Mayor Anthony Staffieri issued a prepared statement Monday afternoon regarding the removal of Robert Hughes from the Derby Police Commission.
Hughes is the father of Derby Aldermanic President Ken Hughes and Jeffrey Hughes, who has a lawsuit pending against the mayor and his sons over the ownership of Connie’s Restaurant on Elizabeth Street.
Derby Police Chief Eugene Mascolo e-mailed a statement to the Valley Indy Tuesday morning. It is reprinted at the end of the article as well.
A statement from Ken Hughes is posted at the end of this article.
Click here to read our story on Hughes’ dismissal from the police commission.
Click here, here, here and here to read our previous stories about the Connie’s dispute.
A copy of the mayor’s statement is posted below. The article continues after the document:
The Valley Indy sent a copy of the mayor’s statement to both Robert and Ken Hughes Monday afternoon.
Ken Hughes sent a prepared statement via e-mail.
“The mayor came to the Derby Board of Aldermen on December 22, 2005 (please see the Derby website for minutes) for us to approve his appointment for police commissioners. He should have done the same now. What has changed? Does he use the Derby Charter only when it suits him? His soliloquy doesn’t negate the fact he never had the courage or respect to meet with Bob Hughes to let him know his intentions, nor does it explain his lack of response to requested communications, both via phone and email. His press release doesn’t explain why they didn’t let Mr. Hughes, a veteran, march in the Memorial Day Parade,” Hughes wrote in the e-mail.
“I ask the mayor to publicly outline one decision made by Bob Hughes which shows his judgment has been blurred. Until he can do that, his press release is just words on a paper, not even written by him,” Hughes wrote.
“In my opinion, the situation with Connie’s is affecting Mr Staffieri’s judgment as mayor.”
Robert Hughes said he wanted to hear specific examples from the mayor.
“Again, his administration is ghost writing for the mayor,” Hughes said.
He also questioned why the mayor didn’t discuss any of the issues with him.
Mascolo, the city’s police chief, sent this message Tuesday:
“Prior to Memorial Day, at least Jeff Hughes claimed the mayor was abusing his position in the Connie’s dispute.
Former Police Commission Chairman, Bob Hughes was participating in the Connie’s dispute personally and overtly.
I felt Bob marching in the parade would have sent the wrong message to our citizens that his families claims were justified and Bob’s actions in the dispute appropriate.
Bob’s status as a veteran had nothing to do with the issue and the mayor’s office was not involved.
The Connie’s dispute is complicated and hopefully the issue will be resolved so this personal business dispute can stop distracting our city fathers.
I cannot predict how the Connie’s dispute will turn out but I stand on the decisions I made based on what I knew at the time.”
Of Course Bob was personally involved in Connie’s dispute–his son was ILLEGALLY locked out of his own business. The citizens already know that. What wrong message would the citizens perceive from this???? The Hughes claims are justifiable and they have all the documents to prove it. I think you meant to call the Mayor and ask him not to march but instead call Hughes.
Your statement makes no sense and you have no right to make a decision for the citizens–they can form their own opinions and by the looks of things already have. I think Derby would rather see Hughes in the parade…maybe you should ask them. And yes–being a Veteran has EVERYTHING to do with the parade…that is what Memorial Day is all about…..
This fiasco is no different than kids having a clubhouse, whoever had the clubhouse in their yard simply banned that kid from the club if he rubbed him the wrong way. Totally childish, the mayor (an elected official, scary isn’t it) and anyone else removing Hughes from his duties and the parade should hang their heads in shame and resign from their positions. This is EXACTLY the behavior that keeps Derby and the Valley from moving forward, this is nauseating. You all need to grow up and behave like adults and keep your cronyism to backyard picnics.
The cronyism spoken of here is not isolated only to Derby. It exists throughout all of the Valley cities and towns.
Thomas Jefferson was once quoted as saying that “My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.” However, that is just a presumptuous overview of the matter at hand.
Government, especially the heads of it, all the way up to the President of these United States, all have people in positions to write statements on their behalf to best reflect their views. This is neither shocking, nor is it new.
However, Chiefs of Police, such as Mascolo in this case, often prepare their own statements.
In either case, unless the proper person is selected to prepare these statements, they often lack the eloquent fashion of wording necessary to win over the hearts and minds of the public…who can easily see through the quagmire of words and dig down to read and see the truth.
I believe that the Mayor left himself much wiggle room in his statement, being broad and non-specific, to address the feedback that would certainly come from it.
I respect his acknowledgment of the fact that he too has a personal interest in how this plays out, after all 1/2 of the issue involves his own sons. But wouldn’t that require him to step aside as well, at face value, when he too has vested family interests as stake?
Do I think things could have been handled differently? Yes. And it is quite simple for any one of us to Monday Morning quarterback those decisions.
Perhaps, and this is just an educated opinion, there is more verifiable factual information that the Mayor is not at liberty to discuss, especially in a press release, for this is something also outside of his own realm as a public official and as he stated, “the appropriate place for resolution is within our justice system.”
That being said, his reservations in outlining the reasons for his decisions may very well elude us at the moment, but perhaps will rear their heads as time progresses.
I too agree that Hughes’ status as a veteran, regardless, should have automatically given him the opportunity to march in the parade.
Little league players march in many parades…but to disallow a veteran, who has served his country is just incomprehensible. Mascolo, of all people, should know this.
My opinion? Regardless of the personal nature of these accusations, is that it takes a strong person to oversee the obvious inadequacies of the Derby Police Department, when the man in charge of it cannot even make an objective determination. It shows a lack of objective leadership, and as the old saying goes….we all know what flows downhill. Perhaps Hughes was the one person who was progressive enough to push the PD in a direction other than where it is going…but that is just speculation.
Mascolo should issue a public apology letter, outlining his poor decision making skills in this matter, and both he and the Mayor should leave the rest to the court system.