HatCityBLOG EXCLUSIVE: NAACP keynote speaker criticize those involved in racist emails scandal
Saturday, October 27, 2007 Time: 8:36 PM
(bumped to the top)
The drumbeat continues...
The circulation of racist emails by elected officials was the topic of conversation at last night's Greater Danbury NAACP Freedom Fund Dinner.
The event's keynote speaker was no other than Rev. Dr. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta GA and lets just say that he had a thing or two to say about the current state of affairs in Danbury.
As pastor of the same church that civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached his ministry of nonviolence during 60's civil rights movement, Rev. Warnock captivated the packed audience as he chastised the elected officials involved in the racist email scandal, and join the chorus of residents, religious groups, politicians, and organizations who demand that those involved issue a public apology.
The reaction from the audience to Rev. Warnock sharp rebuke of the the city's handling of the matter should erase any thought in people's minds that this level of outrage is going to dissipate any time soon.
Marge Gallo demonstrates the new voting machines to residents. Democratic Headquarters, Oct 22 2007. photo by ctblogger
With less than two weeks to go until the election, it's important for everyone to get acquainted with the new electronic voting machines.
On Sunday, I made a trip down to Democratic Headquarters and caught up with Democratic Registrar of Voters Marge Gallo who was demonstrating the new machines to the public.
I have several concerns regarding the new machines, the first bring that they'll only be one machine collecting the ballots per ward. In the first and third ward, this could become a problem, especially is the machine fails or breaks down. This is why it's critical for the Democrats to get as many people to fill out absentee ballots as possible.
I'll talk about my other concerns with these new machines at a later date. For now, here's my video report (NOTE: I put the wrong date on the video. I was going to fix it but it takes a long time to upload the file and I'm kind of short on time right now).
Boughton said Friday that he was unaware that there was anything wrong with the donations and that his campaign officials would have no way of knowing if someone was fronting money for others.
"We've accepted thousands of donations from thousands of contributors and we assume that the name on the check is the person that donated the money. In fact we send a personal thank you letter to each person," Boughton said. "I was absolutely unaware that there was anything wrong with any donations."
Lets take a look at one of the people who donated to Boughton's campaign and you'll see why Mayor Mark's LIE explanation doesn't seem to pass the smell test.
Boughton acknowledged Friday that one of his political actions committees, People Over Politics, got money from associates of Galante in 2003.
Sources said that eight, $1,000 checks from either Galante employees, friends or associates were donated to People Over Politics on Oct. 26, 2003. Some of them were then reimbursed or told that the donations would help Galante's trash hauling business, which is based in Danbury.
Now, take note of the fact that the Hartford Courant stated that Boughton received EIGHT SEPARATE CHECKS for 1,000 dollars. Now, let's take a look at two people who gave a check, Jackie and Robert DiNardo.
Sources told the Hartford Courant (the Weekly's papa paper) that Galante gave $8,000 to Boughton's People over Politics PAC in eight separate thousand-dollar donations—a grand being the legal limit for an individual—through friends, family and employees in October 2003, with promises of favors or reimbursement. Boughton told the Courant, "I was absolutely unaware that there was anything wrong with any donations."
People over Politics only received a total of eight donations of $1,000 in that reporting period.
Four checks are from the family of Paul Dinardo, Galante's brother-in-law and a longtime employee of his trash business, who got 21 months in prison in September for conspiracy to inflate hauling prices through extortion and threats. He gave $1,000. So did his father Anthony Dinardo, the father-in-law of James Galante and a resident of Putnam County, N.Y., where Automated Waste's operations stretched. The other Dinardos were Paul's brother Robert, a Danbury police officer, and his wife, Jackie, a teacher and guidance counselor in the city's public schools.
Let's start with Jackie DiNardo...you know the TEACHER AND GUIDANCE COUNSELOR for the Danbury School system. Hmm, who else was a teacher at one time in time...
Mayor Mark D. Boughton Bio
Was born February 20, 1964 in Danbury, Mayor Boughton graduated from Danbury High School in 1982 and went on to attend Central Connecticut State University where he received a Bachelor of Science and Education Degree in American History. He went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from Western Connecticut State University. Mark served in the United States Army Reserve from 1983 to 1989 where he achieved the rank of Sergeant. He returned to Danbury High School in 1987 to teach Social Studies, and served as a Member of the Danbury Planning Commission from 1995 to 1998. Mark was elected Mayor for the City of Danbury, Connecticut in November 2001, and re-elected in 2003 and 2005. Mayor Mark D. Boughton is also a member of the Amerigo Vespucci Lodge, Faith Church, The Lions Club, and lives in Danbury with his wife of eleven years, Phyllis.
Okay, now that we have the teacher thing out of the way, lets take a look at Robert DiNardo, Jackie's husband.
Remember, Robert is a police officer...A POLICE OFFICER. His wife is a teacher...A TEACHER. Mark is a former TEACHER and the MAYOR who oversees THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Lets take a look at Robert and Jackie's donation as logged in the October 2003 People over Politics PAC finance report. Note the portion boxed in blue. Now, remember, Boughton received these checks and his campaign has Robert, THE COP's, address listed as 116 Main Street.
Lets take a look at that address... Now, that doesn't look like a place someone LIVES at...it looks like a place someone WORKS at.
Lets recap:
• Robert DiNardo, THE COP, donates 1,000 to Boughton's campaign and SOMEHOW his address is listed as 116 Main Street in Boughton's report although he doesn't live on 116 Main Street. Do you think Robert, Jackie's husband, listed his address as 116 Main Street on HIS check?
• Robert's wife, Jackie, is a TEACHER and GUIDANCE COUNSELOR for the same Danbury school system where Mayor Mark was employed. Wouldn't a mayor, who was a former teacher, know about a POLICE OFFICER who's wife is a TEACHER and GUIDANCE COUNSELOR?
But we're led to believe this...
"We've accepted thousands of donations from thousands of contributors and we assume that the name on the check is the person that donated the money. In fact we send a personal thank you letter to each person," Boughton said. "I was absolutely unaware that there was anything wrong with any donations."
Kevin J. O'Connor, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARIA "Mary" RULLO, age 45, [...] waived indictment and pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to one felony count of filing a false tax return.
According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, RULLO failed to report alimony income on personal tax returns she filed with the Internal Revenue Service. During the course of an investigation, the IRS obtained an affidavit signed by RULLO in 2003 in which she stated she received $40,000 in alimony, an amount that she omitted from her tax return for that year.
RULLO has agreed to pay $34,436 to the IRS for material omissions to her returns filed for the 2001 through 2004 tax years.
Judge Burns has scheduled sentencing for October 19, 2007, at which time RULLO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of three years and a fine of up to $100,000.
RULLO was released on a $25,000 non-surety bond and was ordered not to have any direct or indirect contact with the defendants and witnesses named in United States v. Ianniello, et al, Case Number 3:06cr161(EBB).
The defendant Matthew Ianniello is the 86 year old former acting boss of the Genovese Organized Crime Family. Save for a period of approximately six years in the 1990s when he was incarcerated on racketeering charges, Mr. Ianniello has for decades served the Genovese family well as one of its top "earners." At this late junction in his career, Mr. Ianniello faces in this case a term of incarceration of 24 to 30 months and a fine of $4,000 to $40,000. For the reasons that follow, the government respectfully submits that a sentence at the high end of this range - to be served concurrent to a 15 month sentence recently imposed in another district - is appropriate.
BACKGROUND
On December 20, 2006, the defendant pleaded guilty to Count Two of the Indictment, which charges that he and others engaged in a racketeering conspiracy designed to control Connecticut's refuse industry, and Count Sixty-Two, which charges him with conspiring to defraud the United States Revenue Service (IRS). See 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (Racketeering Conspiracy) and 18 U.S.C. § 371 ("Klein conspiracy"). The defendant faces a maximum term of incarceration of twenty years on Count Two and a maximum term of incarceration of five years on Count Sixty-Two.
In this case, the government conducted eleven months of court-authorized
wiretaps on a number of telephones connected to James Galante, owner of
approximately twenty-nine carting-related entities in southwestern Connecticut. (PSR at ¶ 15) The wiretaps ran from August 2004 to July 2005, at which point law enforcement officials executed over thirty-five search warrants, including searches of Mr. Ianniello's residence and Mr. Galante's office. Agents seized thousands of boxes of documents, including a sheet of paper from Galante's office that listed a series of quarterly payments made by Galante to the defendant between August 2001 and April 2005. The payments stopped after the government executed the aforementioned searches in July 2005.
With respect to the search of Mr. Ianniello's residence, the Connecticut FBI seized approximately $130,680 in cash. In addition to the wiretaps and searches, agents interviewed many witnesses connected to the case.
This Court authorized wiretaps on phones utilized by, among others, Galante, Richard Galietti (Galante's lead salesman), Christopher Rayner (accountant to defendants Milo and Galante), Ciro Viento (Galante's operations manager), and Richard Caccavale (Galante employee).
To date, Viento and Caccavale have pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy charged in Count Two; the other listed defendants await trial.
A 45-year-old New Fairfield woman who once worked at Danbury's Automated Waste Disposal was sentenced to 30 days in federal prison for filing a false tax return.
Senior U.S. District Judge Ellen Burns last Friday ordered Maria "Mary" Rullo, to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on Nov. 20.
"Rullo repeatedly lied to federal investigators," said Tom Carson, for the U. S. Attorney's office.
Rullo came to the attention of the Internal Revenue Service during the federal investigation of AWD owner James Galante. The IRS had been interviewing people about "no-show" employees at AWD.
Prosecutors said Rullo provided false information to the IRS and the FBI while they were investigating her former boss' trash hauling companies in western Connecticut. They also said she improperly received health care benefits and failed to tell federal agents about certain cash transactions she conducted.
Hmm, I wonder what "cash transactions that could be...would one of those transactions have something to do with a certain mayor...
According to prosecutors, Rullo failed to report alimony and other income on personal tax returns she filed with the IRS.
During the investigation, IRS investigators obtained an affidavit signed by Rullo in 2003 that said she received $40,000 in alimony payments that year, an amount she omitted from her tax return.
[...]
Rullo pleaded guilty in July to a one-count felony indictment charging her with filing a false tax return.
U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor said, "This office will vigorously prosecute attempts to defraud the IRS. This case, which included a term of incarceration, indicates that federal courts treat tax fraud as a serious offense that requires appropriate punishment."
Okay, think about it. The FEDS don't go after someone over something as small as tax evasion when the big fish is Galante.
Somewhere at City Hall on thie third floor, someone is really nervous.
Many of you have asked me what ever happened to your mission to have Comcast discipline Tom Bennett and his co-host (and Vice President of Elise "deer in headlights" Marciano's anti-immigrant organization) John McGowan for comments made on the BigT's Talk and Variety show.
Since it's been a while since I've commented on Danbury's biggest bigot, before we update everyone on what has transpired since the last post, here's a recap of what's been reported on this site so far.
The Community Access Producer must adhere to all of the Community Access rules and guidelines stated herein and is responsible for ensuring that the program and the individuals involved in the production adhere to the rules and policies as set forth in this document.
Section E: Program Content: numbers 3-5.
3. No libelous, slanderous or illegal material.
4. No obscene material, sexually explicit conduct, or material soliciting or promoting unlawful conduct.
5. No material which incites violent or harmful acts on other persons.
Page 20: Definition of Obscene or indecent material.
Any material in a program and/or presentation which would subject the producers, suppliers thereof and/or the company to prosecution or penalty under local, state, or federal law for the presentation of obscene or indecent material.
Section K: Violations, penalties, and appeals.
In order to effectively enforce all Community Rules, a penalty system for violations has been established. Violations of the rules will result in restrictions being imposed on Community Access producers who are responsible for the actions of their talent and crew members. Comcast will issue warnings and/or suspensions for either major or minor violations, and will do so verbally and/or in writing stating the nature of the violation and the penalty imposed.
1. Major violations of the rules governing Community Access will result in an immediate 90-day suspension of use of the Community Access facilities.
Now...here's a recap of Bennett violating his contract.
15 year old caller: Excus... Bennett: How would you approve a man sucking another man's p-? How would you approve that?
15 year old caller: Excuse me, excused me, by the way I'm 15 so I appreciate that you don't say those things.
Bennett: Hey I have a doctor right here with me. I'm talking medical terms. I'm talking medical terms here. You called me, I didn't call you.
15 year old caller: That's not medical terms.
Bennett: "penis" is not a medical term? Violation 3, 5/18/07: Obscene material, material soliciting or promoting unlawful conduct, incite violent or harmful acts on other persons: Bennett and co-hosts (including Elise Marciano's anti-immigrant group Vice President John McGowan) call for people to shoot members of the immigrant community.
Now, remember, this is just a small sample of the over-the-top hate-speech Bennett, McGowan, and the coward behind the camera named "Bones" said on the air. During this whole time, Bennett issues a laundry list of racial slurs and threats against me online. Here's a transcript of an exchange I had with the moron on Youtube.
bigtprd As anyone can see and hear, it was a setup by ctblogger. Also I did not call her she called the show telling the screener she was over eighteen. No rules have been broken, all within guidelines and approved. There is a nob called on off they put them on TVs. Ctblogger thank you for our ratings have gone up 30%.
[...] ctblogger 1. Your so-called "screener" never ask for anyone age.
2. I don't have to "set" you up. You have no problem putting your foot in your mouth without my help.
3. She called the show yet it was YOU who used the term "eating" which is inappropriate at any age.
4. There is a contract which Comcast requires you to sign and you choose to ignore.
5. Comcast does not keep ratings.
6. Your disgusting.
[...] TheGeckoNinja isnt the appropriate term "having oral sex"? instead of "eating out"?
[...]
bigtprd Yeah, Oral sex is kewl, But I do so like using eating out, It has more effect, like it is discusting, filthy, shameful, rotten, I could go on.
[...]
bigtprd You really believe I'm racist? well I'm not. Just because an asshole say's it does not mean it's true. Nogger has the skin problem. You just don't want it that way. Because he is black he wants to be Al sharpton. And Knowing that should wake you up.
[...]
bigtprd And nig you don't get it. I don't give a shit ass hole. Your a fucking scumbag that will get his turn. Gee, and I'm being kewl, Not even upset. And your a peice of shit. Now you must think were friends calling me Tom. You slime, you don't know me. Oh, by the way Comcast has many more letters of love the big T then your hate shit. Call Dave he'll tell you, LOL. And your day's also.
[...]
ctblogger No Tom, the only asshole is you and your use of profane, indecent language on Comcast WILL come to an end. The public in Danbury have spoken in force to Comcast and your days on public access will come to an end due to your own fat mouth.
[...]
bigtprd You gonna stop me here to nogger, or is that niglor,
[...]
bigtprd Get it straight moron! We are from from being buddy or buddy's. scare you! why are you in the dark? Hey they can see you. oh, when you smile.
[...]
bigtprd I can only hope that it will happen. I win no matter what. I'm none of what yopu claim you moron. If any of you out here do not use any type of profanty do as you will. The ones that use any type of profanity think before you condem Me. I use profanity in a tasteful way to make a point. Watch on google and then make your own decision. Don't be a follower of evil which ctblogger is.
[...]
ctblogger "I use profanity in a tasteful way to make a point."
Thanks for admitting the obvious...that you use profanity against the rules and regulations of Comcast.
You should stop with the messages while you're ahead..you're digging a hole for yourself.
[...]
bigtprd I have nothing to loose. I can go on for the rest of my life. What do you have? I have done that frigan show and if it is over then so be it. I will go on! And sooner or latter we meet some were, oh well! I get I what I want. And you will get what ever.
[...]
ctblogger And sooner or latter we meet some were, oh well!
Is that suppose to "scare" me or something..too funny.
Keep digging that hole buddy...
[...]
bigtprd You are for Homo's and illegal Immigrants and that is the only reason you are attacking me with lies. Your black and you think that is going to get you somewhere by using your racist bull crap. Let me tell you spook man, it won't. Again I say, I have had 28 wonderful years on our talkshow. If it comes to a stop, oh well, I'll be a happy camper. But, you'll still be black with a attitude towards whites.
[...]
ctblogger "Let me tell you spook man"
-nuff said.
While defending his use of profanity on Comcast, while dishing out the laundry list of racial slurs and threats, Bennett jumps on his television show and continues his foul-mouthed racial rant (I thought the racial slur "spook" went out of fashion in the 60s).
I asked readers to complain to Comcast about the material on Bennett's show on June 13th, the cable company issued the Big(o)T the following written warning:
Knowing that this type of programming was inappropriate for the nine o'clock time slot, and that Bennett would ultimately ignore the warning, during the summer, I went before the cable advisory board and requested that the members deem Bennett's show "adult programming" and move the show from the current time-slot to some time after 10 P.M., which is called the safe harbor zone.
After presenting video clips from Bennett's show, the board agreed that Bennett's show was adult content and advised Comcast to move his show to a later time slot.
After a month, Comcast still allowed Bennett's show to be broadcast at the 9 P.M. time slot. Upon reading on my situation, The Fairfield Weekly did an article on the entire matter and exposed Bennett's hate-speech to the entire state.
Now, that's basically brings us up to date on my post about Bennett. Later, I'll update everyone on what has happened since his live show was pulled, including a slew of insane comments by fellow local access comics Al Bruhn and Lynn Waller, a threat made against my life, the eventual showdown I had with Bennett and McGowan, and my new call for Comcast to enforce their rules and discipline Bennett once and for all.
It's been well over two weeks since the real Pauline Basso, Joel Urice, and Mary Teicholtz was exposed to the public.
Personally, I don't know what's more disgusting, the mere thought of Basso (yikes), the absolute ignorant defense of Basso (complete with claims that the messages weren't racist and linking the whole affair to illegal immigration) from Joel Urice and anti-immigrant cheerleader Lynn Waller, or the deafening silence from the entire Republican leadership.
Keeping a tab on things, the Weekly points out the obvious: The individuals who make up the Republican Party in Danbury are morally corrupt.
The saga of Pauline Basso, the Danbury common councilwoman caught forwarding xenophobic emails, continued last week, with the Democrats chiming in, the NAACP continuing to call for at least a public apology and the Republicans that elected her majority leader doing nothing short of absolutely nothing.
"The overall understanding is that she will never respond," says Minority Leader Thomas Saadi. A week after the Danbury NAACP unveiled the emails, Saado and the rest of the council's Democrats called for Basso to resign and for Mayor Mark Boughton not to appoint Joel Urice (part of her email list) back to his post on the Zoning Commission after "becoming aware that the Republicans were not doing anything to address the situation."
Boughton, continuing his high school?principal approach, set up a sit-down between Basso, Urice and Rev. Ivan Pitts of the Danbury NAACP.
"It was pleasant; she's a very likable person," says Pitts. "It wasn't a hostile meeting or anything. We just talked about how we got to where we are."
On whether education or resignation should end Basso-gate, Pitts says they are one and the same.
"I think if she understood the magnitude of what happened, she would resign," Pitts says of Basso, who slung around Latino caricatures, alarmist rhetoric about Muslims in London and a weird image of an iPod-clutching Ethiopian warrior to friends, neighbors, and political bedfellows.
[...]
We once again called Basso but her voice-mail box was full—probably with all the unreturned messages media outlets left in the two last weeks. We also emailed her, but she's probably skittish around the computer these days.
Council president Joe Cavo also did not return an email requesting comment (again) but he told radio station WLAD that the Republican Town Committee had a "three-hour meeting" about the emails, which apparently culminated in the decision to sit on their butts and do nothing.
Cowards all of them.
Instead of showing any sense of leadership, Joe Cavo takes a cue from his leader and hides in a spiderhole hoping for the whole Basso/Urice/Teicholtz fiasco to blow over.
Isn't it amazing how a little local blog's coverage of the mayor's dishonesty can grab the attention of the ENTIRE mainstream media.
In what will be the a long list of articles on Mr. People over Politics ties to the mob, The Fairfield Weekly delivers what has to be the most damaging story on Mayor Mark's illegal contributions, as well as an analysis of Boughton's LIES excuses.
No wonder you can't seem to find a copy of the Weekly on Main Street anymore...
Sources told the Hartford Courant (the Weekly's papa paper) that Galante gave $8,000 to Boughton's People over Politics PAC in eight separate thousand-dollar donations—a grand being the legal limit for an individual—through friends, family and employees in October 2003, with promises of favors or reimbursement. Boughton told the Courant, "I was absolutely unaware that there was anything wrong with any donations."
People over Politics only received a total of eight donations of $1,000 in that reporting period.
Four checks are from the family of Paul Dinardo, Galante's brother-in-law and a longtime employee of his trash business, who got 21 months in prison in September for conspiracy to inflate hauling prices through extortion and threats. He gave $1,000. So did his father Anthony Dinardo, the father-in-law of James Galante and a resident of Putnam County, N.Y., where Automated Waste's operations stretched. The other Dinardos were Paul's brother Robert, a Danbury police officer, and his wife, Jackie, a teacher and guidance counselor in the city's public schools.
I think this reporter can hear the timebomb tick also...watch as he slices Boughton's twisted logic to shreds.
If People over Politics got $8,000 from Galante, the trash magnate provided about one-third of the $24,287 the PAC raised in 2003 and half of the $15,750 from "individuals," as opposed to business or organizations. The PAC listed $9,750 as its total contributions from individuals from Oct. 24 to Dec. 31, meaning, without that $8,000, People over Politics would have collected $1,750 from actual people. Of the eight $1,000 donations, six arrived on Oct. 26 and the other two on Oct. 23 and Oct. 30.
So no one at People over Politics thought it strange that individuals bolstered their cash stash by $8,000 within eight days, with half of it coming from the heavily Galante-connected Dinardo family in a city like Danbury, where the political and business establishments are small enough that everyone knows everyone? (Boughton certainly knew Galante, who hauled the city's trash and owned its minor-league hockey team.)
Remember how I talked about the mainstream media reading this site...
And as HatCityBLOG pointed out, this was not the first time the same group of people stuffed Boughton's piggybank. Within a five-day period in January 2003, Walkovich, Seri, Paul DiNardo and his wife (Galante's sister) all gave $1,000 to his reelection fund, as did Maria Rullo, of New Fairfield, who pled guilty to tax fraud in July in a case related to United States v. Ianniello, aka Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello of the Genovese family, which has alleged ties to...James Galante.
As for Mayor Mark, he's still peddling the same lame excuse that no one is buying.
"We get thousands of checks from thousands of people and we just wouldn't have any way of knowing something like that is happening."
So Mark wants the voters of Danbury (all of whom have long accused him of having ties to Galante) to believe that eight 1,000 donations coming within days of each other ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS didn't seem the least bit strange.
"I accept donations from businesses and businesspeople and from people who agree with the way I run the city. It's always been that way. The only promise I make upon receiving a donation is good government," Boughton said.
I hope the State Attorney's Office is keeping a track of these whoppers!
I'll say it again, if Boughton wins re-election, keep A CLOSE EYE on who becomes the next Common Council President. That person will be our next mayor...and it won't be by an election.
Southern trees bear strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees.
Pastoral scene of the gallant south, The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth, Scent of magnolias, sweet and fresh, Then the sudden smell of burning flesh.
Here is fruit for the crows to pluck, For the rain to gather, for the wind to suck, For the sun to rot, for the trees to drop, Here is a strange and bitter crop.
The more I look at Mayor Boughton's re-election finance reports, the more I feel like someone is in a bit of serious trouble once the Galante case gets underway.
...in fact, if the last honest man in Danbury wins re-election, everyone should keep an eye on who becomes the next Council President (read the charter and learn about the city's chain in command).
As reader scan over the finance reports and wonder what the hell is going on, writers, such as Stan Smith of the Hartford Courant, are beginning to question the honesty of Mr. "People over Politics."
James Galante doesn't need me to speak for him.
But I'm having a hard time believing that if indeed the Danbury trash magnate funneled $40,000 in illegal political contributions, as the state contends, the recipient politicians had no idea what Galante was up to.
Sen. Louis DeLuca of Woodbury and Sen. David Cappiello and Mayor Mark Boughton of Danbury all say they had no idea - none - that Galante allegedly was funneling his cash their way through employees, friends and relatives.
But bundlers generally aren't exactly shy about letting the political candidate know what they've done for them. The chief bundlers gain clout and access with politicians because they have demonstrated the ability to raise money - the lifeblood of campaigns.
There's actually legal bundling, when people raise money from others; and there's illegal bundling, when contributors are using their own money.
"The whole art of bundling is to make sure you get credit for it," said Andy Sauer, executive director of Common Cause, the community action group. "I am someone who believes that whenever any campaign contributor is trying to gain favor with any elected official, the way they maximize their influence is by bundling."
So, if we're to believe this latest case against Galante, he went to great lengths to contribute to politician campaigns, but never let the public officials know he was hooking them up.
Maybe. But it doesn't pass my smell test.
Hopefully, Stan will have a chit-chat with the other reporters at the Courant who interviewed the SENIOR city employees in July of 2005 who gave the details about the ice rink (while Boughton could not be reached FOR COMMENT).
Galante and employees of his businesses have been generous contributors to Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. Boughton could not be reached Tuesday night for comment.
Some senior city employees, who asked not be identified because they fear retribution, have said the city of Danbury allowed Galante to spend millions to quickly renovate the ice rink to comply with league standards -- but without timely city inspections for code violations. The arena was too small for league standards and needed to be expanded to a capacity of more than 3,000. The city employees said they felt pressured to quickly approve the renovations.
The more people read Boughton's re-election reports, and start to put the pieces together, the more people are questioning the mayor's excuses honesty and wonder if there is more to the Boughton-Galante connection that the public is unaware of.
I heard that while the re-elect Basso signs are coming down, the Basso RESIGN signs are popping up all over the place.
I'll take some photos of the latest lawn signs and report back to everyone later. If you see one of the signs, please let me know and I'll check it out.
UPDATED WITH BOUGHTON'S ENTIRE REPORTS FROM THE 2007 CAMPAIGN CYCLE.
DID BOUGHTON GET ANOTHER BUNDLED ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION FROM GALANTE?
Make sure to match up the names behind the bundled illegal campaign contributions Galante made to Boughton's People over Politics PAC from Oct 2003 with his Re-Election report from April 2003. You'll notice something VERY interesting, which includes one of Boughon's donors who been convicted of tax evasion charges and order to stay from anyone involved in the Galante case.
Do your part and help see how far Boughton's rabbit hole goes.
UPDATE: Tips and pointers are flying into my email box and we're doing everything we can to connect the dots and report back as quickly as possible.
If you're from the media, when emailing me, please include your contact information so I can call you back.
UPDATE 2: Over 800 HatCityBLOG readers have downloaded copies of Boughton's re-election reports. Keep up the great work!
UPDATE 3: Keep the comments and emails coming. Plenty of questionable contributions ranging from a newspaper publisher and developers, to a member of the Democratic Town Committee and wife of a candidate who's running for Constable. Okay, lets do this...
I guess just about everyone wants to take a VERY close look at Mayor Boughton's campaign finances right now. I'm getting bombarded with email requests so instead of emailing people individually, I'm going to make things easy...real easy.
I'm going to use this post as a depository for every one of Mayor Bougthon's campaign finance reports. This will be a work in progress because presenting this information will take a GREAT deal of scanning and uploading.
Take note of any contributions from PACs in 2003 when you're looking over everything. From what I've noticed this far, according to his Re-Elect Mayor Mark finance statement (filed Oct 8 2003) Boughton received a "contribution" from People over Politics PAC in the amount of 2,500 on 09.30.03 (UPDATE: I had the dates mixed up. Galante bundled the money in October and this transaction happened in September).
Also, in Boughton's 01.07.04 statement (period covered 10.22.03-12.31.03) Boughton received a "contribution" from the 24th District Republcian Committee for $250.00. This was Cappiello's PAC, which according to the Courant, he "received 15 checks for $1,000 in October 2002 written by people who received cash reimbursements originating from Galante."
Now, you have to remember, I'm just scratching the surface here and I found these two entries just by glancing two reports real quick. Reading these reports isn't easy and it even gets harder when you look at the individual donations. Basically, you have to know the people who gave donations to Boughton in order to get a clearer picture of what's happening and there are only a few people in Danbury that can connect all the dots (you know who you are).
If you find ANYTHING interesting or worth noting, please share with everyone. You can either email me at hatcityblog@yahoo.com or place a comment (I'll allow anonymous comments for this post if you don't want your identity revealed).
Let's work together to expose the ugly truth.
Boughton acknowledged Friday that one of his political actions committees, People Over Politics, got money from associates of Galante in 2003.
Sources said that eight, $1,000 checks from either Galante employees, friends or associates were donated to People Over Politics on Oct. 26, 2003. Some of them were then reimbursed or told that the donations would help Galante's trash hauling business, which is based in Danbury.
Statement: 2nd Thurs. month Oct. 20th (COLLECTED A MASSIVE AMOUNT OF MONEY DURING THIS PERIOD). Date filed: 10.07.03, Period Covered: 07.01.03-09.30.03 (aprox.)
SPECIAL COMMENT: Out of touch with the reality of the situation
Monday, October 22, 2007 Time: 1:19 PM
It's almost been two weeks since Planning Commission member Joel Urice and Republican Majority Leader Pauline Basso were caught forwarding racist and inappropriate emails, which sparked outrage in Danbury and across the state.
The letters offended members of the African-American, Muslim and Latino communities and exposed the true nature of those who hide their true intentions behind the cloak of "illegal immigration."
Of all those involved in this matter, Joel Urice is by far the most arrogant and shameless and this level of insanity was on full display Friday night. In a rant that hopefully seal his and Pauline Basso's political fate, instead of showing any level of understanding his "jokes" have caused harm among a majority of the community, Urice spews a tirade and criticizes those who brought his ugliness to light.
For people who want an inside look into how irrational anti-immigrant elected officials are need only to watch this clip.
Let's take this step by step and show why people like Urice, Basso, and Lynn Waller are forever damaged by their views on illegal immigration, which blinds them from thinking rationally when it comes to human dignity:
The first words uttered from Urice mouth tells the story:
URICE: We met with "those folks" on Wednesday so I don't want to stir the pot.
Note to the cowboy: A great way to stir the pot is by calling those you consider your critics as THOSE FOLKS. I know it’s rather difficult for you but try to remember that you're living ABOVE the Mason-Dixon line.
Oh, but it gets better...
URICE:I'm sure most of you individuals know here, Pauline Basso has been attacked, to me to a lesser extent, but mainly against Pauline, that she forward emails to friends and neighbors that were "hateful and racist according to the claims and the perpetuation in the News-Times.
The second thing that comes out of Urice's mouth is that HE and BASSO are bring attacked by everyone although it was HE (a former Common Council member) and the REPUBLICAN MAJORITY LEADER who forwarded these disgusting messages to other individuals, including Common Council member Mary Teicholtz..
In other words, Urice is playing the role of victim...and this is AFTER he met with Rev. Pitts the critics he so colorfully calls "those folks."
Are you following this man's logic...lets continue.
URICE: Racism is defined as the belief that race is a primary determining factor in human traits, characteristics and capabilities and inherently, one race is superior to another. That's what racism is.
There were absolutely NOTHING in any of these emails that fall within that definition.
This is a man who fails to recognize the fact that he has a problem when it comes to racial sensitivity...a very serious problem.
Let's take a look at TWO of the most offensive messages and see if we explain to Urice why these images are offensive.
One email forwarded by Basso had the following image:
Now, if this was the 1907 instead of 2007, the image might look something like this:
During the mid 20th century, the image might look something like this:
If this was the late 60s-mid 70s, the image looked like this:
or this:
Thankfully, that company got the message during the 80s and did the right thing...
I’m sure you get the picture BUT in Urice's twisted world, NONE OF THE EMAILS SENT WERE RACIST.
Lets take a look at one of the emails Urice forwarded and the image it contained:
Lets look at similar stereotypical racist images against Mexicans:
"Stereotypical "happy" Mexican.
Stereotypical "fat" Mexican (Image entitled "Why are Mexican babies so fat?"
Outrageous image of a Mexican portrayed as fat, and dirty.
I’m sure you get the picture BUT in Urice's twisted world, NONE OF THE EMAILS SENT WERE RACIST.
Clearly, Urice needs help...unfortunately for him, his rant (and public embarrassment) gets even worse:
URICE: It's [racism] a term that's loosely thrown around now by many people anytime you want to say or do anything that's in opposition what a particular political agenda...like enforcing the laws of the United States.
Now, in attempt to give himself cover, Urice pulls out the illegal immigration card and shamelessly tries to accuse Rev. Pitts, and those who were outraged as people who are pro-illegal immigration.
Unfortunately for Urice, this is NOT the case and he and Waller (a person who was at City Hall during Rev. Pitts' press conference) should know better than to smear a minister.
From my video vault, here's Rev. Pitts answering a question from Emanuela Lima of The Tribuna Newspaper. Lima asked Rev. Pitts' about the images about immigrants and attempted to bait the reverend to comment on the NAACP's stance on illegal immigration. As Rev. Pitts and everyone who attended the presser that were quoted in the media repeatedly stated, this matter had nothing to do with illegal immigration and more to do with HUMAN DIGNITY.
As Rev. Pitts stated, this is not about politics or illegal immigration, it's about elected officials in public office spreading stereotypical racist emails that are hurtful and offensive. Those who attempt to paint this as a pro versus anti-immigration matter are attempting to cloud the entire matter because they have nothing else to stand on.
Based on the emails sent released by the NAACP, the emails were against AFRICAN-AMERICANS, MUSLIMS AS WELL AS LATINOS. The most offensive email was against Muslims and it's so troubling and offensive that I won't publish it on this site because I don't want to contribute to the god-awful way Muslims are portrayed in this city and country (sorry, find it elsewhere). I will say that it paints Muslins as extremists who are only interested in killing Americans and Jews.
Unlike the opinions of the Tribuna, a clear majority of Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos, and a majority of people who called for Basso's resignation in the News-Times poll were deeply offended...but in Waller and Urice's world, it's an illegal immigration thing.
Following me here...okay lets continue:
URICE: Whether or not you think the emails were in poor taste...that's a personal opinion, each person has to decide, and Pauline has apologized for that.
Poor taste is an understatement and Pauline did not offer a PUBLIC APOLOGY to the PUBLIC. She offered a two-paragraph letter, which she had sent to New Hope Baptist Church.
URICE: Having this big press conference...without even giving her the courtesy of a phone call...to me that was just unconscionable, it was unconscionable.
Waller: Since it was accumulated over a series of months.
In other words, Joel's having a hissy fit because he's dirty laundry has been outed to the entire public and like clockwork, Waller agrees. They both say NOTHING about the fact that Basso didn't reach out to Pitts or the VARIOUS OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS WHO RECEIVED THE EMAILS AT THE SAME TIME. Basso didn't meet Rev. Pitts face to face opting instead to chicken out and send a letter that's half-hearted to say the least.
Furthermore, after all the media attention, editorials, and outrage from just about everyone regarding the way Basso, Urice, and Boughton handled the situation, neither Basso or Urice apologized to the public as of this date.
No letter to the editor.
No op/ed
No press release statement.
NO offer of apology from anyone involved in the matter or expression of regret from anyone in a leadership position in the Republican Party. All we have is a REAL quick quote from Mayor Boughton (after the networks packed up and left) and Joe Cavo (who not a complete idiot and sees the writing on the wall), which basically says nothing.
Now here's Urice tearing the scab off the wound:
URICE: I don't think they probably got the answer they wanted from me ...I don't think they'll ever get ever get that answer.
[...]
But for those that want to make somehow those things racist. There the same ones who cry out that you're a racist, you're bigoted, you're divisive anytime you want to say or do anything to enforce the immigration laws of this country...ah, no apology is required and none is forthcoming from me...I just have to retort, don't you understand about the word "illegal."
[...]
If there was anything divisive about the whole thing here, it was making private email public.
Unbelievable...simply un-f'n-believable.
This is by far the most disgusting rant I've ever heard in my life from a clearly disturbed individual who needs sensitivity help.
These are the viewpoints of people who are more upset that their true nature has finally been outed and their bones are out of the closet. Not only do Basso and Urice don't comprehend the severity of their actions, Urice does the unforgivable and attack those who dare criticized him.
The question you have to ask yourself is do you want people with the mindset of Urice and Basso representing you at YOUR City Hall?
The answer is simple and has never been clearer...if you live in Danbury, Joel Urice (who's running for Zoning) Pauline Basso (the majority leader who also forwarded emails) and Mayor Boughton (who once again failed to show true leadership when it really counted) DO NOT DESERVE YOUR VOTE.
Why do I have the impression that the New York Times had Joel Urice, Pauline Basso, Mayor Boughton, the pandering Republican majority, and the screeching xenophobes in mind when they wrote this classic editorial.
Think of America’s greatest historical shames. Most have involved the singling out of groups of people for abuse. Name a distinguishing feature — skin color, religion, nationality, language — and it’s likely that people here have suffered unjustly for it, either through the freelance hatred of citizens or as a matter of official government policy.
We are heading down this road again. The country needs to have a working immigration policy, one that corresponds to economic realities and is based on good sense and fairness. But it doesn’t. It has federal inertia and a rising immigrant tide, and a national mood of frustration and anxiety that is slipping, as it has so many times before, into hatred and fear. Hostility for illegal immigrants falls disproportionately on an entire population of people, documented or not, who speak Spanish and are working-class or poor. By blinding the country to solutions, it has harmed us all.
The evidence can be seen in any state or town that has passed constitutionally dubious laws to deny undocumented immigrants the basics of living, like housing or the right to gather or to seek work. It’s in hot lines for citizens to turn in neighbors. It’s on talk radio and blogs. [...] And it can be heard nearly every night on CNN, in the nativist drumming of Lou Dobbs, for whom immigration is an obsessive cause.
In New York, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has proposed allowing illegal immigrants to earn driver’s licenses. It is a good, practical idea, designed to replace anonymous drivers with registered competent ones. In show after show, Mr. Dobbs has trained his biggest guns on Mr. Spitzer, branding him with puerile epithets like “spoiled, rich-kid brat” and depicting his policy as some sort of sanctuary program for the 9/11 hijackers. Someday there may be a calm debate, in Albany and nationally, about immigrant drivers. But with Mr. Dobbs at the megaphone, for now there is only histrionics and outrage.
Let’s concede an indisputable point: people should not be in the country illegally. But forget about the border for a moment — let’s talk about the 12 million who are already here. What should be done about them?
A. Deport them all.
B. Find out who they are. Distinguish between criminals and people who just want to work. Get them on the books. Make them pay what they owe — not just the income, Social Security, sales and property taxes they already pay, but all their taxes, and a fine. Get a smooth legal flow of immigrants going, and then concentrate on catching and deporting bad people.
C. Catch the few you can, and harass and frighten the rest. Treat the entire group as a de facto class of criminals, and disrupt or shout down anyone or any plan seen as abetting their evildoing.
Forget A. Congress tried a version of B, but it was flattened by outrage.
And so here we are at C. It’s a policy that can’t work; it’s too small-bore, too petty, too narrow. And all the while it’s not working, it can only lead to the festering of hate. Americans are a practical and generous people, with a tolerant streak a mile wide. But there is a combustible strain of nativism in this country, and it takes only a handful of match tossers to ignite it.
The new demagogues are united in their zeal to uproot the illegal population. They do not discriminate between criminals and the much larger group of ambitious strivers. They champion misguided policies, like a mythically airtight border fence and a reckless campaign of home invasions. And they summon the worst of America’s past by treating a hidden group of vulnerable people as an enemy to be hated and vanquished, not as part of a problem to be managed.
• They lie to the public about the city's role in immigration raids that lands the city into a lawsuit, which will probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• They attempt to pass a dangerous policy, which will turn our city into a form of a police state.
• They force out critics of their point of view (e.g, Maria-Cinta Lowe) and strip organizations of city funding (Hispanic Center) because they DARE criticize the mayor's policy.
• They pander and give cover to an anti-immigration group that terrorize members of the immigrant community.
A reader sends me a sign coming to a lawn near you...
It's one day from TWO WEEKS since the racially insensitive, anti-immigrant, and outright ignorance of Republicans Pauline Basso and Joel Urice has been exposed to the public and to this date:
1. Pauline Basso has offered NO apology to the public for her actions and a half-hearted two paragraph to NAACP President Rev. Ivon Pitts.
2. Pauline Basso has only offered this flippant statement to the press.
"I really have nothing to say...I sent an apology and that's it."
3. "Cowboy" Urice thinks the whole thing is a "joke" and offered this boneheaded response to the News-Times Brian Koonz that only inflamed the level of outrage.
I just thought that it was funny," said Urice, an outspoken opponent of illegal immigration. "There was nothing intended about anything.
"I am definitely a believer in law and order," he said. "Once again, these people are a burden on our tax system and we're forced to pay for them. It was in no way a racial slur."
Of course, Urice's "these people" remark speaks louder than any denial.
4. Our mayor, the last honest man in Danbury and leader of the seventh largest city in Connecticut, was too afraid to take questions from the networks, refuse to return calls from the networks, didn't give the impression that he took the matter seriously when first informed, didn't make a public statement condemning Basso's actions at this month's Common Council meeting, AND is attempting to distance himself from the matter by playing the role of "The Mediator."
and most importantly...
5. Mary Teicholtz, the other Common Council member who received the emails, did NOTHING in terms of expressing any sense of disapproval over the letters to Basso actions NOR did she tell Basso to stop sending her the emails.
There have been some new developments including a call for a boycott of the Tribuna Newspaper (story developing) and reports of Basso being up to her old tricks and spreading "jokes" to people at a dedication over the weekend.
I personally know of at least 20 letters to the editor from outraged residents and organizations, which were sent to the News-Times.
Although this is not one of those letters, expect a long flow of comments blasting Urice Basso and Boughton's reaction to the whole episode over the next two weeks.
[...]
As a Danbury resident of the past 41 years and a former member of the Danbury Common Council, I would like to congratulate the Rev. Ivan Pitts for leading the charge in bringing this despicable substance to the vanguard.
It's regrettable that such unintelligent maneuvers by a skimpy array of Danbury politicians conjure up such an undeserving negative public image of Danbury's ethnic posture. It's offensive and humiliating for the residents of Danbury to endure the unnecessary pain engineered by scruffy and self-serving city officials.
Obviously, Pauline Basso's and Joel Urice's erratic political behavior betrays the confidence and public trust of Danbury's voters.
By virtue of that very fact, neither Basso nor Urice deserve the honor of being elected on Nov. 6.
Beverly B. Johnson
DANBURY
Bravo!
Don't let Basso Urice, TEICHOLTZ, or the lack of leadership from Mark Boughton off the hook. Each are equally responsible for this mess (Basso, Urice, and Teicholtz for their role in the matter and Boughton for lack of leadership) and don't deserve your respect or your vote.
If the response to the keynote NAACP speech and feedback I'm receiving from people I talked this weekend are any indication, I think it's safe to say that people are extremely angry at the Grand Ole Party right now. If you're angry now, wait till you see the comments from arrogant Urice and the always shameless Lynn Waller.
NOTE: Although I have no problem receiving your comments of outrage, if you really want to be heard, I encourage you to send your anger to the News-Times.
News-Times mailing address The News-Times 333 Main Street Danbury, CT 06810
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
