Lying under oath
The Eagle-Tribune published an article entitled “Rivera’s statements on planner contradict sworn testimony” by Keith Eddings regarding the depositions taken by Mayor Dan Rivera and Wendy Luzón in the Gilda Durán’s case against the city. This article is highly recommended as a must read.
He makes it very clear that Wendy Luzón had been selected for the job long before Gilda Durán was fired. She applied for the position of Neighborhood Planner on January 2, 2014, before it was opened because Ms. Durán was fired the next day on January 3rd. Then, on January 4th, an Eagle-Tribune article (Mayor Rivera makes five staff appointments) announced that Ms. Luzón had been appointed Neighborhood Planner.
I had a copy of the depositions taken from Wendy Luzón but avoided writing about it. Something missing from the latest article appearing on page 61 of Ms. Luzón’s deposition is that A&J Demolition Services, an asbestos removal company owned by Wendy and her husband, Raul Polanco, performed some work at the mayor’s new home. When asked if Rivera ever paid for the work, Wendy said not to know if he did. After a little pressure from the attorney, she admitted that the mayor paid the workers himself. Don’t you think that it could be possible that the work was done by city workers?
We have written in years past about Rivera misusing his position utilizing city-owned equipment and materials. I expected this much from him because, as Dr. Phil says on his TV show, “The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”
Remember John Pica, the accountant with no degree who lied in his resume? The mayor fired him for having lied. The job application clearly states at the bottom that lying on the information provided under oath is reason for “immediate dismissal.” Well, do we have a case here of the same issue with different outcomes?
These discoveries have come about as a result of two lawsuits presented by Gilda Durán against the City of Lawrence. The one about being fired never made it to court; the judge in that case refused to allow it to go through because she did not have a contract of employment. Being an employee “at will,” the mayor had the choice of terminating her position.
The other lawsuit is about political persecution because Mayor Rivera fired anyone hired by previous administrations, going back to the Michael Sullivan days in order to place his own incompetent cronies such as Wendy Luzón. The trial is set to start on August 4th of this year. The list of witnesses for the defense is full of well-known community members. After this article, I’ll be curious to see how many will be willing to lie under oath for the mayor.
By the way, Mayor Rivera is campaigning for his re-election holding events that require planning, yet he has not set up a campaign headquarters. Is that work being done by his city hall staff during work hours? If so, the Ethics Commission should investigate because that’s illegal.
All of those employees he hired “at will” have to make sure that he is re-elected or the next mayor will have the legal right to let them go based on this precedent and they will not be able to sue the city for their dismissal. I can’t wait for all the secrets to come out.
Lawrence Police
The Lawrence Police arrested last week a Methuen man who stole the purse of an 80 year old woman who was cleaning up her husband gravesite at St. Mary-Immaculate Conception Cemetery when a white male came up from behind and grabbed it.
The press release said that the man fled on foot but she was able to provide a detailed description of the suspect to the officers. They were able to get a photo of the culprit thanks to an anonymous call at a nearby convenience store and arrested 32 years old Christopher Ansara of Methuen who later confessed to the incident.
That’s the difference when they want to do things right.
Last Saturday night, Nazario Esquea’s son was assaulted and robbed by three teenagers near the Lawlor School on the Lawrence St. vicinity. He was taken for a ride along Lawrence streets and left with a wound of about one inch on the head. He gave a description of the car as being a grey Honda.
The police department has the technology to identify a car even with such limited information; the problem is that a car of that make and color is very popular and that makes it impossible, mainly because it could probably be registered to someone else. It is very time-consuming; that’s why they don’t practice it more often.
When Nazario went to the police station to report it, the officer gave him a hand-written paper that was printed on the opposite side with something else. He was not told if the computers were down and that was the reason for doing so.
Things like that are becoming so typical of the Lawrence police! A few days ago, I was leaving my house at 1:10 in the afternoon and there were four police cars in front of my home. They were responding to a call from my neighbor next door who had called because two men were trying to enter her back door. Upon hearing her screaming and the barking dog, they fled.
They thought there was no one at home although I suggested that she could be dead inside. Then, the response was, “Well, the call came in at 11:30.”
Giving a good impression
We, Latinos, have a reputation for being rambunctious and loud. We have heard it all when it comes to insults, mistreatments and abuses against us, but have you ever thought that we may deserve some of the behaviour hurled at us?
I spent last week at Lawrence General Hospital where the staff could not be more helpful, pleasant and hard-working. They probably have more Latinos employed than non-Spanish-speakers and the attention is first class. They reflect the patients being cared for which are mainly Latinos. It is a homey atmosphere.
But, there’s always one. In the room next to mine, there was a loud mouth woman with a resounding voice – even when she talked on her cell phone. Instead of pressing the call button when she needed something, she stood in the middle of the floor yelling obscenities to the aides. She wanted them NOW!
She accused them of not working and earning an easy pay. Also, complained that her bed had not been changed in two days. A nurse reminded her that she arrived the day before, less than 24 hours ago. I wondered if she changes her bed at home with that frequency.
She went on and on screaming obscenities with no regard to the patients who needed the rest.
There was a man who requested his floor be cleaned. There was nothing wrong on his floor. He wanted it on his term, not waiting for the employee to make it to his room. Again, I wondered if his floors are cleaned daily at home, too.
That public behaviour is what people remember and we are judged by.
Another case of the same with different results
These two properties are located on Haverhill St. about one block from each other. The one at 175 belongs to City Councilor Estela Reyes. The other at 125 belongs to Grace Marie and Joyce Tomaselli.
The Tomasellis have been trying to fix up their house in order to be able to move back in it but the city has made it impossible for them to get it done. They put a fire watch that racked up over $100,000 and the ladies are desperate because they will be losing it. A fire watch is when they have a fireman stationed in front of the house full-time to prevent a fire. The bill is then added to the property owner.
Meanwhile, Councilor Reyes’ property (the one next to the Oliver School which is due to be fixed or rebuilt at a cost of about $40 million) is in worse condition and has not been assessed a fire watch.
Would it be that there’s a mayoral friend interested in acquiring the Tomasellis’ home?
