Developer Robert Scinto is scheduled for sentencing in federal court next week for fibbing to the feds regarding benefits provided to Shelton public officials. Scinto, a Bridgeport kid who had huge successes turning Shelton’s grand into the envy of the state, will try to persuade U.S. District Judge Charles Haight to grant leniency in exchange for moving around the state trumpeting a code of ethics as a deterrent for public officials and private investors thinking otherwise.
As part of the sentence Judge Haight will incorporate a fine and several hundred hours of community service. I don’t know Scinto well, but enough that I think his acceptance of responsibility and contrition are real. I don’t think he will ever offend again. This has been a major body slam for his family, as well as business and personal finances, both quite lofty. There’s been something of a snicker effect to Scinto’s fall because he had vowed never again to do a development in Bridgeport due to his distaste for city politics. We would learn that pay to play was okay for him in Shelton, but not Bridgeport.
Scinto’s largest commercial development in Bridgeport is 1000 Lafayette Boulevard, across from the Connecticut Post. Ironically the address is home to the Bridgeport office of the FBI.
No matter the sentence he receives, Scinto will make a comeback. He’s not the warmest and fuzziest guy in the world, but he has a big heart showing much generosity to Bridgeport social service, non-profit groups and down and out kids needing a helping hand. And he helped many without fanfare. Redemption is also a great motivator. How about Scinto revisiting his pariah’s pledge to Bridgeport? His business will continue. His construction projects will continue. How about doing a few in Bridgeport? I can think of several city blocks on Main Street downtown that can use a transformation.
Give Scinto a second chance.
One more Chance!!!
www .youtube.com/watch?v=fij95vJDvwU
Okay, Lennie. If you say so. It’s Lauretti’s turn on the firing line anyway.
Free Bob Now!
Free Scinto’s Chips with a $10.00 gasoline purchase!
Free Willie!
Let me get this straight, Lennie. What you’re saying is if you have a lot of money you should be allowed to do other things so you escape prison.
The building official in Shelton who accepted things from Scinto went to jail for 5 months and had 5 months home confinement.
Ernie Newton did a number of years in prison and had no chance for alternatives to incarceration.
So if you are working class, Black or Hispanic expect a prison term. If you are white and rich come up with some bullshit ethics classes, build a building in a depressed city where you can make more money and you won’t go to jail for your crimes. Bullshit. Do the crime do the time one and all.
So after he does the time, then what? You want his life to be over? What did Scinto do? Kill someone? Leave a kid bleeding in the street? Do you see developers banging on Bridgeport’s door? How about some perspective? Are you really buying Ernie’s line that he got five years because of color? You think Judge Nevas gave Ernie five years because of race?
Nevas handed five years to Moses because he is a crook. Skin had nothing to do with it. If memory serves it was a plea deal. The feds had enough to put him away for a longer period if he chose to go to trial. Ernie Newton doesn’t deserve a second chance. He has shown no remorse, no contrition. His claim that “I didn’t rat anyone out” is an admission he condones criminal behavior.
Scinto will get his second chance only after his release from prison. We ought to be having this discussion at that time, Lennie. Not now.
HEY BK, one thing about Ernie Newton, I identify myself. A lot of the people on your blog remind me of the KKK! They were doctors and lawyers in the daytime and put their sheets on at night. Racism is alive and will NEVER END, EVEN IN OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM.
No, I don’t think Ernie got five years because he is Black. Being poor did not help. Just because someone has money should not absolve them from prison. What did Scinto do? You are kidding, right? Try the words Bribed a Public Official. BTW how come the public official goes to jail and you want the rich guy let go? Do I give a shit if Scinto’s life is over if he goes to jail? No I don’t. He knew what he was doing. Under your scenario the Feds when they catch a rich greedy bastard should not sentence them to jail, just have them build a couple of high rises in a depressed city. For Christ’s sake Lennie get some perspective here. I get it, the guy taking the money goes to jail, the rich guy gets off. Lennie maybe you could be the first attendee at one of Scinto’s ethics classes.
HEY LENNIE, are you saying if John Rowland had been a black GOV, he would have received a year and a day? And to BK with his DUMBASS SELF. In his mind the only people who should get a second chance are white people. GIVE ME A FUCKIN’ BREAK, EXCUSE MY FRENCH.
Ernie, I didn’t know you speak French!
You’re right.
yahooy, thanks but I’m not in a joking mood.
Ernie, Ernie, Ernie … Have you ever expressed remorse for your crime? You violated the trust of your constituents. Your former state senate district is one of the poorest in the city. The residents need help, they need jobs, they need improved educational opportunities. All you did was pimp off them.
BK, LIKE I SAID, YOU ARE THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THIS BLOG!
I’m an asshole, sure. It’s a great job. The hours are good and there’s no heavy lifting required. And you are the biggest clown on this blog, Moses. You sold out “your” people for free booze at the Pequonnock Yacht Club. All Rowland did was take a hot tub and a few trips to Florida. He didn’t sell out an economically oppressed constituency for a mere $5,000.00.
If a man acts like a pimp and dresses like a pimp, he must be A PIMP.
Excuse your French!? OMG … You don’t even have a grasp of the the English language. French? Forget about it!
Excusez mon français, vous petit nain toxique.
Bridgeport had the opportunity for Bob Scinto to do serious development during the Ganim administration, but people like Ganim, Paul Pinto, and Lennie Grimaldi kept their hands out and Scinto went to Shelton. Where would you like to take your business? Shelton or Bridgeport?
People do stupid stuff in life. Some receive punishment and rebuild their lives. Guys like Vigilante are the biggest phonies on the planet. They pretend to be choirboys hiding behind a handle when their actual life’s conduct makes others look like saints. Care to tell people who you are Vigilante?
Lighten Up … paisan. You’re reverting to a persona that did you no good. We all admire you for leaving the life of a narcissistic scumbag thief and building a reputation of honor, fairness and skill. You are an excellent example to those who have diverted from a path of decency. Maintain. Don’t blow it.
Okay Lennie, I didn’t mean to piss you off. I’m the real “Vigilante.” The handle sort of gives me away. Vigilante is Spanish for Security Guard. True OIB readers know for 10 years I was the Security Guard at the Beardsley Zoo until I was removed (selected for layoff and forced to bump) from that position by the City of Bridgeport and for now, I’m working at the Police Department with the real “Vigilantes” of the City. According to my friend and supervisor at the P.D. John Alfano, the reason I was taken out of the Zoo was because El “Vigilante” was spying on Mayor Bill Finch from the Zoo. For the OIB record, I, Joel Gonzalez aka El “Vigilante,” did not spy (and has never spied) on Mayor Bill Finch from the park across the street from his house.
As for yahooy, Lennie, he is the reason someone first said: “Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.”
Joel is a smartass, but he’s not Vigilante.
And your heart is so pure you never took money?
Who are you talking to, me? I’m not a politician, and YES, I never took a dime that I did not earn. Where the hell did that come from???
I was talking to Vigilante, who appears to have a few skeletons in the closet.
Oh.
Hey BK, I SEE YOU STICK UP FOR YOUR race!
Hey, Moses. Don’t go around thinking the world owes you something just because you’re here.
I stick up for the people of the city of Bridgeport, which is a lot more than you can claim.
Scinto was in Shelton way before he developed 1000 Lafayette Blvd. He should do a mea culpa and a maxima culpa and get back on with his life.
Bob Scinto’s first step toward atonement begins with a prison cell. He was convicted of bribery, which makes him a crook. So before we get all warm and fuzzy and forgiving let’s think about that. This is Bridgeport. A former mayor and a former state senator were sent to prison for betraying the public trust. Neither have shown any remorse. The former state senator, in fact, feels he has expressed remorse by condoning criminal behavior.
Scinto deserves a second chance. Everyone needs a fresh start. He needs to take his punishment like a man. If you can’t do the time don’t do the crime.
Kid, Bob Scinto’s not a crook. He wasn’t convicted of bribery. Good people do stupid stuff. His body of work is much larger and much more productive than the dumb decision providing false information to the feds. He’s done an enormous amount of charitable work for Bridgeport without bragging about it.
His sentence and crime will not put him in Leavenworth. He’ll go to the country club in Allenwood Pennsylvania, play squash and read the New York Times every day for six months.
Exactly BK, which is all the more reason not to send him there. Guys like Scinto can offer much more in retribution with the resources they have, than sitting in some room costing taxpayers money. Is he above the law? No, nobody is, but a man in his position can repay society a lot more productively than serving time.
I’m taking in all you and Lennie have been saying on his behalf. I’m convinced he could do more good on the outside. It still looks as though he’s trying to buy his way out of a prison sentence. That’s the way it will be perceived by the public if they read about it in the Connecticut Post.
He did provide gifts to Shelton public officials, Lennie. That amounts to bribery. He lied to the FBI about it, which is the act of a guilty person. He’s earned a period of incarceration. He can work on the ethics code during home confinement after he’s released from prison.
In my opinion Scinto deserves a good kick to the balls. He needs to suffer financially. He needs to pay the other vendors who got screwed out of legitimate work. That will make an impression on Good Ole Bob. Jail for providing trips to Aspen and a few insignificant trinkets much like the largely ballyhooed monogrammed shirts and cases of fine wine of yesteryear … I don’t think it’s worthy of prison time. I arranged for one of my clients to take his wife to Mory’s to have dinner and listen to the Wiffenpoofs … Big Deal … send me to jail.
I admit to taking an extremely dim view of public corruption. Maybe that is due to living in Bridgeport. I’ve read about the good works Bob Scinto has done for the less fortunate. And yes, he ought to be forgiven. He has and continues to show remorse, which is something that cannot be said for the felon class of Bridgeport politics.
Hey Moses, when you start campaigning for the public office you once held, be sure to point out to “your people” that you got five years in the slammer as part of a plea deal. Be sure to point out you didn’t snitch on anyone else. Be sure to tell them you took money and cheated on your taxes. Be sure to tell them you’re a pimp. And after that you can explain how this is an expression of remorse.
Pimp?
Ernie “I Am The Moses Of MY People” Newton used his position to enrich himself without any consideration for the effect it had on his community. “Show me the money!” is his credo. That makes him a pimp, at least to my way of thinking.
BK, I’LL winnnnnnnnn! WITH FLYING colors!
Then what?
Yeah, then what? Gonna get grant money for a worker retraining program? That doesn’t create JOBS. It only creates unqualified job applicants.
I think I answered the question a few days ago. Then get used to seeing the striped and colorful suits again.
The voters in your old district couldn’t pick a winner in a one-horse race.
*** Let justice take its course according to the legal statutes for his crimes & move on. The actual crime should fit the time but a fine & community service and probation is cheaper for the taxpayers in the long run, no? “Money,” the root of all evil but the answer to most problems! *** HERE WE GO! ***
Un argumento a favor del sentido práctico. Bien dicho, mi sabio amigo!
BK, like I said before, you’re an asshole! and I wish you lived in my district.
I’d rather have chronic dental pain than live in “your” district. You are nothing more than a clown.
I meant that sincerely, by the way.
It’s not your district, Huggy Bear. It belongs to the people. You didn’t do anything to break the culture of dependence. All you’ve been able to claim for yourself is the money you brought into the district for this program or that program. Did you do anything to attract businesses that actually create jobs? People are supposed to feel better about THEMSELVES, not some shameless crook wearing funny clothes speaking ungrammatical English. Take a pill and get over yourself.
Get off the Rowland topic. He had a better lawyer. Accept it, live with it. You were too dumb to stash a few bucks for legal defense.
Ernie, many factors go into a sentencing: the offense, lawyering, prosecutor, probation department, judge and remorse. I think Rowland’s lawyer Willie Dow went to school on Joe’s case and carved out a good deal for his client. The prosecutor in the case was willing to place Rowland in a guideline range lower than what your lawyer was able to negotiate. Every judge has his or her own take on the proper sentence, especially now that the federal sentencing guidelines were overturned by the Supreme Court. Judge Nevas, unfortunately for you, went to the highest end of the guideline range. Perhaps Judge Dorsey, who sentenced Rowland, would have sentenced you at the lower end. The way I see it, you did your time, you’re even with the house.
Hey Lennie, that sounds nice, but if you did a poll in my district, 99 percent of the VOTES. If it asked compared to the SENTENCE JOHN ROWLAND GOT COMPARED TO THE SENTENCE I GOT IF MY ELECTION WAS JUST BASED ON THAT I’D WIN BY A LANDSLIDE. OH BY THE WAY ASK B/K IF I’M A PIMP. IS HE GETTING HIS INFO FROM A FAMILY MEMBER?
So you’re going to pimp for votes by claiming the honky governor got a better deal than you? I’m shocked …
If it walks like a duck and quacks like duck …
Is he truly “even with the house?” If the man is unable and/or unwilling to admit guilt outside of a courtroom and express remorse for something other than getting caught, how “even” is he? It was the city’s good fortune that Moses was sentenced by the Honorable Alan H. Nevas, a former elected official. The judge saw Newton for what he was (and may still be), a crook.
If they understand injustice why did they keep sending your lazy and shiftless ass to Hartford?
Bob Scinto deserves a maximum sentence of 9 days.
Nine days? That would make him a wonder …
Yes, nine days. I would have given him 10 days if I could could count any higher with my fingers.
Try tapping your foot, like a counting horse.
You who defend Bob Scinto are all full of SHIT. Bob Scinto never did anything for anyone but himself and his ego, all wealthy donors do it for tax purposes. Do you think for one minute greed was not involved in his mistakes as you called them Lennie then greed also made you make your mistakes did you cop a plea now you are holier than all the other Bpt and Shelton crooks. Look in the mirror you were part of the crime syndicate than ran Bpt because you say you’re sorry doesn’t make what you did right with the other thieves. So don’t any of you defend Bob Scinto if he was so smart and charitable why did he become a common thief? GREED. Now you all wonder why Ernie feels this is racist, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Bob Scinto must go to jail because all the good people who abide by the law must feel they are always doing the right thing, do the right thing you don’t have to lie to the Feds. Lennie money does not buy integrity no matter how much you give away, also then you use your position as moderator of this blog to out someone who you say hides behind his blog name that is unethical don’t revert to your old ways remember what happens on the blog stays on the blog.
Lennie would never out anyone in OIB–unless the feds have a warrant. If he refuses to out OIB members to the feds, that may be somewhat unethical or illegal. Anyone can dare or challenge a member using a fake ID or handle to reveal themselves. I’m the real Vigilante on OIB soil and the only reason you are here using such a fine handle is because Lennie is a fair guy. The only one who can challenge me on the “vigilante” name is Mojo. Mojo uses a handle and still revealed who he really is. Mojo is a retired Corrections Officer or guard if you wanna call him that. Only those using their real names can make claims to OIB soil. I triple Lennie’s dare. You will never see Lennie getting caught up in a mess like in the past again.
Could “Vigilante” be a Bpt guy or girl?
Vigilante’s rhetoric strikes me as masculine.
I have to agree with most of what bpt guy has to say. I’m glad Bob Scinto has done a lot of good for the community. He did break the law, none of his good works changes that. He made mistakes, sure. We all make mistakes. His mistakes earned him a period of incarceration, period. He lied to the authorities about something he shouldn’t have done.
I also agree with bpt guy that Ernie Newton has a point. All the voices defending Scinto’s honor have been Caucasian. I was not one of them, a fact Ernie conveniently overlooked when he said I was looking out for another white guy. Wrong, Ernie. I’ve been the lone honky calling for Scinto to go to jail.
What’s said on the blog does not stay on the blog. This is a public forum.