In 2007, one of my biggest interviews was with the lawyers of the Danbury 11 who forced the City of Danbury to hand over documents surrounding the arrest of the day laborers. The disclosure of the documents exposed a great deal about the City of Danubry's involvement in the raid as well as called into question the integrity and honesty of Mayor Boughton and his administration.

Back in September 2006, I wrote this about the arrest of 11 day-laborers at Kennedy Park.

I received reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested several people at Kennedy Place but I was unable to get down there in time to get any footage.

[...]

Is it a coincidence that this is happening the same day Mayor Boughton is planning to go to Brazil to talk about illegal immigration?

Then I wrote this...

Perfect. Now we have a situation where 11 people were picked up on Kennedy Park. Now is a perfect time to keep a close eye on what happens down there.

[...]

Is this all a waste of taxpayers money or a successful program which will make a difference? Personally, I don't see how picking up 11 people will make a difference and I guess the day-laborers will be in full force by next week.

The moment I learned about the details surround the arrest of the day-laborers, I knew something was wrong and Mayor Boughton wasn't telling the truth.

A year after the arrest, my thoughts have been verified.

With the help of other bloggers across the country and in Brazil, I was able to keep an account of Mayor Boughton's statements to the press as well as keep a close eye on this VERY IMPORTANT CASE.

The following interview with Simon Moshenberg was like an atomic bomb in Danbury as I scooped the media in finally exposing Danbury's involvement in the raid. As we move forward to 2008, and HatCityBLOG evolves into HatCityMEDIA (details to come), expect to hear MUCH MORE about this case.

Originally posted Septmber 18 2007.

Today, I conducted an in-depth interview with Simon Moshenberg of the Jerome N. Frank Legal Services Organization at the Yale Law School legal clinic. Moshenberg is one of the attorneys for the "Danbury 11" and has been actively involved in forcing the City of Danbury to hand over all information regarding an ICE raid in September of last year.

For those who don’t know, the Danbury 11 refers to the eleven day laborers who were picked up in a raid by Immigration & Customs Enforcement agents. According to news reports, back in September at Danbury’s Kennedy Park, ICE agents posing as contractors pulled up in a truck and stated they would pay 11 dollars an hour to men who would help take down a fence. Eleven day laborers took up the offer, entered in the truck, and were taken to another location where they were arrested.

In response to the raid, a FOI was filed against the Department of Homeland Security and the City of Danbury in an attempt to seek information and determine what role the city had in the raid.

In several interviews to the press, Mayor Boughton has repeatedly stated that the City played NO ROLE in the raids.

Statements from Mayor Boughton regarding city's role in raid, December 2006:

Hartford Courant 12.14.06

A group of students at Yale Law School is expected to file suit today in federal court in a bid to find out how Homeland Security put together its sting on Sept. 19. The students want to know what role Danbury played in the operation and if the policies guiding the department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement arm may be unconstitutional. Their inquiry began with a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act. "We asked nicely," said Simon Moshenberg, a second-year student from Washington, D.C. "They didn't answer. We sued."

[...]

In an interview Wednesday, Boughton insisted that immigration police acted alone. They notified Danbury police this summer that they'd be making some arrests this fall but offered no other details, he said.

Channel 8:

Boughton said the city played no part in the September 19th action...

Channel 30:

He [Boughton] said the city was not involved in the planing of the raid...

Once Moshenberg and the Yale law students obtained all the requested material from the city from their FOI complaint, new details surrounding the city's involvement in the raid emerged, which ultimately calls into question the claims the mayor.

With the new revelations made public at the Danbury 11 court hearing last week, I caught up with Moshenberg to learn more about the details that emerged from the FOI request, find out what role the city of Danbury played in the raid, and ultimately find out if the mayor was being dishonest to the public in statements he made to the press about Danbury's role in the raid.

Interview highlights (full interview will be posted soon):

1.: Information obtained from the FOI request shows Danbury police officer as the arresting officer on booking report.



2. According to Moshenberg, in brief to the court, the Department of Homeland Security states that DANBURY POLICE OFFICERS were the ones disguised as contractors and driving the van used to pick up the day laborers. This is contrary to statements Boughton made to the press in December
According to Moshenberg, the city of Danbury has not issued an official response in any legal proceedings regarding DHS's statement.



UPDATE: If you're with the media and are taking quotes from my interview with Simon, please make sure to cite this blog in your report.

As I stated in several emails, I understand the seriousness of this story and will have more of the interview posted as quickly as possible. Thank you.

UPDATE 2: I receiving inquires from the media on this on-going story. If you're a member of the media and having trouble locating the email address for this site, you can email me at hatcityblog@yahoo.com. During the next template update, I'll make it easier to locate my email address.