October 19, 2010

Two probes underway of Mosback case (updated)

[Breaking news: Mosback seeks his job back.]
Two investigations are getting underway soon into the handling by city police of an on-duty accident involving an officer who later resigned after records showed he was intoxicated – including a probe of possible criminal misconduct.
“We were looking for a totally objective assessment of the entire situation,” Mayor Art Ward said Tuesday.
The state’s attorney in New Britain, Scott Murphy, will look into the case to determine if anyone committed a crime, according to city officials.
An internal affairs investigation will examine the police department’s handling of former Officer Robert Mosback’s June 26 crash to discern if police rules and regulations were followed and perhaps recommend revisions to department policies.
The parallel investigations will try to determine if Mosback arrived at work drunk and whether anyone knew about it, Police Chief John DiVenere said. He said they will also answer the question hanging over the case: “Was there a cover up?”
The chief, who last month suggested there was one, took a different tack Tuesday.
“I really don’t believe there was any type of cover up,” DiVenere said.
He said the entire case has “hit the department very hard.”
Mosback, the chief said, “was a well-liked officer. Everyone was shocked.”
DiVenere said the case “certainly has taken a toll on morale” in the force.
“We need to get this to get over with as soon as possible,” the chief said.
Officials said they had no idea how long the investigations might take or how much they might cost the city. Click here for the full story.




Here are some links many of the documents in this case:
Click here to see a PDF of the June 26, 2010 accident report.
Click here to see a PDF of the July 19, 2010 report by Capt. Osanitsch.
Click here to see a PDF of an October 19 memo to police from the mayor and police chief.
Click here to see a PDF of Lt. Grimaldi's resume.
Click here to see a PDF of Lori Coppinger's resume.
Here is the Form 43 denial of Mosback's workers compensation claim:


At some point soon, I'll add the mayor's letter to the state police and to the state's attorney, as well as Mosback's own statement.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

The mayor and the chief have to go!It's like Peter lying to Paul get it.

ignorance is said...

opinions like yours are the reason that outside investigations are being conducted stupid.

Anonymous said...

The boys in blue were protecting their own. Has nothing to do with the mayor. The chief was probably kept in the dark too. Try pointing your finger elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry - word on the street is that Bill Stortz is going to run for Mayor again. That should make everyone in the city feel all warm and fuzzy! These kind of issues are all the more reason to have a City Manager instead of a Mayor.

Anonymous said...

What do you think a city manager would have done differently? The Mayor seems to be managing the situation just fine. An investigation is underway, and let's all hope Bill just continues enjoying his retirement from public office...I know we are.

Anonymous said...

2:11

A city manager would have known how to handle the situation and would have done it.

Case Closed

Anonymous said...

The Chief and Mayor should be looked into. The chief is the problem. He has no idea how to lead.

Anonymous said...

4:49 PM: Fortunately, the majority of the city's voters don't agree with you.

Case closed.

Anonymous said...

Run Bill run!!

Anonymous said...

11:48 poster,

The only way Stortz is running for Mayor is as an Independent. He will never get the endorsement from the RTC. We have not forgotten then he worked against Johnson and for Ward to get him elected.

Time for Stortz to figure out he's not wanted. I'm actually shocked he even shows up at RTC events. We all laugh when he does!

Anonymous said...

CHIEF YOU SHOULD BE FIRED.

Anonymous said...

11:48

Now for sure Stortz would get my vote

Anonymous said...

Seems like the power seeking few of the RTC have come out of the wood work again.
As a member of the RTC back then, I am fully aware of how they worked at recruiting a challenger to Stortz a year befor the election.
And we saw/see the results.