A former Shelton police officer’s long-running labor dispute with the city is over.
Loren Casertano, who was fired from the police force last May for what police called “multiple, serious violations of department rules and regulations,” said last week that he and the city reached a settlement in a complaint he had brought to the state Department of Labor.
“I retired yesterday, they reinstated me as long as I dropped everything,” Casertano said Wednesday. “We both agreed nobody did anything wrong and we both just walked away. After five years, enough is enough.”
Casertano’s fight with the department had been ongoing since at least 2008.
That’s when he was arrested for the alleged extortion involving his daughter’s stolen iPod. Click here for background. He eventually resolved that case by participating in the accelerated rehabilitation program, which resulted in the charges being dismissed.
After he was fired, Casertano fought the dismissal at the Department of Labor.
He also filed a federal lawsuit against the department in 2009, alleging he was arrested for trying to expose corruption in the department.
Aldermen voted unanimously, and without any public discussion, to settle that case in June.
He also filed multiple Freedom of Information complaints against the city, saying the Police Department hadn’t provided him with certain reports.
Casertano says his settlement with the city resolves all of his disputes, that he received back pay from the time he was fired last May, and will receive his full pension benefits.
Lawyers representing both sides wouldn’t say much about the settlement last week.
“Everything’s been resolved,” Casertano’s lawyer in the labor dispute, John “Chip” Walsh, of New Haven, said Friday, declining to comment further.
Mark Sommaruga, the Hartford-based lawyer representing the city in the dispute, said via e‑mail Thursday that “the matter has been resolved by mutual agreement. Beyond that, I have no further comment.”
A retiree at 50, Casertano said he planned to take a month-long vacation before turning his attention to working as a real estate developer.
But his legal troubles aren’t at an end.
Casertano is still facing criminal charges at Superior Court in Derby in connection with a search of his locker police performed the day after he was fired. Police said drugs and syringes were found in the locker. Casertano has said that he had prescriptions for them.
He said he has refused to apply for a diversionary program that would result in the charges being dismissed because he wants to prove his innocence.
His next court date in Derby is more than a year away: Dec. 30, 2013, when it is scheduled to go before a jury, according to Judicial Branch records.
Shelton Police Chief Joel Hurliman said Thursday that he couldn’t say much because he didn’t yet know all details of the settlement.
“I haven’t gotten copies of all the documents regarding that,” he said. “I don’t know what the complete terms of it were.”
Asked if he had any reaction to the matter being settled, Hurliman said: “I’m glad it’s over.”
Previous stories:
Lauretti: Settlement Talks With Ex-Cop Taking Place
Lawyer Guarantees Acquittal In Cop’s Drug Case
Warrant: Fired Shelton Cop Had Drugs, Syringes In Locker
Ex-Cop Released After Surrender On Drug Charges
Fired Shelton Cop To Be Arrested, Again
Shelton Police ‘iPod’ Officer Fired
iPod Case Against Shelton Officer Ends
Investigation Postponed On Shelton Cop’s Ethics Complaint
Casertano Rejects Plea Deal In iPod Case
Shelton Ethics Board Huddles Over Complaint
Shelton Cop Files Ethics Complaint Against Chief
