From the Boston Herald;
Statie cruising on your dime, but not in a cruiser
By Howie Carr | Wednesday, September 24, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Columnists
Photo
Photo by Riptide Charters screenshot
Happy Birthday, Mass. State Trooper Terry Nugent!
The pride of Troop D turns 37 today, and for his present he gets to be this week’s poster boy for the Vote Yes on Question 1 campaign to abolish the state income tax.
According to the I-Team on Channel 4, Nugent has been running a charter-fishing business, while working out of the Bourne barracks. Base pay in 2007: $70,794.60.
With overtime etc.: $84,591.
Only problem is, the trooper can’t stop posting about his adventures - on the open sea, not Route 6. And according to Ch. 4, it appears that on some of the days he was “gone fishing,” he was also calling in sick.
Here is his defense, as posted on stripersonline.com yesterday morning:
“First I’d like to say that all of this has stemmed from an ANONYMOUS complaint letter . . . The complainant chose to hide their identity.”
Yep, that’s what “ANONYMOUS” usually means. But why would anyone want his name attached to a dime-drop on a guy with a badge and a gun?
“They found a couple of instances where I had taken sick leave or family sick leave and I had fishing reports posted for the following day.”
And those suspicious bleepity-bleeps immediately jumped to their own damn conclusions. Did I mention Riptide Charter’s rates? A half-day inshore for bass and bluefish is $600, a full day $900. Canyon trips, which run 14 to 18 hours, will run you $1,950. He’s also available for “Speaking Engagements.”
How much would it cost to book Trooper Nugent for “How Great Is It To Have a State Job!”
“At this point IA (Internal Affairs) has not found grounds to charge me with any wrongdoing.”
What a surprise. As Juvenal once said, “Who will guard the guards themselves?”
In the old days, it would have taken a lot of time to bag someone like Trooper Nugent. You’d need a Deep Throat down on the docks. Then you’d have to stake out his berth with a camera crew, and bag him coming off the boat, all the while hoping like hell that he’d phoned in sick, instead of taking a vacation day off.
Now, though, with the Internet, the guy hangs himself. On Aug. 25, 2007, he happily posted a note about his new boat under “Rippy Got a New Ride.” It’s a real beauty - “the new Contender 33T!!!”
Delivery was scheduled for the next Wednesday or Thursday. Ch. 4 reports that he banged in sick the following Wednesday.
According to his payroll records, Nugent called in sick May 18, May 25 and June 15, and then went fishing, according to his postings, which he assured us yesterday are always factual because “I have always believed that being honest with my reports was a major factor in building a successful business.”
Yes, Trooper, we can all agree, honesty is the best policy. Like on June 15, when you called in sick, and advised your angler pals, “Take a day off-call in sick.”
The problem is, if you have a job in the Dreaded Private Sector, you can get fired for doing that. Probably won’t, in most cases, but you are at risk. Most people in the DPS don’t have a powerful union covering their backs at every turn.
“It would seem that my honesty in posting details of my daily agenda may in turn be the lynchpin (sic) in this situation.”
No, Trooper, no one is questioning whether you were honest with your buddies, and potential customers, at stripersonline.com. The question is, were you honest with the MSP brass, and the taxpayers who paid for your, ahem, sick days, and for the OT to whoever had to replace you on the Cape.
Every week, there’s at least one or two more excellent examples of why you need to vote yes on Question 1, to abolish the 5.3 percent Mass. state income tax. Last week it was the no-shows at the T, one of whom is the brother of a former judge and state rep. Before that, it was the sticky-fingered Mass Pike toll takers, and the T thief at Kenmore Station, and the Boston firefighter who claimed he was unable to work because of an injury yet could still take part in body-building contests.
This is how they’re squandering your money in the hackerama. They’re not spending it “for the children,” they’re spending it on themselves. And guess what - chances are, they’re make a lot more money than you do for a lot less work, and behind the “job” comes the 80 percent pension, not to mention the health care.
Happy Birthday, Trooper Nugent. Is that a day off too under your contract?
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1121077
Ok, so what is the difference between this cop calling in sick, to make money fishing, and Lt. Baldwin calling in sick to go to Nat. Guard Summer Camp. They are both being paid both by their jobs, and making money on the outside for the same hours. They both violated official policy.
The difference is the MA. Statie's BOSS DIDN'T KNOW AND HELP HIM PERPETRATE THIS FRAUD!
Our Chief of Police ADMITTED filing flase sick time vouchers for Lt. Baldwin for 6 years!
315 of you voted here on this site, 93% saying he should be fired or suspended over this, but our selectmen did nothing.
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9 comments:
put a vote in front of me to fire lt Baldwin on a ballot, and i will vote to terminate his position. Better yet, put a full time chief on the ballot, and elimate the lt position. These guys are all overpaid and lazy.
If I claimed sick time when I was working for someone else, I would be fired, why not the Lt. and the chief?
What's the deadline to get an article on the Nov ballot? Anyone?
Long story, but not possible. Your best bet is to get it in as a warrant article petition for the next Deliberative Session, which is February.
You want something for the public to vote on, draft a petition and get at least 50 property owner signatures. The Town Clerk can probably explain it better.
A word of advice though, from past experience it will be extremely difficult to get a citizen petition for a warrant article through the Deliberative Session without it being turned to mush. Happened to every single one at the last session, with the encouragement of our State Representative, Mr. Garrity. Remember that when you vote in Nov.
Also be aware, the last person who started a petition to make the chief's position full time had himself torn a new one by the chief, and he was from a very prominent family in town.
I said this before, and will say it again. The only type of person who can draft a petition that affects the chief or the PD is someone with little to lose. No family to worry about and a willingness to suffer a great deal of abuse from the PD. The petition signers will also suffer abuse. Very sad, but very true.
Dear 9:42am
Thank you for posting before returning to your Town day job.
#1, you keep posting on this site repeatedly that the part time police chief's retribution is a reason for a citizen not to have the courage to confront wrongdoing. This is false. If he does anything illegal or culpable he should be immediately removed. I intend to introduce right to know requests to get information. Other citizens and CHNT also intend to file.
#2, Here is how the Deliberative Session works. The agenda is to leave the warrant articles until 5pm or 7pm when all normal citizens are worn out and decide to go home. This leaves about 35 political hacks, Selectmen, and moderator (advanced political hacks) left in the room. Maybe there are three or four regular citizens remaining. Therefore, it is easy for "the 35" to vote to corrupt or defeat Citizen Petition Warrant Articles. HERE IS HOW YOU BEAT THAT SYSTEM: Stay home until 5pm. THEN come to the deliberative session!!! If 40 or more people from this blog readership show up THEN ALL CITIZEN WARRANT ARTICLES WILL BE PASSED as originally written. Don't you get it? This town is run by 35 voters who are working for the town, paid by the town, or political hacks (assuming all are divisible). YOU WANT TO TAKE YOUR TOWN BACK. Then get off your backside and stop hiding behind your TV screen, get in the car, turn on the key and drive to the DELIBERATIVE SESSION at 5pm. The citizens who stay at home or leave deliberative session early (before 7pm) are the TRUE reason that citizen warrant articles get modified into mush and not approved. Now you know what to do. Do you want to impact your town or do you want to be comfortable in your TV chair and complain? CAN WE COUNT ON YOU TO SHOW UP AT 5PM AND STAY TILL 7PM AND TAKE YOUR TOWN BACK?
I don't work for the town, and I sure as H*** don't support the chief. I was only trying to tell it like I've seen it done in the past. You've heard time and time again on this forum the chief's history and tendency for retribution. Don't believe me, go ask Mark Acciard. So, lets try a test. Attach your name to a post asking for signatures for a petition to remove the chief. Lets see what happens.
The chief has a long list of things hes done wrong and illegal. Yet, he's still here. So, go file all the RTK's you want. Until he does something that forces the State Police to arrest him, or the BOS suddenly grows a backbone, he's likely here until he retires.
OK. You are not the Town Hackminister after all. I am mistaken. I can see that when I re-read your post. However you do need to understand how the Deliberative Session works and to show up yourself at 5pm instead of writing on this blog so as to discourage others from issuing Warrant Articles that can bring about genuine change. Can I count on you to show up next time at 5pm and stay till 7pm? (And watch out, PoliticalPolito hopes to end Deliberative Sessions BY 5PM in the future for his COMFORT! So, it is 4:45pm and time for Citizen Warrant Articles and he is half out the door. This begs the question...is it time for a brand spanking new Town Moderator?)
RE: 6:10 PM: You should have read it carefully the first time before you started throwing wild accusations. And to assume I did not attend the last Deliberative Session for it full duration is a reckless assumption.
Give a little thought to what you post next.
Credibility = 0
Well...tell us all why you post on this site in such a way as to discourage citizens from cleaning up Town Government? Why do you continue to post "alarms" to anyone who might generate a Citizen Petition Warrant Article that could impact Mr. Consentino? Why do you reinforce that honest citizens of this town should cower in fear instead of act with courage? Why do you state you attended the last Deliberative Session when it is obvious that you did not attend or YOU WOULD SAY YOU DID IN FACT ATTEND? I will be watching for your next post and answers to these questions. My advice to you, sir, is to get on the bandwagon and encourage citizens to fight back against obvious wrongdoing by Atkinson Town Officials! Look at the videos and see the wrongdoing for yourself. Then post your comments on those videos. This is your opportunity to make a difference and forgo your current passive-aggressive comments.
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