Let me get this straight, the cops are pinching guys over fallen street signs? Horseshit. From the CT Post:
While city was struggling to recover from a devastating storm, police said the mayor’s son, Peter Finch, grabbed a fallen street sign, tucked it under his arm and walked with it into a local bar.
“It’s just unbelievable,” said Police Lt. Thomas Lula, head of the Police Department’s Strategic Enforcement Unit “Everyone’s out clearing trees, cleaning up and he stops to get a souvenir.”
Finch, 28, of West Parkway, was charged with sixth-degree larceny. He was released on a promise to appear in court.
He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
According to Lula, at about 6 p.m., a half hour after Mayor Bill Finch’s city-wide curfew went into effect, Peter Finch took the “Broad Street” sign from a fallen pole at the corner of Cesar Batalla Way and Broad Street, tucked it under his arm and walked with it to Murphy’s Law on Fairfield Avenue.
“Officers saw him walking with the sign and then go into the bar,” Lula said. He continued that officers Frank Cuccaro and Frank Delbuono went into the bar and issued Finch the summons.
“He claimed he was going to turn it in to his father,” Lula said. “But he walked past a half-dozen public works trucks that he could have turned it in to on his way to the bar.”
“It’s just unbelievable,”according to Police Lt. Thomas Lula. The cops have nothing better to do but to pinch someone with a souvenir? Lula is in la-la land. What’s this about? Is this about police work? Or is it about the mayor wanting union concessions? The words “It’s just unbelievable” smack of a cop sticking up for his buddies rather than good police work. So now cops are pinching guys for picking up a street sign after a storm? Is this the same Frank Cuccaro, the former police union president? Yes. If this was anyone else beyond a member of the mayor’s family the cops would have ignored it. This is not about police work. It’s all about punishing the mayor for trying to squeeze givebacks.
Mr. Barnum Takes It On Chin
The Jenny Lind concert was canceled last night. Waiting word on a new concert date. Barnum Festival fireworks scheduled for tonight also will set a new date. The Barnum Museum took a hit and is closed today. From museum director Kathleen Maher:
Yesterday, the Museum was hit hard by the storm that drove its way through Bridgeport, and we have had some significant damage to the building as well as the collection. Two Main Street windows completely blew out, allowing all the storm water and wind to howl through the first floor exhibition areas. Additionally, water at the North West corner of the building was then able to seep through the first floor into the basement storage area wetting the archival collection of Barnum books.
We had extraordinary help from many of our friends who came to assist with the recovery, and currently the building and collection are stabilized for the moment. We will have to seek professional assessments to determine the extent of the damage to the building structure and to the collection of the display and storage items. We photo and video documented the incident and we began doing written reviews.
Storm Displaces Rodgerson
Former City Councilman Keith Cougar Rodgerson was among the residents of a Cannon Street apartment building downtown evacuated by the storm. Cougar, whose annual FeeJee Mermaid party downtown was washed away, says part of the roof was dislodged.
Downtown Cabaret Open
From Hugh Hallinan:
Yes! Downtown Cabaret is OPEN This Weekend
All Spelling Bee Shows are on for Friday, Saturday & Sunday
Currently our phones and Internet are off line. We have power and air conditioning. Tell your friends the show is ON! and come on down. We have tickets available for all performances. Buy 3 and get 1 FREE. FINAL WEEKEND – LAST CHANCE!
phone: 203 567-1636
web: www.dtcab.com
Lennie I disagree. Mayor Finch declared a state of emergency and asked that everyone stay in their homes beginning at 5:30. So what gives his son the right to walk around downtown, an area that is obviously devastated according to the pictures in the CT Post, steal a street sign and then go into a local bar? He can’t make better use of his time? Maybe volunteer at a local shelter or the EOC? He stole the sign and I’m glad they arrested him. He is no better than the rest of us.
No fan of the Mayor here, but this reeks!! Typical PD BS–bunch of whiners. Real issues, real crimes–better hope our “boys” are not too busy with the next union contract or you are screwed. The motto growing up was never and I mean “NEVER” trust a cop–True 40 years later. People hurting, shots fired, trees down, car crash … sorry too busy running down the street-sign thief–You proud of the big bust Bridgeport PD??? How ’bout the killings this week? What a sorry lot you are! Look in the mirror–are you proud of what you see?
I so sorry, but Petey, he should know better … The little prick even put pics on online social sites hailing the sign with a big smile … it’s bad enough he uses City resources to facilitate his “Entertainment” ventures …
What goes around, comes around; he was the go-to guy at the Convention though, that should get him a getoutajailfree card.
Everyone knows I am no fan of the mayor and take every opportunity to nail his policies on this blog. The arrest of his son is pure utter bullshit plain and simple.
This arrest was nothing more than payback for the mayor who wants union givebacks which I am against.
Lula sounds like they just arrested a long sought after serial killer rather than someone with a street sign. Easiest thing to do was tell the man to put the sign back or to return it to the PD.
Police routinely overlook petty crimes.
Was the taking of the sign wrong? Yes. Was the arrest wrong? YES.
How about coming to my neighborhood and arresting the kid who races his motorcycle up and down every street at 50-plus miles per hour?
The City is like a ghost town. You cannot get onto Main St. Don’t even try to come to Bridgeport today.
The police are angry. So are all the city employees. But you must stay focused on your mission and the job you were hired to perform. The public safety employees are the ones needed the most–and taking out their anger for the mayor in this fashion was unprofessional. And Mr. Mayor, you’d better come up with another plan for your deficit–the citizens of this devastated community need the employees now more than ever. Your gamble was with the budget and has backfired. Be a leader and figure another way out of this mess you have caused.
Arresting the Mayor’s son was absolute nonsense. Pure & simple, done just to embarrass Finch–Payback. I say this even though I am displeased by many of the Mayor’s initiatives and management decisions.
Knowing several policemen intimately and knowing how they work the unlimited sick time/workmen’s comp to a fare-thee-well and then book out of the City to their homes in the Valley, they have colored my entire perception of the PD professionalism and work ethic.
Same holds true with the teachers who are so overworked and underpaid to even consider the hard financial times facing the City. Nonsense.
When are the municipal and state unions going to wake up and smell the coffee? The public has absolutely had it with their greed.
However everybody wants to get the most they can and that’s understandable. In that regard, the unions are normal. My real fury and frustration is with the politicians past & present who have signed off on these contracts.
If you look at just about every city in CT and the rest of the country, they have unbelievable problems … And they are all overwhelmingly Democratic. Yet we keep electing these idiots. We deserve what we get!
Here’s what I don’t understand. How do two officers spend about 30 minutes gathering all the info on the ticket they were issuing to Peter Finch in front of Murphy’s Law while one block away the building that houses Metric Bar and grill was deemed structurally unsound and everyone was being evacuated? Those two policemen were needed there not in front of Murphy’s Law. They could see there was a problem at Metric. They could see there was a crowd gathering since most of us didn’t know there was a curfew because we had no electricity. I agree with TC. The Finch pinch was old-school pettiness in the midst of real human tragedy. I expect more from the police. In my opinion those two officers should be disciplined for very bad judgment in the midst of a state of emergency.
By the way, Metric is closed. The roof came off the building and crashed into the atrium glass at the newly rehabbed Arcade. They think the fourth floor of the building will collapse since it is buckling. The tenants were to go to the Waltersville School shelter.
The Arcade will be fine once they repair the broken glass. The Cannon Street building which houses the residential tenants and Metric probably will not or it will take a long time to rebuild.
The mayor of the city of Bridgeport sends out photos of the command center on his Twitter account and announces a curfew on the same. This officially makes him the biggest Twit in the Bridgeport.
Congrats to Mayor Twit!
Twat did you say? Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina! Harris Tweeter is a beautiful store down here in Charlotte.
I have a question for PD spokesman Lula. How many arrests do the 2 officers who arrested Finch have for Using a cellphone while driving? How many for texting while driving? How many for failure to wear a seat belt? The answer I bet is zero or close to zero. These laws along with the one they arrested Finch for are laws most police officers wink at.
How many tickets or arrests have been made because of student housing by Sacred Heart University students in residential neighborhoods? Zero.
If that had been any other person except a Finch we would not be talking about it now.
Wow!!! Hang in there Finch, you are targeted and realize our “boys in blue” really have nothing on the character of Barney Fife, actually they make old Barney look like a MENSA member.
You guys got me grinning ear to ear.
First of all, Lennie sounds like he is back in the mayor’s office shining like a mayor’s staff normally does about how everyone is out to get me. Too bad. It comes with the territory. Can’t stand the heat, you know what to do.
I haven’t heard a single person complaining about the fact that the police department allowed Murphy’s Law to remain open as I am sure they allowed all of the bars and restaurants in the area that were not in imminent danger. So what is with the curfew? What is with the disaster?
The Finchster’s kid got busted for something stupid …
Ain’t the first time; won’t be the last. Let it be.
If Lennie were truly advising the mayor he would tell the mayor to have the son apologize for a lack of good judgment in light of the state of emergency, maybe go out this weekend volunteering with the clean up and take the high road home.
Now if the city were to follow Countdown’s advise, this is what would happen.
1) Officers would file a grievance on the discipline (no matter what is was) saying it was retaliatory against the former union president immediately following a no-confidence vote by the union against the acting chief.
2) The city would object to the grievance.
3) Mark Anastasi would hire outside legal counsel to defend the city.
4) The city and the union would spend a lot of taxpayers’ money going up to Hartford to fight this silly issue.
5) The union would win the grievance. It was a judgment call. No one has suggested other people were doing the same and the mayor’s son was the only one charged. It may not have been the best judgment but police officers make judgment calls every day they are on duty.
So now you’re saying police judgment in question? An idiotic judgment call, just like Grin Reaper. Blech!!!