"I’ve been doing this since 1979," Gallo said today. "I’m going to relax."

A recount was held today because Helena Abrantes led Gallo by three votes in Tuesday’s primary, a narrow margin with more than 350 people voting. The recount was held at the Pembroke school and at City Hall, where absentee votes were tallied. Gallo was the only incumbent on the Democratic Committee to be unseated.

[...]

"We called a meeting for Monday night," Gallo said after the recount. "That’s my last official act as chairman."

It's a bad idea to turn your back on a judge. That's what Philippe Patricio found out at his sentencing on Wednesday.

The Bethel man was accused of breaking into Danbury Municipal Airport one night last June, firing up a single-engine airplane and taking a drunken, middle-of-the-night joyride to Westchester County Airport.

He pleaded guilty in January to several New York state charges and was sentenced to time already served in prison – about nine months – on Wednesday.

But not before he got a severe tongue-lashing.

It all started when Westchester County Judge Rory Bellantoni began lecturing Patricio at his sentencing hearing. The judge said the first thing people thought was "terrorist" when they heard someone stole an airplane in greater metropolitan New York.

At that Patricio seemed to lose interest.

He had been standing with his handcuffed wrists behind his back next to Danbury attorney Ed Camacho. The paperwork for his case was in front of them on the table.

Once the judge mentioned the word terrorist, Patricio turned his back and picked up the papers. He started to move toward the door. Camacho stopped him.

Patricio's move wasn't missed by Bellantoni.

"You seem to have a problem with stupidity," Bellantoni said. "Have you been paying attention to all of my proceedings? From what I've seen, you're guilty of everything except for possibly criminal possession of an airplane."

[...]

"You seem to have a bad attitude. You're angry at society for punishing you for a crime you admit you committed," Bellantoni told Patricio. "You came here today a different person than the one who came in for his first arraignment in October."

Patricio arrived at his October arraignment afraid and embarrassed, Camacho said. Bellantoni observed that Patricio was angry and resentful Wednesday after nearly nine months in jail.

"An arrest like this has got to be a wake-up call for you," Bellantoni said. "The next time you could end up with 10 or 15 years in prison, and you could get someone killed."

"What the judge said was correct," said Assistant District Attorney Robert Prisco about Patricio. "He has a massive chip on his shoulder."

Democrats supported their incumbent town committee members for the most part Tuesday, but they may have ousted Town Committee Chairman Bernie Gallo.

Gallo finished fifth in the second ward, three votes behind former City Clerk Helena Abrantes. The top four candidates make it and there will be a recount in the second ward.

A challenger slate ran against the incumbent slate in two wards. The opposition slate had argued the Democrats lost the last mayoral three elections and that it was time
for a change.

Under the party's existing rules, the chairman must come from sitting members of the 28-member committee. If Gallo doesn't gain votes in the recount, he can't be chairman.

Registered Democrats in the 1st and 2nd wards are voting on competing slates for Town Committee seats today. Members of the Democratic Party in the 1st Ward will vote at Danbury High School at 43 Clapboard Ridge Road. Democrats in the 2nd Ward will vote at Pembroke School at 34 1/2 Pembroke Road. Polls are open until 8 p.m. The existing Town Committee put together one slate. An opposition group, which is unhappy with the Democrats’ losses in the last two elections, put together a competing slate with the goal of eliminating the existing party leaders. The United Danbury Democrats, the group most closely allied with the existing Town Committee, is running Linda DaSilva, Tina Merante, Barbara Anders and Kevin Morgan in the 1st Ward, and Bernard Gallo, Eileen Coladarci, Helena Abrantes and Eugene McNamara in the 2nd Ward. The Leadership 2006 ticket is running Warren Levy, Nick Nero, Beth Hawley and Manny Furtado in the 1st Ward, and Michael Seri, Chris Cerda, Paul McAllister and Susan Ward in the 2nd Ward.