Blazejowski retirement renews dispute over handling of troubled police officer

For city Councilor Kevin Fuller, his vote last week to offer a disability retirement to troubled police Officer Marc Blazejowski was one of the most disturbing choices he’s had to make.

Fuller said the disability section’s wording fit Blazejowski’s situation and both the city and an independent physician argued that he should be granted disability, which pays officers 70 percent of their regular as well as benefits.

Fuller said he had little choice given that firing the 34-year-old officer would have meant the city would “end up in the same place” after spending time and money in a court case it could not win.

The problem, Fuller said, is that Blazejowski should have been axed years ago. The ball was dropped back then, he said, not now.

There’s something to that argument.

According to a 2011 report byconsultant Lori Coppinger, Blazejowski should have been fired after a series of incidents culminating in a 2006 meltdown when the officer expressed the idea that he would “like to kill someone” to see how it feels. Link to the full story.
Tuesday's paper will have an updated version of this story.

Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

A deal with DiVenere is nearing completion

The city is trying to work out a settlement with Police Chief John DiVenere, who's on paid administrative leave. You can read Lisa Backus' story here.
My guess is that the chief is gone within a week or two - paid off with a year's pay and a little more - and that the acting chief, Capt. Eric Osanitsch, gets the nod pretty quickly to take the reins. He seems to have the backing of the department and the politicians.
But I don't have a crystal ball.

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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Read the Blazejowski report

To understand why Police Chief John DiVenere was suspended today, you really need to read the executive summary of consultant Lori Coppinger's report on the handling of Office Marc Blazejowski, who is out on sick leave.
You can read the PDF of the report here.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Cockayne: Police chief should resign (Updated)

New: See the story here.

A note to Mayor Art Ward from city Councilor Ken Cockayne, which was released widely a few minutes ago:
Mayor Ward,
I am formally requesting you ask for the immediate resignation of Chief DiVenere and Personnel Director Diane Ferguson. As the 9th largest city in Connecticut, we have one of the best police forces in the region. Unfortunately, the recent actions of a few have tarnished the reputations of not only the rest of the police force, but our city as a whole. I am troubled by the lack of accountability these officers have had and I feel it is a reflection of the leadership. I feel a strong message needs to be sent that behavior like this will not be tolerated or glossed over. It is an embarassment to the rest of the police force and to the fine citizens of Bristol.
The fact that it has come to this where I am sending this letter to you requesting this action shows either a lack of competence, courage, or both, on the part of our Police Chief and our Personnel Director. I fear that without a strong message, the leadership that is provided from the Mayor's office and the City Counsel will come under scrutiny as well.
Sincerely,
Ken Cockayne
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Chief apologizes to police

Police Chief DiVenere apparently feels chagrin about his remarks that he suspected a cover up in the case of Officer Robert Mosback.
The Hartford Courant's Don Stacom has a story his morning about a memorandum the chief wrote to the entire force in the wake of my story the other day about his "cover up" comments.
Here are some of the words the chief used, according to the Courant:  "This was a private comment made in complete frustration. ... I do sincerely hope that this was not the case and that this did not happen, but I said what I said during the heat of the moment. ...Please know that I regret any unintended consequences of those words and certainly never expected them to be in print."
If anyone has a copy of the memo, I'd love to see it. You can email it to me at scollins@bristolpress.com. Otherwise, I'll post it next week when I get a copy from the city.
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Police chief talks cover up...

Here's an odd thing.
In Mayor Art Ward's original letter to the state police, mailed last Friday, he quotes Police Chief John DiVenere as telling him "the investigation was a cover up but nobody would be able to prove it."
Yesterday, the mayor sent a second letter to the state police.
In its entirety, it said:
"Upon careful review of my earlier letter to you dated September 30, 2010, I need to make one correction to the statement attributed to Police Chief John DiVenere. Chief DiVenere stated to me 'I don't doubt there was a cover up but nobody would be able to prove it.' Thank you for your consideration."
OK, readers, why the change?
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Police to shift officer away from code enforcement

The police officer assigned to code enforcement issues for the past several years -- lending a hand to the fight against blight -- is returning to patrol duties for at least the summer.
Police Chief John DiVenere said he’s putting Officer Tom Lavigne back on the road to help cope with a shortage of officers during the department’s busiest season.
“I need bodies on the road,” the chief said Monday.
City councilors created the code enforcement officer position a few years ago with the provision that it focus on issues related to blight, housing and other items connected to a crackdown on code violations.
City Councilor Kevin McCauley said he is concerned about the chief’s plan to shift Lavigne away from code enforcement given the strong success of the effort in recent years.
Building Official Guy Morin has credited Lavigne’s presence for contributing to the willingness of violators to comply with municipal orders to clean up, fix up and otherwise obey the law.
Mayor Art Ward said that he understands DiVenere’s aim “to limit some of the overtime” by putting Lavigne, a former city councilor, back on patrol duties.
He said that during the summer there isn’t as much need for a full-time code enforcement officer and that the program’s success has also made the officer less crucial to the effort.
“We’re trying to look at the whole situation” in terms of public safety, saving money and enforcing the law, the mayor said.
He said that perhaps Morin will be able to schedule specific times where Lavigne can help with code enforcement instead of having him available more often.
DiVenere said that might be possible, but cautioned that every police officer is charged with enforcing the city’s laws and can serve in the same capacity as Lavigne.
DiVenere said his department is down “eight or nine officers” heading into the busy summer months.
Three slots are vacant, while three officers are out on long-term medical leave and two more are on military leave, the chief said.
Combined with the need to let officers take vacation during the summer, DiVenere said, he needs more people on patrol so that he doesn’t push up overtime costs or turn down reasonable vacation requests.
He said that putting Lavigne on patrol will save thousands of dollars for taxpayers.
Moreover, DiVenere said, the extra flexibility may make it possible for him to avoid layoffs as the city looks for ways to cut back on spending during the fiscal crisis that has sapped extra money from every municipal department.
The chief said police are facing “an emergency” situation with the budget and putting Lavigne on patrol for the summer shift that runs from June to August is one way to handle it.
He said that after the summertime shift is over, Lavigne or a different police officer will again be assigned to code enforcement duties.
“We will have a code enforcement officer again,” DiVenere said.

For more background, see this March 2008 memorandum from city Councilor Craig Minor.

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Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Police looking for help to find vandals

Police Chief John Divenere had this to say today:

Per the direction of Mayor Ward, the Police Department has been given authorization to expend all resources and efforts to bring those responsible for this horrendous and criminal act to justice. With many of our officers also being veterans the entire Department has been shocked by this senseless criminal act. We encourage anyone with information to contact the Department at 584-3000 or thru the confidential TIP line at 585-8477. We need the assistance of the community to resolve this incident which has disturbed the conscious of not just our veterans but of the entire community as well.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

More on code enforcement cop

On March 7, city Councilors Craig Minor and Kevin McCauley met with Police Chief John DiVenere to go over the issues related to the code enforcement police officer position that has been held by Tom Lavigne since its creation. Lavigne is a former city councilor.
After the meeting, Minor wrote an email to the chief laying out what they discussed. He released that email to me today after I made a Freedom of Information request to him. Here it is:

Chief:

This is my understanding of what was said at our meeting on Friday, March 7. Please let me know if I got anything wrong.

1. Job Description. Chief DiVenere is fully supportive of having a police officer assigned to do code enforcement full time. However, designating an officer as the Code Enforcement Police Officer would be a bad precedent and in fact is something that the City has historically resisted doing. The duties of the officer assigned to code enforcement could however be spelled out as with other officers who are assigned to specific duties, such as the youth officer and the traffic officer. As with all other officers, the officer assigned to code enforcement is subject to being temporarily reassigned if the Police Department is under-strength or during an emergency, but this is not expected to happen more than once or twice a year, if at all.

2. Overtime. All officers are authorized eight hours of overtime during each three week period. Additional overtime may be approved by the supervisor of the officer assigned to code enforcement provided the officer requests it in writing and provides justification, and it will not be unreasonably denied. Such additional overtime would be requested only if necessary to meet with property owners who are not available during the normal work day or to occasionally appear before City boards and commissions, but not to attend meetings of neighborhood associations and civic groups.

Diane Ferguson pointed out that per the union contract, whenever another City department pays for the overtime of an officer to perform duties for that department it is treated as extra duty and has to be offered to any officer in turn (Craig asked her to provide the documentation on that). Therefore it is not feasible to put funding for overtime in the Code Enforcement Committee s budget.

3. Normal Working Hours. The option exists for the officer assigned to code enforcement to occasionally alter the hours of his shift to include
evening hours, such as from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm.

4. Vehicle. The officer assigned to code enforcement will be assigned a vehicle marked Code Enforcement . As with any other assigned vehicle, however, this vehicle is subject to being used by other officers as needed during other shifts or in an emergency.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Many more cops needed, says police chief

Though Bristol’s population hasn’t grown much in more than two decades, the police department is eyeing a massive increase in the number of officers.
In a recent report on space needs, which urges construction of a new police headquarters to handle the rising number of public safety personnel, Police Chief John DiVenere recommends adding two dozen more employees to the 151 positions the department has now.
“There is no doubt that the thought of hiring these additional positions will shock some people,” DiVenere said, “especially considering the cost involved.”
But, he cautioned, he is merely laying out a plan for the next five to 10 years, not making a request for immediate hiring.
The department already has 12 percent more police officers than it did in 1998 – 125 compared to 112 – and its civilian staff has risen from seven to 26.
But that’s not enough to keep up with rising demands, the chief said.
“The police department needs to grow to keep up with the demand for service from the community,” DiVenere wrote in the Oct. 10 report for Mayor William Stortz and police commissioners.
In his report, the chief said that during the next decade, he needs to add a captain, seven detectives, two sergeants, 12 police officers, two dispatchers, a dispatch supervisor and two civilians.
In some cases, it might be possible to reassign existing positions, the chief said, but his report mentions only a sergeant and a police officer that could be shifted. The other slots would apparently need new employees.
If the department were to add 20 more police officers of various ranks, it would have 145, for a 29 percent rise in the number of police since 1998 at a time when the city’s population is expected to have climbed less than 2 percent.
DiVenere’s report addresses the reason why police needs are rising faster than the population is growing in Bristol.
While acknowledging that the number of residents “has not changed very much,” the chief said that “what has changed and what will continue to evolve is the demographics of the city, its new or proposed industrial and commercial growth and the addition of the new Route 72 extension into Bristol.”
“All these point to the need for a police department that can address these issues for the safety and welfare of our citizens,” DiVenere said.
“We must expand our services and our coverage of the city to encourage business growth and the maintenance and relocation of families into the city as well,” DiVenere said.
“When these segments look to relocate, they not only look at the quality of the educational system within the community but they also look to the safety and overall crime issues in that area,” the chief reported.
He said there “is no doubt that the police department has grown in size during the past several years,” but that’s because “it is being called on to address more non-traditional policing areas than ever before.”
“No longer is our sole focus crime and accident prevention,” DiVenere said. “Code enforcement, youth programs, internet crimes, community policing, emergency operations, polygraph and technology issues all strain our staffing levels, but are necessary programs for today.”
The chief said the department’s core functions, patrol and criminal investigations, also need to grow to keep up with rising demand.
Additional help is also needed for evidence collection and identification, technology, communications, training, school resources and traffic, he said.
DiVenere said that downtown development will also increase the demand for services, including more foot patrols “to maintain a level of safety in the downtown area. This alone will necessitate an increase in our patrol staff.”
At this point, police commissioners and city leaders are reviewing the chief’s report. No decisions have been made.


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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Bristol fighting drug dealers now, officials say

Calling Bristol “a safe haven for drug dealing,” Republican mayoral contender Ken Johnson urged more help for city police to combat the problem.
Police Chief John DiVenere said Tuesday that Bristol “has a drug problem, as does every other community in the country. I know we’re not any worse than most.”
“We have a very safe community,” the chief said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say we had a problem, but we do very well in enforcing those laws.”
“I don’t want our drug dealers to think they have the run of the community, because they don’t,” DiVenere said.
Johnson said, though, that the department’s fight against drugs needs more resources.
“We need to send a strong message to the drug dealers and drug buyers that they are not welcome here in Bristol,” Johnson said in a prepared release Tuesday.
“Drugs in our community are not confined to the West End,” Johnson added. “They are in our neighborhoods and in our schools.”
Art Ward, the Democratic mayoral candidate, said that even one illegal drug transaction in town is too many. But, he said, the problems facing Bristol are no different than cities across the country are dealing with.
Democratic city Councilor Frank Nicastro, a police commissioner, said that police are “fighting day and night” against drugs and keeping the dealers in check.
He called Johnson’s comments “an election ploy” and challenged the Republican to prove his statement that the city has become “a safe haven for drug dealing.”
“Where’s his proof of that?” Nicastro asked.
“We combat drugs very effectively in the city of Bristol,” said Nicastro, who served as mayor from 1993 to 2003.
DiVenere said his department considers the battle against drugs “very serious” and it’s a high priority for him.
He said that every officer is trained about drug enforcement and there is “a very active narcotics enforcement team.”
Moreover, the chief said, the department has an active DARE program to educate students about the dangers of drugs. It also have four police dogs, including one that’s specifically trained for narcotics enforcement.
Johnson said that he would work with the chief and Police Board “to allocate more resources” to the police. Ward said he’s already discussed ideas with the chief.
Johnson pointed to a “a successful drug sting in New Britain this summer that netted more than 100 arrests of drug dealers and buyers” and called for “similar sweeps here in Bristol as our city has become a safe haven for drug dealing.”
He said he would beef up the narcotics division by providing police with the tools they need to step up the effort to crack down on the narcotics trade.
Johnson also said the community needs to be alert for gang activity.
“We cannot be blind to the threat of gang violence,” Johnson said. “Look at the increase in graffiti – it might look like art but to me it is an ominous sign that the gangs and the drug dealers are already here.”
Johnson said residents should be “vigilant,” looking for signs of gangs and drug trafficking such as graffiti and sneakers over power lines.
“I’d like to see a confidential tip-line to the police,” he said.
Johnson said that he believes a confidential tip line “would encourage the reporting of incidents or suspicious activity. If one phone call leads to averting violence or helps shut down a drug dealer then we got the bang for our buck.”
What Johnson apparently doesn’t know is that the city has had a confidential tip line: (860) 585-TIPS.
“We’ve had one for many years,” DiVenere said.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

No more criminal court in Bristol?

Both Mayor William Stortz and Police Chief John DiVenere have said in recent days that the Bristol criminal court is likely to become a juvenile court instead.
In a report about his space and personnel needs, the chief said that that when the court change happens, the city will need to transport prisoners to New Britain each days, requiring “another court officer with a transport van” to cope with the work.
Stortz said in a memorandum to Board of Finance members that the state “is looking into possible changes within the court complex, possibly affecting court needs in the police-court complex.”
The state has eyed the closure of the Bristol courthouse in the past, but always backed down from it.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

New police lieutenant to do internal affairs

A new police command position created by city councilors this week will focus mainly on carrying out internal investigations of officers who are alleged to have done something wrong.
The $57,000-a-year lieutenant’s position is slated to begin on Nov. 1.
“One of his main jobs will be” internal affairs investigations,” said city Councilor Frank Nicastro, a Police Board commissioner.
Nicastro said that the existing lieutenants “are just spread too thin” so the new post will allow the police do a better job administratively.
The new lieutenant’s post will also oversee community relations, code enforcement, youth officers, neighborhood watches, the DARE program and related activities, said Police Chief John DiVenere.
City Councilor Ellen Zoppo said she is “a little concerned” the change could crimp the successful code enforcement work by Officer Tom Lavigne, but the chief said it won’t.
Creating the new post will spread the work over more command officers, officials said, and allow all of them to do a better job.
City Councilor Craig Minor said he is concerned that the internal affairs investigations “may get lost” with the new lieutenant required to oversee so many other activities.
But DiVenere said that its main focus will be to probe issues raised about other police officers. He said the community relations oversight is meant mostly “to keep this position busy” when there’s nothing to investigate.
DiVenere said that the lieutenant would largely look into charges made against police officers.
He said a detective lieutenant would investigate charges against lieutenants while he would generally be the one to investigate issues raised about a captain.
“We don’t have that many IA investigations,” the chief said.
A 2006 study of the department recommended creating the position, DiVenere said.
Minor said that he finds it “mind-boggling” that there are no job descriptions for police lieutenants. They basically do what the chief orders them to carry out.
The council voted unanimously to create the new position.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Zoppo accused of "made up" stories by 'Fab 5' in 2005 letter

Click here for earlier blog post, with more detail, a copy of the letter and many comments

Here's the version that appeared in today's paper:
Just before the polls closed on Election Day two years ago, five city department heads wrote a scathing letter to the city’s personnel director claiming that city Councilor Ellen Zoppo had subjected them “to lies, misinformation, innuendos and made-up stories.”
“We believe that this has contributed to a very hostile work environment that should not have been tolerated by any city employee,” said the letter signed by Fire Chief Jon Pose, Comptroller Glenn Klocko, Park Director Ed Swicklas, Police Chief John DiVenere and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director.
Four of the five signers said Tuesday they have not had problems with Zoppo since 2005. The other, Pose, was the driving force behind the letter, said both Zoppo and Tom Bentivengo, the fire union president.
Bentivengo said there was “no substance behind the letter” and that Pose took a dislike to Zoppo because in her role as liaison to the Fire Board she insisted he follow proper procedures.
Zoppo, who is locked in a close mayoral primary with fellow Democratic city Councilor Art Ward, dismissed the letter as “a blatant attempt” by Ward’s backers to discredit her. Pose is one of Ward’s biggest backers, said Bentivengo, who supports Zoppo.
Both Zoppo and Ward, who said he had nothing to do with release of the letter, are vying for the support of the party’s rank and file in the Sept. 11 electoral showdown for the right to take on Republican Ken Johnson in the Nov. 6 general election.
The signers said in their letter that Zoppo, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, had referred to them as the “Fab 5” or the “Fat 5” and “publicly stated that she is going to get us fired for various unwarranted reasons.”
“In addition, she has spread lies and misinformation to the employees who work for and with us,” the letter said.
Calling the situation “intolerable,” the five supervisors asked Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to do something to help.
It is unclear what, if anything, Ferguson did in response. She could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Rosenthal said the letter was “was not meant to be a political issue then or now” which is why it was sent after the 2005 campaign was over.
Klocko said Tuesday he signed the letter “slightly kicking and dragging” because he’d heard secondhand “from several different sources the same exact thing” about what Zoppo had been telling people.
“That had to cease,” Klocko said, so he agreed to take what he considered a serious step.
“It was a big misunderstanding at the time,” DiVenere said.
“Whatever issues there may have been have been resolved,” he said.
“I think there were some miscommunications and they’ve been resolved,” Rosenthal said. “I think it resulted in clarifications that were important and positive.”
Since the letter, Klocko said he has had “no issues with Councilwoman Zoppo” at all.
“She’s been cordial to me,” he said, and supported his reappointment.
DiVenere said that he has confidence in Zoppo now and that he has had no issues with her since the letter was sent in 2005. Rosenthal, too, said he’s had no problems with her.
Swicklas said, “I can tell you that our relationship now is very good.”
“The parks are moving along and we have established a good dialogue, working relationship and mutual respect. I have no concerns with Councilwoman Zoppo," Swicklas said.
Klocko said that when the five signed the letter, they were worried about retribution against them. That never happened, he said.
“There was no backlash to us,” Klocko said.
He said he suspects the letter “focused her attention” on the problem of talking harshly about city workers and probably helped resolve the situation.
Klocko said he feels “positive” about his relationship with Zoppo these days.
Klocko also said he doesn’t see the letter as meaning too much any longer.
“I dismiss it at this time because it’s the silly season,” Klocko said.
He said that from his point of view, he will work with “whoever the citizens to tell me to” when they vote in November.
Klocko said that he hopes that a decade from now “the Fab 5” can get together and chuckle over the letter they felt they had to write.
In their letter to Ferguson, the department heads said they expected that Zoppo, who won her third term as a councilor the same day they wrote their concerns, would not be assigned as the liaison to any of the boards or commissions overseeing them “because of her obvious hostility.”
They said in the letter that they wrote it “to follow up on numerous conversations and complaints that we have lodged with your office and with the mayor’s office over the past several months.”
“We thoroughly enjoy the work that we do for this city and try to conduct ourselves in a professional manner,” the five wrote. “We try to do our jobs to the best of our ability, but find the present situation unacceptable.”
A signed copy of the letter from the five department heads to Ferguson, and other related material, is available online at reporter Steve Collins’ Bristol Blog at http://bristolnews.blogspot.com.

Zoppo’s response
Why am I not surprised that this letter has surfaced three weeks before a primary?
This is a blatant attempt by supporters of Art Ward to discredit me before the primary. There would never be a letter from department heads complaining about Art Ward because he is not capable of holding them accountable, because he does not have a grasp of the issues to know how to hold them accountable. He is more concerned about being their buddy.
This is the same man who is afraid to debate me in public on the issues, but his supporters will dust off a complaint that was found to be without merit two years ago. This is clearly a desperate move by the Ward campaign to keep the focus off the issues and make it personal instead. If Art had the nerve to meet me face-to-face in a debate, we would not have to air these issues via the newspaper.
The city has a talented set of department heads with whom I have good working relationships, and who care about Bristol and do their jobs well. My concern for the taxpayer, and the safety of the line firefighters, as it related to Chief Pose's disregard for policy and procedures set us on a path to confrontation when I was on the Fire Board.
I expect that department heads adhere to a high standard because that is what leadership is all about. It is unfortunate that in Chief Pose's need to go after me, he involved other department heads. Chief Pose's complaint had no merit then, and still doesn't today.




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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Zoppo blasted for "lies" and more by 5 department heads

** BRISTOL PRESS EXCLUSIVE **
-- Story is still developing so check back later --
** Check Wednesday's paper for the final version of this story. But go ahead and read this entry, too, because there's more here than could ever fit in a newspaper story! **

Just before the polls closed on Election Day two years ago, five city department heads wrote a scathing letter to the city’s personnel director claiming that city Councilor Ellen Zoppo had subjected them “to lies, misinformation, innuendos and made-up stories.”
“We believe that this has contributed to a very hostile work environment that should not have been tolerated by any city employee,” said the letter signed by Fire Chief Jon Pose, Comptroller Glenn Klocko, Park Director Ed Swicklas, Police Chief John DiVenere and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city’s economic development director.
They said in the letter that Zoppo, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, had referred to them as the “Fab 5” or the “Fat 5” and “publicly stated that she is going to get us fired for various unwarranted reasons.”
“In addition, she has spread lies and misinformation to the employees who work for and with us,” the letter said.
Calling the situation “intolerable,” the five supervisors asked Personnel Director Diane Ferguson to do something to help.
Here's the letter:

To see the letter much more clearly, go here: Flickr link

10:20 Update:
City Comptroller Glenn Klocko said Tuesday he signed the letter “slightly kicking and dragging” because he’d heard secondhand “from several different sources the same exact thing” about what Zoppo had been telling people.
“That had to cease,” Klocko said, so he agreed to take what he considered a serious step.
Since the letter, Klocko said he has had “no issues with Councilwoman Zoppo” at all.
“She’s been cordial to me,” he said, and supported his reappointment.
Klocko said that when the five signed the letter, they were worried about retribution against them. That never happened, he said.
“There was no backlash to us,” Klocko said.
He said he suspects the letter “focused her attention” on the problem of talking harshly about city workers and probably helped resolve the situation.
Klocko said he feels “positive” about his relationship with Zoppo these days.
Klocko also said he doesn’t see the letter as meaning too much any longer.
“I dismiss it at this time because it’s the silly season,” Klocko said.
He said that from his point of view, he will work with “whoever the citizens to tell me to” when they vote in November.
Klocko said that he hopes that a decade from now “the Fab 5” can get together and chuckle over the letter they felt they had to write.

10:45 Update:

“It was a big misunderstanding at the time,” Police Chief John DiVenere said Tuesday.
“Whatever issues there may have been have been resolved,” he said.
DiVenere said that he has confidence in Zoppo now and that he has had no issues with her since the letter was sent in 2005.

11:10 a.m. Update:

Both Park Director Ed Swicklas and Jonathan Rosenthal, the city's economic development director, said they haven't had any problems with Zoppo since writing the letter in 2005.

Pose said the letter speaks for itself.

I haven't heard back from Zoppo or Ferguson.

11:15 a.m.

From Ellen Zoppo, minutes ago:

Why am I not surprised that this letter has surfaced 3 weeks before a primary?
This is a blatant attempt by supporters of Art Ward to discredit me before the primary. There would never be a letter from department heads complaining about Art Ward because he is not capable of holding them accountable, because he does not have a grasp of the issues to know how to hold them accountable. He is more concerned about being their buddy.
This is the same man who is afraid to debate me in public on the issues, but his supporters will dust off a complaint that was found to be without merit two years ago. This is clearly a desperate move by the Ward campaign to keep the focus off the issues and make it personal instead. If Art had the nerve to meet me face-to-face in a debate, we would not have to air these issues via the newspaper.
The city has a talented set of department heads with whom I have good working relationships, and who care about Bristol and do their jobs well. My concern for the taxpayer, and the safety of the line firefighters, as it related to Chief Pose's disregard for policy and procedures set us on a path to confrontation when I was on the Fire Board.
I expect that department heads adhere to a high standard because that is what leadership is all about. It is unfortunate that in Chief Pose's need to go after me, he involved other department heads. Chief Pose's complaint had no merit then, and still doesn't today.

12:30 p.m.
Tom Bentivengo, president of the firefighters union, said that Pose wrote the letter and convinced the other four department heads to sign it.
“He’s behind the whole thing,” Bentivengo said.
He said that “there’s no substance to that letter” and that Pose didn’t like Zoppo because she insisted he follow the correct procedures and policies within city government.
Moreoever, Bentivengo said, Pose is a big supporter for Ward.
“He is his number one backer,” Bentivengo said. “He is his number one advisor.”
In his off-hours, Pose even helped get signatures for Ward, the fire union president said.
He said the problem between Zoppo and Pose began because Pose “has no patience” and did not want to follow the sometimes cumbersome procedures to get new equipment for a fire department that needed updating.
Zoppo “was like guiding him through the process and procedure” of how to get what the department needed, Bentivengo said.
But Pose didn’t listen to her and wound up delaying things by mishandling them in his rush to try to get what the department needed, Bentivengo said.
Pose “started to say Ellen was interfering with him. He wanted to do it his way” and not wait for the proper approvals, Bentivengo said. “He wanted it done today.”
“Everything fell apart” between Pose and Zoppo, he said, because of the chief’s impatience. “He thought it was all her and, of course, it was not.”
About the time of the letter, Zoppo was also holding other department heads to account, Bentivengo said, because they were acting too much like a city manager and not necessarily following procedures. Some were overstepping their roles, he said.
“At that particular time, things got a little shrill,” Bentivengo said. The department heads “were in a panic mind.”

1:50 p.m.

From Art Ward: "I would appreciate it if you were to inform Ms. Zoppo-Sassu and anyone else of the same mindset, that I was not the person to provide you with the letter in question and that I will state, unequivocally, that I did not have any knowledge of it being presented to you.These preconceived rants and rages of Ms. Zoppo-Sassu are completely in concert with the reasons that I don't believe that a debate would provide any positive assurances of respect or decency that the voters might utilize to arrive at their ultimate decision on Primary Day, Tuesday, September, 11."

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