Retirement OK'd for police official
AARON LEO aleo@ctpost.com
04/23/2005
Connecticut Post
BRIDGEPORT — The Board of Police Commissioners has granted Assistant Police Chief Karen Krasicky's request for retirement and approved her pension. Krasicky, 49, a 27-year city police veteran, will now lead the police department in Plymouth, a small suburb of Waterbury. She had been an unsuccessful contender for chief jobs in several other communities over the last year. She also planned to be a candidate for the vacant chief's post in Bridgeport. That would have put her in competition with acting chief Anthony Armeno, with whom she previously had a tumultuous personal relationship. Police Department documents show that Armeno was disciplined by the department in 1996 because of allegations that he beat and harassed Krasicky during a six-year personal relationship. Over the course of the relationship between Armeno and Krasicky, the documents show that Krasicky filed numerous complaints against Armeno... [Full article here]
Plymouth chief arrives amid accolades
Waterbury Republican American, CT
Kurt Moffett
Waterbury Republican American, CT
Kurt Moffett
Saturday, April 23, 2005
PLYMOUTH -- No matter where one stood on the search for a new police chief the last 15 months, it was hard to find anyone Friday night who wasn't happy that the search was finally over. On Friday night, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal swore in former Bridgeport Assistant Police Chief Karen Krasicky as this town's fourth police chief... A touching moment during the ceremony was Krasicky's mother, Mary Krasicky, pinning the chief's badge to Karen Krasicky's uniform. Mary Krasicky said her daughter should have been named acting chief in Bridgeport, but she's glad Karen finally had her dream come true. "I'm so happy for her," Mary Krasicky said. "She waited a long time for this and she finally got it. I told her to hang in there. I'm glad she got this job." Bridgeport Mayor John M. Fabrizi appointed Anthony Armeno as acting chief after former Police Chief Wilbur Chapman resigned in January. There were a couple of surprises for Karen Krasicky during the ceremony. One was the attendance of her brother, Philip Krasicky, a physics professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y... Another surprise was a plaque that was given to Krasicky from Bridgeport Police Capt. William Chapman. The plaque was in appreciation for her dedication and service to the Bridgeport Police Department, where she spent her entire 27-year career before coming to Plymouth. "She contributed an awful lot to the department," Chapman said. "She's sharp, she's innovative, she brings new ideas into the department. She has the respect of everyone in the department because of her personality. All around, she's a very, very good person, so we'll definitely miss her"... [Full article here]
Top cops have a history
ReplyDeleteConnecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)
February 16, 2005
Author: DANIEL TEPFER dtepfer@ctpost.com
BRIDGEPORT The top two officers in the city's Police Department appointed to their jobs last month by Mayor John M. Fabrizi share not only long careers with the department but a stormy personal past checkered by domestic violence.
Police Department documents obtained by the Connecticut Post show that acting Police Chief Anthony Armeno was disciplined by the department in 1996 because of allegations that he beat and harassed Assistant Chief Karen Krasicky during a six-year personal relationship.
Both also have said they intend to apply for the chief's job to replace Wilbur Chapman, who abruptly accepted a buyout in January when the Board of Police Commissioners refused to recommend that he be appointed to a second five-year term.
An angry Fabrizi on Monday denounced the release of the documents as "criminal" and a "smear campaign" against Armeno and Krasicky.
Although he never read the results of the investigation, Fabrizi said both Armeno and Krasicky made him aware of their prior relationship when he had interviewed them for the acting chief's position.
"I don't believe this is a story at all," the mayor said. "The incident was dealt with 10 or 11 years ago. I wanted the best folks on the Bridgeport Police Department to aspire to the highest position on the Police Department, and I found them.
"I knew there was a history in the past during Chief Sweeney's tenure," Fabrizi said, "but I asked both candidates what happened, would they be able to work together and both stated they have worked together and that there is no issue, that they have moved on."
"The past is the past; we are working well together," said Krasicky. "Acting Chief Armeno is doing a great job and I support him 100 percent."
Armeno wouldn't comment on either the allegations or the penalty he paid.
"I am here to do a job and that is to serve the city of Bridgeport as its police chief. I have an outstanding working arrangement with Deputy Chief Krasicky," he said.
Over the course of the relationship between Armeno and Krasicky, the documents show that Krasicky filed numerous complaints against Armeno to police departments around the area about a decade ago.
While Armeno was never arrested on any of these complaints, in January 1996 he was found in violation of Police Department rules for failing to obey all laws and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was penalized four holidays.
According to the documents, Armeno and Krasicky had at one time been engaged and took out a marriage license in January 1994.
However, the documents show that Krasicky subsequently made complaints to police in New Hampshire, Monroe, Southbury and Stratford that Armeno was physically and verbally abusive to her.
The discord apparently came to a head during a vacation in August 1995 in New Hampshire, during which Krasicky complained to New Hampshire police that Armeno had choked her and punched her in the chest and the arm. The injuries were documented in a Gilford, N.H., police report.
According to a medical report, Krasicky was treated for a separated shoulder.
However, in each case Krasicky told police that she did not want Armeno arrested.
In a report to former Police Chief Thomas Sweeney, Robert Studivant, a police lieutenant who then was the head of the Office of Internal Affairs, stated, "It appears that the violence in their relationship as stated by Sergeant Krasicky is escalating."
Studivant's report continues that he was contacted by Armeno's ex-wife and a former girlfriend willing to give statements as to Armeno's "mood swings, lies, obsessive behavior and propensity for violence."
"That certainly raises a red flag," said police board Chairman Thomas Kanasky Jr. when told Monday of the documents. "It makes it questionable to his [Armeno's] ability to be in the chief's position."
The mayor will make the appointment of the next chief, and Kanasky said so far that Fabrizi has not asked either him or the board for any input on filling the job.
Krasicky, meanwhile, is a candidate for the police chief's job in Danbury. Last year, she was an unsuccessful candidate for the chief's job in Stamford and the year before that lost a bid for chief of Ocala, Fla.
Daniel Tepfer, who covers state courts and law enforcement issues, can be reached at 330-6308.
Secrecy surrounds 3 top cop hopefuls
ReplyDeleteBILL CUMMINGS bcummings@ctpost.com
The Bridgeport Post
12/20/2005 04:38:48 AM
BRIDGEPORT - There are three finalists for the city's police chief's job, but officials remain mum over who they are.
Candidates are undergoing background checks and, if nothing negative turns up, their names will be forwarded to Mayor John M. Fabrizi for a final choice. The names could be presented to the mayor within two weeks, officials said.
Meanwhile, two City Council members are asking the Board of Police Commissioners to adopt a zero-tolerance policy whereby anyone with a history of domestic violence is prohibited from becoming a police officer or being promoted in the department.
The proposal follows controversy over Provisional Police Chief Anthony Armeno, who is a candidate for permanent appointment as chief, although it is not known if he is one of the finalists. Armeno was disciplined departmentally, but not arrested, 10 years ago for several incidents of alleged domestic violence against a female colleague.
Armeno has been criticized because of that past record, and some critics have demanded he not be considered for the job. If the proposed zero-tolerance policy were in effect when applicants had been solicited for the chief's job, Armeno would not have been able to apply, said City Council member Robert Walsh, who is co-sponsoring the policy along with Elaine Pivirotto, his colleague in the 132nd District.
The proposed policy mirrors standards adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and is being forwarded to the police board for consideration. The IACP conducted the search for candidates for police chief.
That search was conducted in secret, and city officials have refused to reveal any of the applicants' names, marking a sharp break with past practice. Former Mayor Joseph P. Ganim's administration released the names of semifinalists and identified the final three candidates during a similar process in 2000, when Wilbur Chapman was hired as chief.
Ganim is now serving nine years in prison for racketeering and other crimes, and Chapman left last year after the police panel refused to extend his contract.
Fabrizi said the city's personnel director, acting on advice from the city attorney, ruled that the candidates' names could not be released because it would violate privacy laws.
The mayor said he has no control over that decision. When pressed, he said he would ask Personnel Director Ralph Jacobs to seek permission from the finalists to release their names.
Asked why the names had been made public in the past, Jacobs said, "We now have a better understanding of Freedom of Information law."
Walsh said the city should release the names.
"It's important so the working press can do its job and do some background checks, or use their contacts with other papers," he said. "It's important for people to know who the candidates are and if there is anything questionable in their backgrounds."
Walsh and Pivirotto said the IACP was instructed not to follow its own domestic abuse policy when screening Bridgeport applicants.
But Fabrizi said that accusation is a "horrendous statement to make," and denied anyone manipulated the process.
Jacobs also said the IACP was given no instructions regarding candidates or issues, such as domestic abuse.
Jacobs said the three finalists represent the top three scorers on a battery of tests given to all applicants.
Fabrizi and Jacobs both said the city should consider Walsh's proposed zero-tolerance policy.
"There are some good things in that policy," Jacobs said, referring to the IACP's rule.
"If something was nailed down, it would be an advantage," Jacobs said. "It's an important issue that may not be adequately addressed. We should look at it and see if it is, or isn't." Walsh said the policy would help ease fears that someone with a history of domestic abuse could end up running the Police Department.
"This policy will not only allay fears, but it also places in motion a process to deal with the problem," Walsh said.
Bill Cummings, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6230.
http://www.connpost.com/news/ci_3326240
Armeno is a jerk, he owns some smoke shop in Southbury
ReplyDeleteYou're a know nothing moron ^^^. Unless you have had the immense privlege of knowing him, I suggest you keep your comments to yourself.
ReplyDeleteSince when is it a privelage to know a cowardly woman beater? Ignorance is bliss
ReplyDeleteIt's not ignorance, it's fact. He's a great man who's had his reputation tainted by the people in this state who have nothing better to do but post lame comments about him on some website.
ReplyDeleteWhen you choose to beat up women over and over again, you taint your own reputation..Stop blaming others for you being a woman beater. And stop pretending your somebody else who's sticking up for you. Its never ever ok to put your hands on a woman...
ReplyDeleteAll to often people like Armeno slip through the cracks and are allowed to become police officers when they clearly shouldnt. It's a shame what he did to these women. men like armeno who target women with violence are no better than child molesters or rapists in my book. They target weaker people in order to make themselves feel more powerful..Pathetic
ReplyDeleteIf you don't know the facts about a situation you should keep your comments to yourself. I for one lived the obsessive behavior and threats of the suppose victim. The victim is definintely not the weaker. Maybe sly as a fox and calculating to twist the facts and use gender. Trust me, not a victim at all. I am a women and ashamed of that whole incident, A LIE because of a women scorn. I lived it. Tormented for 6 years. She has to live with the truth. God will deal with that on judgement day. Not any of us.
ReplyDeleteNo one gets to be chief by being weak and helpless. We aren't simple creatures. A person can be drawn to unhealthy relationships for all kinds of reasons, and sometimes the good guy and bad guy aren't clearly distinct from one another. I'm not suggesting anything, because I don't know the facts about what was just commented - but I've seen other situations that reflect that scenario.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the time frame you are referring to?
ReplyDelete