are greeted with two red circles with slashes across them - the universal sign for “No” - framing a notice stating the site has been shut down due to recently expanded Freedom of Information laws requiring that all towns post meeting agendas and minutes on their Web sites.
”The town has no IT department, and complying with the bill will put a burden on each board in town,” the site states.
Town officials in Voluntown, Griswold and Lyme are among a group throughout the state pushing for a repeal of the law that since Oct. 1 has required municipalities and other public agencies to post board, commission and committee agendas and minutes on their Web sites."
FOI Commission rules for Herald
"The state Freedom of Information Commission ruled Thursday that Mayor Timothy Stewart’s downtown steering committee was a public agency subject to the laws of open government that apply to all public meetings.
The commission also decided the city’s finance board held an illegal closed-door session during the most recent budget season and that the city had a right to withhold a report on pollution at a park site because it could be used in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development."
Small-Town First Selectmen Want Website Law Repealed
"Elected officials representing some of the small towns that shut down their websites in October rather than risk non-compliance with a new state law requiring them to post meeting minutes and agendas online told state lawmakers Monday they would rather see the law repealed than modified.
At a public hearing at the state Capitol, first selectmen from four towns — Harwinton, Lyme, Andover and Portland — told members of the legislature's government administration and elections committee that they support the spirit of the new law but that the mechanics of complying with it are costly and cumbersome."
POMFRET: Ruling Says Panel Violated FOI Law
"The town planning and zoning commission violated the law last year by failing to provide three residents with town documents in a timely manner, according to the state Freedom of Information Commission.
In their FOI complaints, Pomfret residents Chuck Boster, Paul Hennen and Ford Fay contended that the planning and zoning commission violated the law during public meetings on Jan. 9, 15 and 25, 2008.
The residents had asked for copies of documents discussed during the meetings — two draft memorandums from the town planner that detailed proposed changes to the town zoning regulations; and a letter from the town attorney about the proposed amendments."
Winsted FOI hearing revisited
"The Freedom of Information Commission restarted a hearing Thursday, on behalf of a former town official, accusing the current Republicans on the Board of Selectmen, of conducting illegal meetings through e-mail.
The hearing took about two hours, according to David Villa, who filed a complaint against Republican Selectmen Gene Berlinski, David Cappabianca, Michael Hamm, Jeffrey Liskin and Mayor Kenneth Fracasso about the alleged illegal meetings.
The hearing officially closed on Dec. 29 and the commission has yet to render a decision." .
Small Towns Seek Relief From Web Law
"Since the mid-1970s, municipal governmental bodies across Connecticut have posted minutes within seven days of a meeting at town hall, under state open records laws.
Last June, the legislature, in a seemingly modest enhancement, required posting on a town web site as well, if the town had one. This requirement has unleashed a noisy backlash, prompting a dozen small towns to pull the plug on their web sites rather than comply, according to the Connecticut Council on Municipalities, which urged that the Internet notice law be repealed or delayed until late in 2010.
Now, no fewer than a dozen bills have hit the legislative hopper, aimed at slowing or stopping mandatory Internet-posting of meeting times, places or minutes, if compliance would be an undue hardship, expense or technological obstacle."
HARTFORD: Council Backs FOI Board
"The city council on Monday unanimously approved the creation of a local Freedom of Information Advisory Board, a three-member board intended to educate city employees and residents on the state's FOI laws.
The council's action is the second time it approved the board. Late last year, the council's approval was met with a technical objection from city attorneys regarding who had the power to appoint members to the board — the mayor or the city council. The city charter gives that authority to the mayor."
Becker wins points in FOI complaint, but panel doesn’t throw out vote
"Housing Authority board member Timothy H. Becker won two of his arguments in a Freedom of Information complaint against his colleagues, but lost his bid to have the July 9 meeting — in which a new executive director was appointed — declared invalid.
Becker said Monday he was pleased with the decision, which ordered the authority to give proper notice of its meetings.
“It’s a positive outcome — from here on in, the meetings will be properly noticed,” Becker said, adding that “prior to the washer and dryer issue coming forward, there was never any public comment, and part of the reason is that residents didn’t know where or when meetings were taking place.”"
Litchfield zoning board violated FOI law
"The Planning and Zoning Commission and three of its members received a slap on the wrist this week from the Freedom of Information Commission.
In a decision dated Feb. 11, the FOI commission ruled that the zoning board violated the FOI Act when it intentionally withheld records in July 2008 from Planning and Zoning Commissioner John Williams. Zoning Chairman Barbara Putnam, Vice Chairman William Burgess and Zoning Enforcement Officer Matthew Speck are each named in the complaint filed by Williams."
FOI officer: Winsted violated Freedom of Information law
"A Freedom of Information Commission hearing officer has written a proposed final decision agreeing with a lawyer who filed a complaint charging the Winsted Board of Selectmen of violating the Freedom of Information Act.
The complaint stems from a spring 2008 board meeting about the removal of Planning & Zoning Commission member George Closson.
Community lawyer Charlene LaVoie filed a complaint on May 22, 2008, with the state Freedom of Information Commission accusing the Winsted Board of Selectmen of violating the FOI Act concerning the holding of a meeting in executive session. LaVoie contended that the board violated the act by meeting in executive session for “an impermissible purpose.”"
Wallingford Housing Authority votes to charge for FOI requests
"After a recent deluge of requests, the Wallingford Housing Authority Commission voted Thursday to charge members of the public for documents they request through the state Freedom of Information Act.
The agenda of the agency's monthly meeting Thursday featured four such requests from residents to comply with the act, which states that the public has the right to obtain records and attend the meetings of any public agency. One request came from Michael Brodinsky, Democratic chairman of the Town Council.
"They're pretty basic FOI requests," said Robert Prentice, chairman of the authority's commission."
FOI Hearing Officer Rules Against City
"The city and the subcontractor in charge of its massive schools construction project must release all information turned over to the state criminal grand jury investigating allegations of corruption at city hall, according to a preliminary decision of the state Freedom of Information Commission.
In two separate preliminary decisions dated Feb. 20, a hearing officer for the commission rejected the city's position that public records held by the city and by Diggs Construction were protected from disclosure because they were part of the investigatory grand jury."
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