The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘He was a true leader’
Lt. Paul Maturo, retires after 33 years, says policing was a lifestyle
MIDDLETOWN — Middletown police Lt. Paul Maturo, who retired from the department Friday after serving the city for 33 years, said he’ll most miss interacting with his officers — and helping others, which most attracted him to the job three decades ago.
A few dozen members of his family, friends and colleagues gathered to wish him farewell at the station and to hear a few words about his time there, where Maturo, who began his law enforcement career at 27, was several times overcome by emotion.
“I thought every night that I came in that I was going to guard the city. ‘Not on my watch. Not while I’m working,’” he would tell himself, adding that it’s one of the aspects of his occupation he’ll most miss.
“For me, it wasn’t a job,” Maturo said. “It became a lifestyle. This is like my second home. I had some bumps when I was a young man, and they took me in,” he said of department members.
Maturo graduated from Xavier High School in 1981, and was captain of the football team under retired Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce president Larry McHugh.
His late father, Alfredo Maturo Jr., whom his son calls “larger than life,” owned the former Italian-American seafood restaurant Alforno’s on Bridge Street in the city’s north end.
“Working for my dad in the restaurant molded me” as far as learning about customer service, which he later carried to his career. “I understand people a little bit more now,” Maturo said. “The long days, difficult work forged me for the next part of my life.”
Capt. Brian Hubbs has worked alongside Maturo since 1995. “He was very direct, but he was always so fair to every
body — no matter what it was.
“I made my fair share of mistakes when I first started, I was completely overwhelmed, but he always guided me,” Hubbs said. “If I made mistakes, he put me under his wings to correct it, and it was never talked about ever again. He was a true leader.”
The captain said that, deep down, Maturo was a caring officer. “He’s just so heartfelt, so genuine about everything. The connections he’s got, the history here, it allows him to take a step back and really focus his efforts on what’s best for the city, what’s best for the residents: a little bit more so than the officer who comes from out of town.”
Living in Middletown for practically his entire life was helpful in many ways, Maturo said, including when people he met during the course of duty recognized him. “I was able to quell a lot of storms,” he said.
Early in his career, Maturo said, “I was full of it. I felt like I had won the lottery,” but eventually grew into the position. “If I could help out catching the bad guys, I felt good about that.”
Retired Middletown Lt.
Frank Violissi, and Maturo’s closest friend Chris Colavito, who’s known the lieutenant for 46 years, also were in attendance.
Colavito met Maturo on the school bus his freshman year of high school. “We clicked from the first time we met. He’s more (like) my brother,” Colavito said. “We’re family.”
They also attended college together at Southern Connecticut State University.
Maturo and Colavito later learned that their fathers were good friends, too. “He called me son No. 3,” Colavita said.
“I most admire Paul because of his heart,” Colavito said. “He was always there. He still is, and he always will be. … It’s a bond that goes beyond any words.”
Maturo has known Violessi since he was 12. “You don’t think you made a difference. I’m telling you right now … you can touch a person. What this man did for me set me up for my life,” including urging the lieutenant not to make the same mistakes he did over the years. “Frank, I’m indebted to you,” Maturo said.
Having a father who’s in law enforcement, his son Nicholas Maturo, 27, said, “helps shape you. You’re going to know the
difference between right and wrong.
“If you ask anyone about my father, the first thing that comes up is respect,” something that his father imparted to him, Nicholas Maturo said.
“If you don’t get along, try and give the person the same kindness and respect. If there’s something someone may need, and not realize it, it’s something that is important,” said Maturo’s son, who also played football in high school.
The younger Maturo, who
teaches theater to young children and is also a musician, said he always admired how hardworking his dad is.
“He’s my heart. I try to leave a better world for him,” his father said.
The lieutenant’s ex-wife Laura Maturo said she felt comforted when her husband at the time was working. “I always felt safe when I knew every night that he was out there,” in the community, although she did a great deal of worrying.
“It’s going to be very strange
for me now, to live in the city and not have that sense of him being on the street,” she added.
“As a captain, I’m going to miss his leadership, the fact that he’s here every single day,” Hubbs said. “There’s never been a task I’ve given him that he hasn’t accomplished thoroughly, and 100 percent of what I asked him to do.”
Maturo’s nephew and godson Dan Mihailescu said that when he was 17, he would often hang out with his uncle.
“You always took about an hour out of whatever we were doing when I came up here. You would dump your philosophy on me in the most beautiful way,” he said with affection.
While Mihailescu may not have always agreed with his uncle, he knew that one day he’d come to appreciate his efforts. “As time has progressed and I’ve gained more wisdom, I realize you were right about 99 percent of the stuff you were trying to teach me along the way,” he said.
During his career, the lieutenant said, his goal was a very simple one: “If I touched one person in my life as a police officer — even for a moment — and got them through a crazy time in life, I thoroughly loved helping people that way,” Maturo said.