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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Apr 19, 2024 6:59 am
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Former Seymour Police Officer Jonathan Martin, in a photo taken from Facebook.
SEYMOUR – A former Seymour police sergeant subject to five internal affairs investigations in two years voluntarily surrendered his Connecticut Police Officer Certification.
The move means the former officer, Jonathan Martin, cannot work in law enforcement in Connecticut. However, he can apply to get his certification back next year.
His name will be included on a national list of decertified officers, and he will appear on the state’s Police Officer Standards & Training (POST) website.
“Jonathan Martin has voluntarily surrendered his certification and the case has been closed,” Richard Green, a POST spokesman, told the Valley Indy via an email.
The Valley Indy left a message with Martin’s lawyer.
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Eugene Driscoll & Jasmine Wright | Mar 3, 2024 5:22 pm
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ANSONIA – For the ninth year in a row Ansonia Aldermen voted to follow a budget schedule that violates the city charter, except for one Republican who said he would not break the oath of office he pledged just three months ago.
“I understand that most of my colleagues do not share my concern about this,” Alderman Steven Adamowski said during a Feb. 13 meeting of the Ansonia Board of Aldermen. “Suffice it to say that for myself, I don’t like being in a position where I take an oath of office to support the charter and ordinances in December and end up violating it several months later.”
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Oct 5, 2023 6:55 pm
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Former Seymour Police Officer Jonathan Martin, in a photo taken from Facebook.
SEYMOUR– A former Seymour police sergeant facing possible decertification by the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council was allowed to collect roughly a year’s salary and retire in ‘good standing.’
That’s according to a settlement reached between former Seymour Police Sgt. Jonathan Martin and the Town of Seymour. The settlement agreement was approved in a unanimous, bipartisan vote by the Seymour Board of Selectpersons in February.
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Eugene Driscoll | Nov 30, 2022 8:30 pm
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State Rep. Kara Rochelle was recently elected to her third term representing Derby and Ansonia in Hartford.
ANSONIA/DERBY — The chairman of the Ansonia Town Republican Committee called on state Rep. Kara Rochelle to resign after court testimony reported Tuesday by The CT Mirror alleged that Rochelle was intimately linked to corrupt politico Michael DiMassa, the person who arranged for her to be paid $5,000 as a consultant to the City of West Haven.
“The residents of the 104th deserve better and call for her immediate resignation,” Anthony Mammone, the chairman of the Ansonia Republican Town Committee, said in a statement to The Valley Indy.
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Jean Falbo-Sosnovich | Nov 28, 2022 9:23 pm
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A screen shot from the YouTube video of the Oct. 18 meeting of the Seymour Board of Selectpersons.
SEYMOUR — The Seymour Police Department and the FBI are investigating a cybercrime that swindled town government out of $375,000, The Valley Independent Sentinel has learned.
“The Town of Seymour is victim to a cybercrime perpetuated by an unknown party,” according to a statement from Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis and Seymour Town Attorney Richard Buturla. “The Office of the First Selectwoman ordered an immediate investigation into how this fraud occurred. In addition, the Seymour Police Department was instructed to immediately initiate a criminal investigation into this matter.”
The statement was issued after The Valley Indy started asking questions about the matter.
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Eugene Driscoll | Nov 2, 2022 12:46 pm
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FROM US DOJ VIDEO
Derby's Gino DiGiovanni, experiencing the effects of tear gas or pepper spray, can be seen in the bottom center of this photo wearing his company's jacket during the Jan. 6 Capitol breach.
DERBY – Alderman Gino DiGiovanni, Jr. said Tuesday he did not enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 with ill intent, but will answer to any criminal charges if filed.
“If something comes of it, I’ll cross that bridge when I get there. And if there is a penalty, I will definitely pay my debt to society,” DiGiovanni said. “I’m just not that type of person that is going to scapegoat, blame someone else, or what have you.”
DiGiovanni made his comments during a nearly one-hour video interview with The Valley Indy Tuesday night, during which DiGiovanni talked about why he attended the Jan. 6 “stop the steal” rally in Washington, D.C., and why he was one of an estimated 2,000 people who breached the U.S. Capitol, interrupting a joint session of the U.S. Congress whose members were affirming President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.
Click play on the video below to watch the full interview.
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Eugene Driscoll | Jun 28, 2022 7:46 pm
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Agata Herasimowicz was judged "very good" at adhering to policy in a performance review completed in January.
DERBY — The city’s finance director received a positive performance review less than eight weeks before being put on paid administrative leave, The Valley Independent Sentinel has learned.
Finance Director Agata Herasimowicz was placed on paid leave in March so Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration could investigate whether she violated Derby government policies and procedures.
However, her Jan. 12 performance review noted she followed policies.
The review included a section titled “adherence to policy.” Herasimowicz scored “very good,” the second highest option available.
“Agata is guided and governed by policies. Where policies don’t exist, she has asked that they be created,” according to the performance review.
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Eugene Driscoll | Jun 22, 2022 1:23 pm
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Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan, center, with members of the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen at a meeting Tuesday, June 21, 2022.
DERBY — An investigative report released by Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan’s office on Tuesday says Derby Finance Director Agata Herasimowicz violated the City Charter several times but stops far short of assigning blame to her.
Instead, the report concludes her actions were “reasonable” when it came to paying for police video equipment and bringing in temporary workers to help fill vacancies in Derby City Hall without the proper authorization outlined in the charter.
In addition, the report notes the city lacks basic financial policies — an issue Herasimowicz tried to address before she was put on paid administrative leave. The report is embedded at the bottom of this story.
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Eugene Driscoll | Jun 7, 2022 8:38 pm
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Agata Herasimowicz, lower left corner, at the May 2021 meeting where the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen voted to hire her. She officially started in July 2021.
DERBY — An investigative report about the city’s finance director has been completed and is in Derby Mayor Rich Dziekan’s office, the mayor’s chief of staff said on Tuesday.
The report centers on whether Agata Herasimowicz, the city’s financial director for eight months until being put on paid administrative leave in early March, followed proper procedures outlined in the Derby Charter.
The reason Derby Finance Director Agata Herasimowicz was placed on leave has not been shared with the public. It’s also not clear how long she’ll be out. According to an email obtained by The Valley Indy, Herasimowicz does not know why she is on leave.
Last week The Valley Indy repeatedly asked Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration whether Herasimowicz was on administrative leave. Dziekan said it was a personnel matter and referred questions to the city’s corporation counsel.
