Department’s scrap metal sales probed
Bridgeport public facilities agency investigated over alleged misappropriation of proceeds
BRIDGEPORT — Police and city officials are investigating allegations that employees of the Public Facilities Department have been misappropriating cash from the sale of scrap metal — charges similar to those probed in Stamford’s vehicle maintenance department eight years ago.
Police Chief Armando Perez said Thursday that at the request of City Council members, his department opened a case regarding the scrap metal claim and other alleged improprieties outlined in an anonymous letter.
Hearst Connecticut Media has a copy of that letter, which was sent to council members last month.
“It’s an anonymous letter, but we are looking into it,” Perez said. “There are allegations there that are very serious, in my opinion.”
City Attorney R. Christopher Meyer said his office knew of the letter and is taking it seriously, though he declined to go into further detail.
Public Facilities oversees the maintenance of roads, city buildings, sidewalks, vehicle fleets and parks, along with trash hauling and recycling operations.
Public Facilities Director John Ricci said in an interview Thursday, “I’m aware of the letter. I’m aware there’s some kind of investigation into the content and, hopefully, the source.”
Ricci, Mayor Joe Ganim’s public facilities chief since 2016, admitted the department has an off-thebooks, petty cash fund of proceeds from the sale of any scrap metal left over from city construction projects or municipal clean-ups.
That debris, Ricci said, is separate from metal amassed by the city at its transfer station on Asylum Street. Money from the sale of the transfer station’s scrap is deposited in a municipal account and recorded in the city budget.
Ricci said the money in his petty cash or so-called “sunshine” fund is modest — maybe $5,500 collected over three years — and has a few uses: to purchase birthday cakes or tickets for cultural/social events to boost employee morale; to pay for meals and accommodations for public facilities staff who work during snowstorms and other severe weather; to buy all-weather apparel for staff; to make quick, minor parts purchases; and to donate to causes like food pantries, youth sports, funerals or Toys for Tots.
The anonymous letter called the sunshine fund — which Ricci said was in place under his predecessors — “a scam.”
“In no other administration was metal sold for cash using the guise that the money was to be used for picnics or other special events,”
“To me this race was not about gender,” said Bergstein, who founded a gender equality nonprofit called Parity Partnership. “It is about a new style of leadership that is more inclusive and collaborative and productive. That’s the reason I did this. That’s the reason I will continue to do this.”
Kathy Kennedy, of Milford, was one of two Republican women to win an open House seat.
“I hope (women) can be a voice of some reason and bring us together, that we can work in a bipartisan manner,” said Kennedy, who will represent the 119th District in January. “I’m not saying men can’t do it. It’s just something we’re not used to yet, but hopefully we are getting more and more comfortable with women being in highly elected positions.”
At the state level, Susan Bysiewicz, Democratic lieutenant governor-elect, and twoterm Secretary of the State Denise Merrill won office Tuesday. Republicans also had two women on their statewide ticket.
The surge of women in Connecticut politics is part of a national trend. In the midterms, women broke records by winning 100 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with votes still being counted Thursday. That number includes Democrat Jahana Hayes who triumphed in Connecticut’s 5th District, who is the first black woman to represent the state in Congress.
Twelve women won U.S. Senate races and nine women won gubernatorial bids. Across the country, women were on the ballot in record numbers.
The women who won in Connecticut come from different backgrounds. Democrat Mary Abrams, who defeated Sen. Len Suzio in Meriden and Middletown, is a retired special education teacher. A social worker at the Bridgeport-based Jewish Senior Services, Democrat Anne Hughes, of Easton, bested state Rep. Adam Dunsby.
Democrat Maria Horn, a former federal prosecutor from Salisbury, squeezed a narrow victory over Republican state Rep. Brian Ohler. Democrat Patricia Wilson Pheanious was the commissioner of the Department of Social Services under Gov. John Rowland and defeated Republican State Rep. Samuel Belsito, of Tolland, on Tuesday.
They also hold different ideas on what priorities the state should pursue first, ranging from paid family leave and environmental initiatives to a state Medicarefor-all plan to cutting taxes and funding opioid interventions.
“I think we need to come up with a financial strategy, a plan for Connecticut, something that is not reactionary like a budget,” said Dathan, a 25-year financial executive.
Some of the female winners participated in the Women’s March in Washington after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Many were united by the fact that they were first time candidates.
“I’m not sure my feet have quite touched the ground yet,” Kennedy said.