My ears hurt. The drum-splitting sound system at Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday night was a Cheap Trick that led to Heart burn and a quick Journey out the door. First time I’ve ever been mugged by speakers.
It sucked missing Nancy Wilson croon “These Dreams.” By the time her sister Ann was done distorting Magic Man there weren’t enough plugs in the world to sooth the split.
I tried yelling at arena officials, but I couldn’t hear myself. Relying on my keen sense for lip reading, the arena people mimed brilliantly, “It’s not us, it’s the sound people.”
Mo, could you please hook a bucket to my ear to catch the pus? My wife declared the only sensible thing under the circumstances. “What?”
All the way home it was “What?”
Some of you last night must have been saying “What?” I asked my webmaster to keep a close watch on things during my absence. Some reader comments were getting way over the top. He temporarily idled some postings, including a few charter members of OIB, to sort through the exchanges. I understand Yahooy dropped an F bomb on him. (My webmaster’s in good company.) Yahooy’s not the problem. It’s others we’re keeping an eye on.
So, on to the real world! What’s going on? It’s been one week since Tsunami Tuesday: Bob Keeley, the longest serving legislator in city history, is a lame duck. The woman who defeated him Auden Grogins is recovering from a victory that attracted statewide coverage.
All the other frontrunners won, although Democrat Anthony Musto, state senate nominee, had a close encounter with Marilyn Moore. It’s on to the general election. When will the charges and counter charges between Jim Himes and Chris Shays begin? What about the matchup between Musto and Republican State Senator Rob Russo?
Will any of the candidates get dragged into the fight between Mayor Bill Finch and municipal unions over contract negotiations and overtime issues? Who’s got the upper hand, Finch or unions?
Why wait until the last minute to debate the issues? After all, we’re OIB, we debate all the time. Hey, I think my hearing just came back!
Lennie your cousin fell asleep at the helm another exxon valdez I had a very truthful post but he threw the baby out with the wash. And stop kissing up to Yahooy he is also one of problems dropping F bombs as you call it on anybody who doesn’t agree with his hundreds of opinions. Advice to him (advice not opinion) stick to what you do best because even then we screw up. Remember opinions are like a–holes everyone’s got one, some have more than others.
Anyone who owns a business knows that Over Time is a two-edged sword. If business is so good that current staffing levels can’t get all the product out the door in a timely manner, then OT is a good thing. A lot of businesses experience a temporary surge in work orders. It would not be feasible to hire additional staff to meet production demands that aren’t steady. If, however, OT is being paid just to meet regular work loads, then there is a problem. That problem may start with dumb management. Of course, cleverly written union contracts could make it impossible for an entity to meet routine levels of production without OT. I think municipal unions are quite good at ensuring huge amounts of OT especially to those who are front-loading pay levels anticipating retirement benefit calculations. Hmm…that’s probably why the bulk of the police OT seems to have gone to the supervisors. I wonder why the PD, if they are experiencing a shortage of supervisory patrol staff, doesn’t reinstitute the “acting” designation. The so called “acting sergeant or acting lieutenant” is paid the rate for the rank while in acting status. It’s a hell (whoops…I said the “H” word…sorry Ray) of a lot cheaper than paying some Bozo huge amounts of OT. (Ray…is Bozo an OK word?). I think the PD is orchestrating a fleecing of the city, again, to the advantage of the few over the well being of we the public. The OT bandits are salivating over prospects of hugely inflated pension benefits that will cripple our city for years.
Now…on to matters that really piss me off.
You want to turn this blog into The Weekly Reader, keep CENSORING the posts. There are a significant number of vulgar and really stupid people whose attempts at clever four letter word repartee falls short. There are also a more significant number of people who create compelling dialog and stimulate thought. Both compose the true value of this blog. Do what you think is best. But, I assure you, a lot will be lost with your censoriship according to your set of standards.
Badboy
Perhaps you should consider the suppositorial qualities of your last post.
Hey it took you 8 mins. to get witty and get around Ray.
[note from Ray: Remember, I said I was enforcing civility. Yahooy’s comment is certainly civil.]
Yahooy: just an informational thing. The Police and Fire Pension contracts are not based on your final 3 years. The pensions are based on your base salary and number of years of service. Under the 20-and-out contract if you put in 20 years you could retire at 50%, every year after you got 2 1/2% for a max of 70% after 30 years. This money came from the general fund.
Under the new contract it is 25 years at 50% and 2% for each year after that. This pension is fully funded and self-sustaining and still is based on base salary not the total you earned with OT.
I haven’t read any of the posts from the offending parties, so I’m out of the loop on that one. This is no place for individuals to carry out personal arguments and petty feuds. I’m no angel, but have ceased this type of blogging. Let’s leave the flame jobs to the Yahoo communities and the auto-body detailing shops.
wondering–thank you for your last post … you beat me to the punch. Finally some actual FACTS regarding police and fire pensions.
yahooy … wondering has shed some light on the facts relating to police and fire pensions … overtime does not have any impact on them whatsoever … they are based solely on base salary at your time of retirement. As far as acting goes, that’s a whole other story … gotta run … will comment on that later.
BPD and BFD pension funds are are fully funded and “self-sustaining”??? Doesn’t cost the taxpayer a penny???
Ray…are you going to censor this feces of the male cow?
The cops picketed Finch’s golf tourney because he suggested that police officers take an unpaid furlough so that the city could shrink its budget deficit. At least, that’s what I read in the Post. Other than Hizzoner, very few municipal employees are taking the furlough option. I doubt Mayor Finch was really giving much serious thought to having city employees work for free. This is just a strategy. It catches people’s attention, no? It’s a way to put pressure on department heads to tighten belts and make departmental cuts so that the city can meet its payroll, provide for public safety (police, fire department), etc. Are Bridgeport’s finest overpaid? I dunno. I’ve heard from several active members of the department that claim police officers in Bridgeport are underpaid compared to their colleagues in the surrounding communities. BPD has a history of corruption and violence. There are probably a few cowboys on the drug squad and assigned duty on the east side and the housing projects. I’m not condoning violent behavior on anyone’s part. Assaulting anyone lessens everyone. On the other hand, look at the assignments some of BPD’s rank and file have to work.
Bridgeport Cops and Firemen are certainly not overpaid for the work that they have to do. Those who rely on 2nd jobs known as OT are overpaid. Like I said in my earlier post excessive OT is a clear indication of incompetent executive management or lopsided union agreements. I haven’t heard the members of Local yada yada yada comment on that issue. What say you…brothers?
yahooy … that is correct, the pension plans are fully funded and self-sustaining … in theory. The city is on the hook for any shortfalls in the pension caused in part by early retirements, disabilities etc. This is indeed the way it is structured and by all means don’t take my word for it … look it up. The city desperately needs to ramp up its screening process for candidates in both the police and fire departments. Way too many recruits being hired at advanced ages, some with pre-existing medical conditions. This increases the likelihood of the pensions plans being upside down due to disability pensions and early retirements. It’s really not rocket science … but Bridgeport just can’t seem to get it right.
yahooy–Overtime can actually be a cost-saver for the city. Part of the problem with hiring new recruits to avoid paying overtime is the related costs beyond salaries … namely health insurance. Overtime is a one-time cost being paid to someone who is already insured, when you hire to avoid that OT you now must insure a new employee thereby increasing your long-term exposure on the health insurance end. One can make a reasonable argument that, to a point, it is cost-effective to pay overtime rather than hire new employees. Of course there is a threshold where it makes sense to hire and it is up to the city to determine where that threshold is.
I am sick of the city using the same old scapegoat of police and fire overtime as a smokescreen for their own fiscal irresponsibility.
As far as lopsided union agreements go … You bet your sweet a** they are lopsided … in favor of the city. Both the police and fire departments are among the lowest paid in the state in the respective professions … each with some of the heaviest workloads … lopsided … you betcha!
So…because of the hiring practices of engaging the infirmed, the pension plans for the BFD and the BPD are not fully funded and self-sustaining at this time.
One more question. In order to be fully funded, the pension has to be infused with cash each year. Is there some benevolent pixie out there we don’t know about or does the annual cash infusion come from the taxpayers. Or maybe it’s like social security. The emplyee pays nearly 7% of the 1st $100k and the employer matches it. Does the BFD and BPD pension funding pretty much follow the way of social security?
“Yahooy- Overtime can actually be a cost saver for the city. ”
Come on, Ray! You have got to censor this.
#13
Lowest paid in the state???
$100,000.00 per year plus overtime, plus medical benefits for the family, plus pension benefits.
What are you smoking and drinking, you must have had fun in the ’60s.
Yahooy telling Bad Boy to “consider the suppositorial qualities” of his last post. That’s a classic. I’ve been chuckling all morning.
Wondering:
I’ve read your comment (#5) several times trying to glean a good understanding of it. I believe you’re saying that under the current contract the retirement money comes “from the general fund”. Whose “general fund” are you referring to? Who contributes to that fund and in what percentages?
You then indicate that under the proposed plan “This pension is fully funded and self sustaining”. Once again, who is funding this fund and how is it self sustaining?
Bridgeport Kid:
You indicate that Bridgeport cops “are underpaid compared to their colleagues in the surrounding communities.” Are you sure of what you’re saying and do you have salary scales to prove your point? If they are underpaid why have they sought employment here in Bridgeport? Do they relish the challenge or are they not sufficiently qualified to take a position in a neighboring community where they would be better paid?
Perhaps it’s time that a single policy apply to ALL city employees in so far as “pension” is concerned. Heretofore, I have been led to believe that the Police and Fire Departments as well as other City employees consider OT as part of the formula in ascertaining “pension” but Wondering has shattered that concept.
Having read the Budget for the fiscal year 2006-2007 (not the current one) I noticed that there was an entry of $68,000,000 in bonding to support the pension fund. My understanding is that we, the taxpayers, owe the pension fund that amount. I don’t have any idea what the current bonding debt is, but I can tell you that at some point in time “the chickens are going to come home to roost” which is a frightening thought.
Once again I say, God help Bridgeport’s taxpayers.
Patrolmen/women and Firefighters are not making $100k. Upper management may, but those are a few individuals, probably the same responsible for the lopsided funding of said department. If you want to throw out big numbers, let’s see the bigger numbers from New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, etc. Don’t live in a vacuum, back it up with facts.
Look at how the Overtime budget was originally calculated. Look at what activities that budget covers, and look at how that same budget is funded. Fuzzy math.
Take the Arena and Harboryard for example. This would be called “Outside Overtime”. Why? Because it does not fall under the daily running of the department, and it can not be accurately calculated, because you do not know how many bodies are needed for X number of events/activities. Just like a police road job or a firewatch. The City, in its infinite wisdom, pays the officer/firefighter from the department Overtime budget. The City then turns around and bills the outside agency (at a premium) – Arena, UI, ABC Construction, etc. When the City collects that money, does it go back into the Overtime budget?
Nope.
So. The more events at the Arena, the more new construction that goes on, they all need resources from the PD and FD. Should be a winner, right? Nope. It will CRIPPLE the City. Why? The money does not go back and pay for the Overtime paid out from the PD/FD budgets – it goes to the General Fund. Hence, OVERTIME IS KILLING THE CITY.
Follow the dollars. Think about it, do some research. Then tell me I’m wrong.
Con – There are some “Unfunded” pensions in the City. Thankfully, they are older pensions, with few active employees, and each year, those on those plans move on to greener pastures. The “newer” pensions are funded. The City pays a nominal amount, and the employee pays the majority. Understand that these pensions are designed to have an employee live a happy and healthy life, and pay in for their full term (ie 25 years). When the City has less than stellar hiring practices, these pensions become very vulnerable. The City is required to keep the pensions solvent. When too many employees leave early, and begin to draw from the pension, a larger annual contribution is required. The employees pay in a fixed percentage, so their contribution only goes up if they get a raise. The City is required to make sure it is (I think) 110% funded, so they reap what they sow, unfortunately if too many people are able to pension off early.
Now, don’t feel too sorry for the City and vilify the employee here on the payment end. When the market does well, the pensions do well, and the City doesn’t pay – the employee will continue to.
It is VERY important to look at who you hire, just like any other business. Why hire a 50+ year old when the pension is designed to go 25 years? 75 year old PD and FD employees? You figure it out.
Currently there is $52 million in the FD pension fund down from $57 million due to the drop in the market. This money is from the firefighters that came on the job after 1978. If I am not mistaken the firefighters contribute 8% of their salary including OT to this fund.
The pension money that comes from the general fund is for retired members who came on pre-1978. This money steadily drops as members die off.
The problem with the present hiring practices for Police & Fire is that civil service refuses to set a cap on the age limit of its candidates. Setting an age limit in Public Safety is allowable under Federal Law. Putting candidates on that are in their 40’s and 50’s is a recipe for failure as it relates to the pension program.
There are more than a few individuals that have chosen a career in law enforcement that want to get on the Bridgeport police force. It is a professional feather in their cap, a good reference on the resume. Things have changed for the better in Bridgeport over the past ten or fifteen years but it is still a rough-and-tumble place, and provides more than a few opportunities for public safety professionals to learn their trade. There will always be a few bad apples in any profession that make their colleagues look bad. That’s a fact of life not peculiar to law enforcement–think of all the crooks that caused the savings and loan scandal back in the ’80s.
With regards to Yahooy’s post, I think that one can sometimes see his opinions leading to snowballing with Chris Caruso. This “snowballing” between Caruso and Yahooy is simply the forces of nature acting between these two personalities. Now one can throw around personal (and impersonal) insults along this axis or the chode in between Caruso and Yahooy but one must try and distance themselves from the imagery of those things that come out of Yahooy’s mouth. Likewise one must do the same with those things that come from Caruso’s own chode.
Scott N.
Nice try. You’re still an illiterate schmuck.
Wondering // Aug 18, 2008 at 8:50 am #5
“Wondering” A few corrections on your posting
The pensions are based on your base salary and number of years of service. Under the 20-and-out contract if you put in 20 years you could retire at 50%, every year after you got 2 1/2% for a max of 75% (not 70%) after 30 years. This money came from the general fund.
Wondering // Aug 18, 2008 at 11:47 am #21
If I am not mistaken the firefighters contribute 6% (not 8%) of their salary including OT to this fund.
Finally, you are wrong about “Putting candidates on that are in their 40’s and 50’s is a recipe for failure as it relates to the pension program,” because those pensions do not come out of the general fund.
Ron Mackey – Finally, you are wrong about “Putting candidates on that are in their 40’s and 50’s is a recipe for failure as it relates to the pension program,” because those pensions do not come out of the general fund.
I would respectfully have to disagree with this comment. The “new” pensions, if they fall into a state of underfunding, require an increase in the City contribution.
HereWeGo // Aug 18, 2008 at 1:34 pm wrote
The “new” pensions, if they fall into a state of underfunding, require an increase in the City contribution.
You are correct with your assessment but both the Bridgeport Police and Fire Departments have the advantage of having a large number of junior employees who will not be retiring for years which gives the city time. Also, those pensions that will be paid those new retireees will come from private pension fund investments and not from the City of Bridgeport’s general fund.
Ron thanks for the corrections. Memory is gone. I am not wrong when I say if you keep putting people on in their 40’s & 50’s it is a recipe for trouble with the funded pension system. Most of the people entering at that late age will not make 25 years and in all probability will be going off with less than 25 years. It happened on the FD and I am sure it happened on the PD.
Ron there is no reason to put people in their 40’s and 50’s on these jobs. You know these are young men’s jobs.
Except there are age discrimination laws.
Aboost When it comes to Public safety for police and Fire they are exempt from those laws and allowed to set a maximum entry level age limit.
Well, we could fix the municipal budget deficit by doing away with the police and fire departments. Really, what’s a few drug sales and burning buildings?
Seriously, rank-and-file police officers and firefighters are repesented by unions. Organized labor is rather loathe to give up benefits, health insurance and pension plans, things like that. The pension fund ought to be managed by financial services professionals. They would be able to increase return on invested monies and lower the state’s and the city’s contributions to the fund. And there ought to be an age cap for new hires. This is a restriction that could be grandfathered in.
Is anyone from City Hall or Norwood’s office reading this?
Lets face it, the city’s civil service, labor relations, human resources, contract negotiations, etc. all need to be revamped & brought into the 21st century! Maybe all the above depts. consolidated & streamlined as one, under one roof so to speak. Also the city charter needs to be brought up to speed and many of the old ways of doing business with the unions as well! Many regulations or city ordinances were writen back in the 1940’s or older! This is part of the reason for many of the city’s lack of promotional tests, old job descriptions, hiring practices, etc. Also instead of always starting with cuts across the board affecting the lower paying workers, the city should “start” with the top Admin. salary workers. You lead & show strength by example first, then it becomes easier to ask the rest to follow suit. And of course, the city would be better off as a “separate” legislative body away from the Bpt. B.O.E.; with its “own separate” budget. And of course the “same” for the B.O.E. as well! Maybe then, areas that are being mismanaged can be easily identified & corrected. Also in ending, the larger the group the less expensive universal health & dental benefits are, so in this aspect both the city & B.O.E. are better off negotiating together on health care issues if possible?
I’m surprised. All of these comments on the pensions by people who should know, yet most of the comments are rebutted and responded to with “Thanks for the clarification.” No wonder the city is in such bad shape. Is there anyone in city government that really knows what’s going on?
Lennie:
Next time try pressing the palms of your hands on each ear. If that doesn’t work, take the fingers and stick it in your ears.
Joel
Too bad your 2nd suggestion to Lennie wouldn’t work for you.
Here We Go:
“Take the Arena and Harboryard for example. This would be called “Outside Overtime”. Why? Because it does not fall under the daily running of the department, and it can not be accurately calculated, because you do not know how many bodies are needed for X number of events/activities.” Blah, blah, blah…
There is Inside Overtime and Outside Overtime. They are both funded via the General fund. Outside Overtime brings revenue to the city. Contractors pay the city $49 an hour, from which the officers get $36 with the remaining going to the city. Harboryard is the area where the Bluefish stadium and the Arena are located. Police coverage cost for the Bluefish and Arena events are paid with “Inside Overtime” funds and are not re-embursed by the Arena events or Bluefish owners. The city does have calculated estimates of the cost of policing the Harboryard events and these costs are taken into consideration when the city sets the overtime budget for the police. No one can predict if the overtime budget is sufficient (it can be managed) and one example is when there was a man that barricaded himself in his home and the Police spent 24 hours there. Imagine if the Bluefish played (home games) year round and the Arena had events scheduled 7 days a week. How can the mayor ask City employees to give up vacation time and agree to no raises and NOT ask or insist that the Bluefish and the Arena events owners pay their share and start to cover the cost of policing their businesses.
Toaday I got word that the Police Department disbanded the traffic division. Gentlemen, start your engines!
Yahooy:
What?
The Police department has clearly done a half-assed job now that they have this union issue. Look at all of the crimes that have been happening in BPT.
It’s funny that the union is scoffing at the NET Team. I think it’s because they are losing out on their shakedown $$.
Joel, you don’t post anymore during the wee hours of the morning. You must be getting some sleep, maybe that’s why your postings seem to be more normal. By the way – Harbor Yard is 2 words – not Harboryard like you wrote it (gotcha)!!!
crystal balls, you are right on about cheaters, they are just plain dishonest. Once a cheater and a liar, always a cheater and a liar. It never stops once it starts.
At the risk of sounding like a Finch groupie, does anyone think that Red Rooster Gomes and his new CitiStat will address any of these issues? CitiStat is supposed to expose mismanagement, overspending, excessive overtime, etc. Gomes and his staff are new positions in the budget and Finch has taken a lot of heat for them but if they can increase efficiency and cut spending then they are worth their weight in gold.
I did catch Badboy’s postings yesterday. But when I went back a few minutes later to read them to my wife, they were gone. Badboy, I think you should re-post your comments about the transfer station supervsior without using any expletives or sexual innuendos. You had some good information that should be shared.
And Bugsy, why do you refer to that “Tony Fellow” as if you don’t know him and then you ramble on about the “abundance of support” he has? Where is his support and who besides you has any respect at all for him? There are at least 20 guys at sanitation, workers and foremen, who can tell you a thing or 2 about your boyfriend both on a professional and personal level. Men who steal and lie once will steal and lie again. And men who cheat on their wives also cheat on their girlfriends.
Regarding Yahooy’s comments:
So right…So often…so amazing!
Contracts and pensions? They are NEGOTIATED agreements between two (or more) parties. Unfortunately, the city has yet to demonstrate the ability to craft agreements that benefit the workers AND the taxpayers.
This isn’t rocket science. But it does require cooperative/good faith efforts, common sense and applied intelligence by the parties involved.
More importantly, it requires enlightened LEADERSHIP from the top to balance the interests and priorities of multiple constituencies.
If businesses can create positive workplace solutions in unionized environments, why can’t the city?
Bruce Hubler–I am not so sure about your yahooy being so right … so often … or so amazing for that matter … lol. As it relates to contracts and pensions, you are right, they are negotiated items between two parties and it has been my experience in negotiating with the city there is very little good faith, even less common sense and absolutely no applied intelligence.
As far as enlightened leadership goes … you could forget it. The people running this city are much more concerned with politics than good responsible government. They are, in my humble opinion, ill-equipped to be running a city this size and it is evident day in and day out.
Unions in this city are brought to the table in a less than timely fashion and told to expect no raises, increased insurance cost shares and other various cuts (staffing, etc.) and are pretty much forced to arbitrate each and every contract at great expense to the taxpayers. There is no good faith attempt made by the city and it fosters a very combative and contentious relationship between the city and the various unions … it’s a real mess. I am not willing to say it’s a lost cause but in order for the culture to change the city really does need to do a better job in terms of labor relations.
Before the city goes to its union employees asking for (i.e. demanding) concessions it must have already demonstrated a commitment to change. A commitment to fiscal responsibility and sound management practices, an openness to new ideas (new to Bridgeport anyway). Call the union leadership in and try to look for ways to save cooperatively … work together for once … what a breath of fresh air that would be … of course there will have to be some give and take but isn’t that what negotiations all come down to anyway?
By agreeing to any concessions otherwise the unions would be further enabling the city to continue down the wrong path without addressing the real problems.
Crystal Balls:
Again you bring up this Tony Fella. WHAT is your obsession with this guy where you have to continue your personal attack?
You claim he is a liar and a cheat! You must be one of the sanitation guys who maybe don’t respect him for reasons of him doing his job! Or maybe you’re that guy who likes to steal the scrap metal who this Tony fella has caught on numerous occasions. Maybe you are one of those worker’s compensation abusers who couldn’t pull a fast one by Tony.
When you have a position like this Tony Fella, obviously some employees aren’t going to like you!
Since you started blogging you have attacked everyone from Mayor Finch, Larry Osborne, Tony’s Superiors, Tony’s Co-workers, who have challenged a certain person for a certain spot in a union, and of course Tony himself.
If this doesn’t reveal your true identity then I don’t know what does!
As far as I am concerned, your post clearly illustrates this Tony Fella as doing his job and doing it well, along with the others I have mentioned!
You are a disgruntled worker who can’t win your personal attacks on this Tony Fella, his co-workers (friends), or his management team, so pls do us all a favor, and give it up.
Tony will be back, and he will do his job as he has before. Get over it, you lost and he won! Again, his work speaks for itself, not your big mouth or your ignorance!
Now I for one will LOL and continue to watch you hang yourself!
Yesterday I posted the true story of Tony fella but it was deleted during the purge. Here we go again. Just when you think it’s safe to go back in the dangerous city of Bpt water Tony fella is attempting a comeback. Bugsy speaks as if he doesn’t know Tony fella but he knows that people are envious of him because he has beautiful cars, motorcycles and money in the bank. All which he got from his city salary plus the stolen OT money. There is more to where he got the money for all these goodies. Tony fella was making side deals with two garbage haulers. They would bring in out-of-town garbage and Tony would bury the tickets for the loads which were numbered; when fellow employees questioned his practice he said mind your business. The two garbage men one the son of a known mobster and the other a Knowlton St. hauler which was caught by dtc man at the transfer station when his driver admitted he was hauling garbage from Trumbull into Bpt. Also last year during bulk pickup the same hauler was stopped because he was supposed to be hauling bulk trash but it was bags of Trumbull trash with receipts from Trumbull business. They were getting paid with FEDERAL funds which makes what doing a federal offense, misuse of federal funds. Stay with me now. Fabrizi, Estrada, B Kennedy and Larry O were told what he was doing. HE was warned by Fabrizi and Estrada that he was being watched to be careful. Also he was stealing OT pay, coming into work late on Saturdays on his motorcycle leaving on his hog and putting in for the overtime the whole day which was proven. Now it brings us to the last few days he has been bragging that he is coming back from his paid summer suspension or vacation whichever he chooses to call it, because someone in employee relations is taking the word of his former boss the same G. Estrada who warned him he was being watched last year. Mind you he was caught this year red-handed by the dtc man. What power does this former city off. have to get involved in this investigation. He says he will testify for Tony fella, I say let him testify in court and perjure himself when the F.B.I. asks him if was told of Tony fella’s bad habits and he only warned him to watch it he was being watched. What auth. does Larry O have to ignore all the testimony of all the city employees who testified as to what Tony fella was doing because of EX CITY OFFICIAL’S word. Well bring it on let’s see what a court and the residents of BPT. think of a common thief just like Ganim and Newton have in common. disdain for the law and the citizens of BPT who don’t deserve this. So you may ask how does Tony fella have all these beautiful cars, motorcycles and money in the bank. Well at the expense of the taxpayer of course what else are we here for. So city of BRIDGEPORT have you had enough of the thieves or do want more of business as usual. Ask Larry O why. Mayor FINCH this is your watch!!! MY last posting I’m too broken to see this happen to the city I LOVE.
Crystal Balls,
I am wondering why you keep attacking this Tony fellow. What has he done to you for you to keep attacking him both personally and professionally? You are out of line and out of control. You need to let it go! It doesn’t matter what you continue to say about him or his character, because at the end of the day he has more support than you will ever have.
By the way, a word or two of advice for you and other bloggers. All the vicious attacks being made against him are being investigated and appropriate action is being considered.
Then let’s see who will be LOL, or should I say “All the Way to the BANK!!!
Badboy:
You seem to make a lot of accusations. Problem I have with this is This Tony fella does not sit at the line and witness what is coming in. Now I am sure you might know who that person is, don’t you?
I would be very careful about what you are saying, because I personally think you have just really hung yourself, with identifying who it is that started this B.S. to begin with. I am sure everyone else knows as well.
NOW, your posting really has me on the floor lmao! Amazing how some of these bloggers are so good @ changing their screen names to try and hide their true identity
Trailblazer:
WOW Another Tony supporter! LOL
Look at Badboy’s comments, and tell me, another discruntled worker trying to settle a score, ya think?
Ya gotta hope maybe Labor Relations will involve themselves and investigate who Badboy is and bring him to justice. With those remarks, I can only think of one person who would be responsible!
If you haven’t noticed, everyone he mentioned is or was in a leadership role, who have done very good jobs for the city and its residents.
Again, I say give them enough rope and they will hang themselves!
Bugsy;
I am a Tony supporter and will continue to be one. I have to agree with you, it does sound like a disgruntled employee who is trying to settle a score; however, I can see that this worker will be the loser in all this.
I can tell you that the comments and attacks against Tony are being investigated and I will be LOL when all is said and done.
Sounds to me like they are trying to cover their own guilty asses by making false accusations about Tony. It didn’t work did it! Imfao!!!
I can only say that “Every Dog Has It’s Day!”
Lennie and Ray;
I think it’s time to monitor some of these postings!
BadBoy,
I couldn’t help but notice the difference in your writing styles! Someone’s been helping you because your posting last night (early morning) could have used a proofreader and someone with writing skills too!
Thank you Bruce Hubler.
Your continued confidence in my opinions and observations earns you a coveted lifetime exemption from Philistine of the Week.
All the postings that have crossed these pages about Tony D need to be put to bed. If he did what they claim he did then the question becomes, “Why hasn’t he been arrested?” In reading the newspapers and reading the blog and having no direct knowledge of these charges, I would think it would be in the city’s best interest to complete whatever investigation they are doing and resolve this issue one way or another.
I am not interested in Tony D’s personal life; I am only interested in how this makes the city look.
These charges are not that complicated and the investigation should have been completed already. After all, this is not complicated and they are not investigating something as complicated as the savings and loan scandal.
For all concerned let’s get it done. Leaving a person hanging under a cloud of guilt with no charges is wrong for all concerned.