LENIHAN v. CITY OF PITTSFIELD PART 2: CHARGES HAVE A RING OF CREDIBILITY; COURT WILL DECIDE ON TRUTH
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
Second of Four Parts
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, TUESDAY, AUG. 25, 2015) — The immediate meaning of Lenihan v. Pittsfield is the outcome of the case for the individuals involved. They have the most riding on the verdict. They are police Sgt. Mark Lenihan, plaintiff, suing Pittsfield mayor Dan Bianchi, police chief Mike Wynn, and Capt. David Granger. The ultimate meaning will be its effect on the body politick. The city itself is also a defendant.
In this trial, opposing attorneys ostensibly will deal with the same body of evidence trying to persuade a jury that either the city under Bianchi has become cesspool of graft, nepotism, and corruption or that it hasn’t. There will be, however, an enormous difference between the two decisive verdicts. A “guilty” verdict shall confirm the charges. A “not guilty” verdict will be a determination that Lenihan did not prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. It will not mean the charges aren’t necessarily true, only that he failed to prove them.
Moreover, a “not guilty’ verdict shall leave unaddressed the many other examples citizens have seen of this administration’s failure that shall never be tried in court. The mayor will, though, have to run the gauntlet of the ballot box first on Sept. 22 and probably again on Nov. 2, although that latter date is not certain.
Five Counts, and At Issue: Who’s Running the PPD?
Lenihan v. Pittsfield has many interesting angles. Here is the lawsuit: http://www.scribd.com/doc/275502746/Lenihan-v-City-of-Pittsfield
The case contains four counts. Summing them all up in the vernacular, they allege: Wynn has lost control of the department. Granger has staged a bloodless coup and is in control. The mayor is aware of the situation and complicit. Lenihan is a victim of such caprice.
One of the more interesting allegations involves nepotism. Lenihan says both the mayor and Granger placed their sons on a PPD “hire” list ahead of other more qualified candidates. THE PLANET doesn’t know Granger, but we do know the mayor. We are not surprised.
Source Speaks of ‘The Wynn/Granger Relationship’
Why would Chief Wynn allow Granger to usurp his authority?
An informed source, speaking to THE PLANET on conditions of anonymity, said, “The Wynn/Granger relationship is a strange one. Speculation in the department is that Granger has something on Wynn either sexual or financial and that is why Wynn allows Granger to run wild. Again this is only speculation, but Wynn appears to be in fear of Granger and that certainly wouldn’t be the case if he didn’t have something on him.”
The source cited several examples as being “highly irregular:”
- Granger’s use of a city-owned vehicle, one earmarked for the gang unit, as his personal vehicle. The vehicle was purchased from grant money and needs to be justified as to its use. The source says no other police captain department history has had a city owned vehicle as their own personal transportation, especially one earmarked for another unit and paid for by a grant.
- Wynn allows Granger to run many of the “downtown patrols” that businesses and the mayor have requested. The source says “a number of patrol officers and sergeants” are dissatisfied because “Granger hand picks who will work them, namely, his best friend on the department, Sgt. Glen Decker. He has also added to his cadre of buddies Lt. Mike Madalena and Lt. Mark Trapani. Having a captain and a lieutenant out riding around on bikes on North Street is EXTREMELY more expensive than having two patrol officer’s filling the detail. The beef inside the department is that Granger is hand-picking these guys to ride.
- Wynn formed an “anti-crime” unit (“Get the irony? Aren’t all police officers supposed to be anti-crime?”). The source said he allows Granger to run it. The people “eligible” are chosen by Granger and not available to all officers. It also consists of members of the Berkshire County Sheriff’s Department. Our source picks it up: “So some nights you have Granger’s patrol officers and Sgt. Decker (the ONLY sergeant selected for the unit) riding around with Jack Quinn, who is second in command at the jail. No one seems to know where the money for this squad is coming from, but Granger controls via Decker all assignments. Most of the warrant arrests are for petty things and not big-time criminal activity, but it shows up as an arrest and the public thinks they’re out there making heavy-duty drug arrests when they can be arresting people for something as simple as not returning rented property. The reports are generated via Granger, assigned to Decker, and returned and approved by Granger to show a paper trail. It’s basically a rubber stamp.”
- Granger does not like Wynn and “basically operates on his own agenda and does whatever he pleases and no one will go up against him. The ONLY person who has gone up against him in the past is Lt. Mike Winston, the lieutenant on midnights. Granger “hates him,” the source claims.
- Wynn allows Granger to do all the IA (Internal Affairs) investigations in the department. If you’re a “favorite” they squash it. If you’re not, they crucify you.
THE PLANET has requests for comment in to Bianchi, Wynn, and Granger. Of course, we remain open for comments from any employees of the city, particularly those who may, in the interests of truth, offer different versions of these events. We also remind everyone that the defendants remain innocent and remain so until and if they are found guilty in the courts.
TOMORROW: PART 3 of LENIHAN v. PITTSFIELD.
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“Adieu, farewell earth’s bliss, / This world uncertain is; / Fond are life’s lustful joys, / Death proves them all but toys.” — Thomas Nashe, “Litany in Time of Plague,” (1600).
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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Will things change if Tyer is elected mayor? Or is she cool with the way things are now? She has probably locked down her thoughts on this I imagine. The less you say the less you can get called on the carpet for later when you don’t produce.
It falls in line with more of the same. How do you Campaign for Office, and not publicly address every issue with the Citizens?
Remember, Ms. Tyer helped cause all the blight here by her votes on the City Council. The mayoral candidate has no economic development experience. What was her track record as City Clerk in helping with getting jobs in here?
Can you please elaborate on those blight-causing votes? I don’t recall them.
Also, what suggestions would you have for a city clerk to bring in jobs? I’m thinking it’s not part of the job description.
Gatos, while I think PP’s statement regarding job creation was regarding her lack of experience on anything to do with job creation, not that a city clerk has anything to do with it directly, I do agree with you that blanket statements with no examples hold no weight. The reason I am not “with Linda” is because she bailed out on her city council seat to take the city clerk job. That is fact. The city had to have a special election $$$ spent – fact. We had an acting police chief and fire chief at the time- fact. The Mayor at the time could have named someone in the clerk’s office to be acting clerk and if needed hired a temp worker to help out-fact. The mayor chose not to do that and Ms. Tyer accepted the position-fact. They did so because running as an incumbent as a city clerk in Pittsfield guarantees reelection forever unless you do something illegal or immoral-not fact, but history is on my side. Ms. Tyer put her own interests before that of the city- I have said before, I don’t begrudge her I may have done the same thing. If she was running for city clerk again, ok, I still wouldn’t vote for her but she would probably win. The problem now is when you seek bigger things, your record follows you. If TFB decides to run for State Senate in the next election and her State Rep position opens up, will Linda bail on the city again when the voices start whispering in her head? The only thing I know when I check the box for Mayor is that I am not “with Linda”. I may even write in Donald Trump!
Dave, you are correct on the City Clerk aspect as Ms. Tyer’s job description.. Did Ms. Tyer make any statements, help any entity in bringing jobs to Pittsfield, beyond her job description? Personal commitment?
All her votes as a City Councilor were against economic growth. Tax increases’ decreased property values. Did she question any budgets and triy to cut any departments.
Tax credits, (TIFs), provide nothing for the taxpayer.
PS. Dave, I will provide the info in about a week plus.. It will be extensive. Remember, Linda is a WHENster, so i guess she didn’t Help the Neighborhoods.
Dave, there is no “reply” to your post on my computer.
Tyer will have Gerry Lee by side to help her with police issues
Mr. Lenihan is really exposing the dirty little clique.
Power doesn’t corrupt, it reveals.
Bianchi is about to hire a Director of Public Services who will oversee all highway operations and personnel. IBerkshires has reported, however, that the candidate Mr. Bianchi has chosen for this position was fired earlier this year from a commissioner of public works position. As usual a “search committee” was used to find this candidate along with Downtown Pittsfield Inc.
Mayor Anchor finds all the losers. That’s how he Controls them all.
This certainly doesn’t sound like sour grapes filed in a civil lawsuit. Describing these allegations as “charges” and “counts” is misleading because they are frivolous and hardly criminal. The issue is petty gossip.
I think we all know that is not true! Pittsfield’s leaders have had a long long history of denial, corruption and nepotism especially with our current leaders. We can go back in time over the last ten years and come up with twenty names easily.
Then get the FBI involved:
Public Corruption Primer
An FBI public corruption case is any criminal case where it’s alleged that either a public official (elected, appointed, or under contract) and/or a private individual has been or is engaged in a corrupt scheme that:
◾Involves a direct or indirect abuse of a public official’s trust; and/or
◾Undermines the integrity of federal, state, or local governmental operations in violation of federal law.
Categories of corruption the FBI investigates include legislative, executive, law enforcement, judicial, municipal, regulatory, contract, and prison.
The actual corrupt activities can vary. They include: bribery, fraud, extortion, embezzlement, conflict of interest, nepotism, influence-peddling, and the facilitating of criminal activity (i.e., money laundering and drug trafficking).
Unfortunately, public corruption matters keep the FBI very busy. At the end of fiscal year 2012, we had a pending caseload of close to 4,000 investigations. That same year, our public corruption investigations resulted in 830 arrests, almost 1,250 informations/indictments, and nearly 1,120 convictions.
There isn’t an investigation. Don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. The lawsuit is a sideshow meant to distract and smear the current administration.
I am not going to argue with you but honestly if you don’t think there is not any corruption going on with the current leadership in Pittsfield then you are part of the problem or one of them!
Dan,
Just an FYI. In a civil trial like this one, the burden of proof is a preponderance of evidence. You said it was beyond a reasonable doubt, which is the burden of proof in a criminal trial. So Sgt Lenihan just has to show that the city is guilty/responsible by a 50.1% margin.
The putrefaction in high places exposed by Lenihan’s lawsuit makes for a great campaign issue in the Pittsfield Mayor race.
Will any of the candidates try to capitalize on the issue?
About 13 years ago, Pittsfield taxpayers had to pay over $1 million in damages in the Walter Powell case. Walter Powell was a Pittsfield police officer who was discriminated against and when he filed a complaint about being called the “n-word” he was retaliated against by Mayoral administrations from the late-1980’s through the early-2000’s.
This is not the first time Pittsfield has been sued in federal court!
That’s how you play the race card when you’re pulled over with a bunch of cocaine in your car.
Jonathan
Your analogy to the Powell situation and the Lenihan case, while apt: leaves both cases (to date) with questions still not made public.
It would take some extensive digging into the Powell case to reveal what really went on behind the story you refer to. And even then you might not be able to access the complete story, without reading between the lines.
In the current situation we the public only have the printed word. If you have ever been company employed (government or private) you are aware that the process of “fairness” within the workplace is very subjective.
Without actually being on the scene, it is impossible to know how, why, and for what reason, employees are promoted, demoted, fired, or ignored.
It becomes much easier to come to conclusions from a non involvolment distance. As you might already know.
I had to stand trial by jury on a felony indictment I was found innocent of in NH Superior Court in late-January, 2010. I know how the court process works. Certain evidence is not allowed, while other evidence is presented in court to the jury. Prosecutor(s) are allowed to be hostile, while I have to sit their and take their abuse while the state government tries to send me to state prison for a crime I was ultimately found not guilty of.
O.J. Simpson played the race card and was found not guilty of the murders of 2 white adults – one woman and one man. I always wondered if O.J. Simpson was the real racist in that case if he was the murderer the state made him out to be?
Court cases are always complex and political.
In this new federal court case where a career Pittsfield police officer is alleging corruption in the Pittsfield police department and Mayor Dan Bianchi’s office, it will be interesting to see what evidence will be presented to the court and jury. Will the evidence show the corruption Pittsfield police sergeant Lenihan alleges? We will have to wait and see what happens.
Is a trial such as this for the public or do they lock it down because it involves politicians who usually manage to keep their dirty laundry away from the public eye.
Exactly!
This is not a criminal trial.
http://www.mass.gov/anf/docs/csc/decisions/bypass/minoie-joseph-111314.pdf
Good find Ron, very informative. Thanks
I personally know Walter Powell and is a stand up Officer. Peter G. Arlos warned us about the Powell Case and said we should have never been involved ( . . ) ‘s like the City Solicitor and other’s should have backed down……NOPE.
Question of the day for all candidates: Would you call for a state or FBI audit into the happenings in the Police Dept? Also would you try to get passed a local law where private details could be used on all construction jobs?
that’s a state law for construction details
There is some discretion regarding who performs traffic detail work.
I don’t mind Police on traffic details, without them it could be dangerous but some details are ridiculous, dead end streets, isolated areas with no traffic, ect.
This isn’t the first time somebody has lied to get on the job.
Back in the mid 70’s, during the Brindle era, a candidate lied about his/her residency to obtain a job on the PPD. Despite a “background check” by the PPD, it wasn’t “discovered” and “it” was appointed. An alleged car thief and a numbers runner were also hired later on.
It was brought to the attention of the City, who denied it. Then to Civil Service, who referred it back to the City and ordered it to take action. The Officer was retained and the whistle blower was hired, but abused, by the PD for for the rest of his career!
The liar’s career, though, was littered with cruiser crashes, citizen and Officer complaints, impeachment in County court for lying under oath and other infractions, one of which would’ve had him/her dishonorably discharged from the military! But he was promoted!
But there was no “bad time,” for the Officer because it was a snitch, a dime dropper, a sniff, the lowest form of humanity on any police dept! The cheese eater retired, unceremoniously, only to take up small town politics! Now a big fish in a little pond!