Phil's Legal cost to the town

This story begins roughly a year after he was appointed chief. In 1981, there was a selectman named Wayne Peak. Peak found that there was a misappropriation of funds in the police dept. It appeared that the little fees charged for reports and such were not being deposited to the town bookkeeper as they should have been but were being given to the Atkinson Patrolmen's association. The amount in question was $286.00. Peak brought this out in a selectmen meeting, and Phil ROARED that NO ONE was going to sully his good name, blah, blah, blah, you can imagine the rest. Peak asked the other two selectmen to take action, they refused, in true Atkinson selectmen fashion. Peak resigned in protest, and filed suit against Phil and the town. Phil retaliated by filing suit against Peak for.... YOU GUESSED IT! Slander, defamation, diminution of earnings capacity, and compensation for severe physical and emotional stress. These competing suit wound their way through the courts for 6 years, FINALLy reaching settlement in 1988.

BUT not before Phil fingered Peak, or agents of Peak for taking shots at the police station, and planting an explosive device at Phil's home. Peak was investigated by the FBI to no avail.

Not before an anonymous tip informed Mass Dept of Revenue of fictitious accounting irregularities at Peak's business in Lowell. DOR shut his business down for two weeks while they combed through his books. No impropriety found.

Not before Phil followed Peak through town arresting him for Reckless driving of his Cadillac, except that Peak was driving his Rolls that week, Caddy was unavailable. Case reversed.

The case file reads like an adventure novel. The final entry is an offer to settle for $500,000, declined. Case was settled 1 month later, under non disclosure agreement. Peak held a party at the KofC in Lawrence the week after the settlement to show off his two new caddy's bought with the settlement money, he claimed. Phil claimed in a selectmen meeting in 1988, that the case was settled for $15,000. "he didn't even cover his costs, he got nothing" This was apparently just another false statement.

In 1991, Lt. Rick Daniels left the dept. citing personal differences with the chief. Phil claimed in a selectmen's meeting that Daniel's on his way out had destroyed 12 years of police database. Only problem , the police dept. did not have computers in 1979.

In late 90's we had the infamous spitting incident in town hall between Fred Childs and Phil. Fred was running for selectman, and Phil was showing around the case files from Fred's Lawrence Pd days. Yes, this is illegal. Dale Childs filed a complaint with NHPSTC about the number of hours Phil worked, it was the second investigation of him in 5 years. NHPSTC admonished him to not exceed his legal limit of his training at 1,300 hours/ year. Phil retaliated by having Bill Anderson go to the Child's home and take pictures of the Hampstead animal control vehicle in her driveway. She raised hell, Phil whined in a selectmen meeting that he was "acting as Phil Consentino, Resident, NOT Phil Consentino, Chief" ONly problem is the he used his police officers to take the pictures, and wrote the letter on police chief stationary.

The following year, Officer Micheal Rivera sought to get a union into Atkinson to "get work rules down on paper that the chief would have to follow". he claimed that there was favoritism in work assignments, hours, benefits, and advancement. Phil retaliated by writing him up for not writing enough tickets on his shift, midnight to eight am. He followed this performance up by sending his officers the infamous "loyalty letter" which even Sgt. Baldwin testified was an intimidation tactic. Rivera filed suit with NHPELRB. They ordered the town and it's agent(Phil) to cease and desist from bullying, harassing, and intimidating his officers. Phil responded in the next selectmen meeting by saying he had never harassed or intimidated anyone, and his door was always open, any of his officers could come to him like a man and complain to his face. So much for not intimidating.

The following year, Officer Lorden filed an NHPELRB action claiming abuse of authority. Another settlement. There was another settlement around this time with another officer over hours violations.

Then we had the Town that hates Halloween, controversy when Phil spouted off in another selectmen meeting that, as they had done for 10 years, his boys would be out(halloween) to turn cars with Mass. plates around at the border. This was reported NATIONWIDE, and Phil was not smart enough to know this practice was illegal!

Then we had the conflict of interest complaints that next year. Phil voting, as selectmen, to approve his request, as police chief, to withdraw $2,500 from the police donation account. Followed by his approving for himself and extra $1,300.00 "union benefit". ONly problem was that as chief he is specifically excluded from the union contract. He later admitted that he knew there was nothing in the contract or the employee handbook authorizing him to receive this benefit.

In 2005, Rockingham Superior Court Ordered him to recuse himself from any police dept., elderly affairs dept. or town employee matters. Phil announced in a selectmen meeting that nothing would change, just that elderly and police matters would have to take place at the station or his house. He blamed Acciard for making it this inconvenient for the people. In August the Court found him in contempt of Court for ignoring the previous order. He responded by saying this judge had no idea how small towns work, and he would appeal(on the taxpayers dime, of course) to the NH Supreme Court. The Court dismissed on briefs citing lack of standing. Sumner spent hundreds of hours on Phil's legal issues in 2005, never billing the town for these extraordinary expenses. However, in October of 2005, Selectman Consentino negotiated a new contract for Town Attorney Kalman that ALMOST TRIPLED his retainer, claiming that he had not had a raise in 20 years and had so much more work to do lately. This $25,000 or so bump in retainer is a permanent quid pro quo for defending Phil for a year. And it will cost the town an EXTRA $250,000 over ten years.

In 2007, Carol Grant came to a selectmen meeting to read a short statement about the chief's abuse of authority in screaming at her in the town hall because her vehicle was running outside while she was updating the veterans board. She got 2 paragraphs into her statement before Phil Jumped up, Slammed his hand down on the desk, screaming at the camera operators to turn off the cameras! "I don't have to sit here and listen to this". The meeting adjourned to non-public, with Officer Baldwin and Fardella appearing together to stand in the two doorways. 4 minutes into this meeting Phil stands abruptly and Roars "GET HER OUT OF HEAR NOW!" Officer Fardella, ushered Mrs. Grant, her husband, and her wheelchair bound son out into the cold winter night, not allowing them to stop and put on coats. The Grants filed suit. Remember Phil was still under Court Order NOT TO BE IN THE ROOM when these matters were discussed. This case was settled a year later at a cost of $30,000 in settlement, PLUS as one of the attornies claimed they had over $50,000 in legal costs already.

Next came the Acciard case for abuse of office, harassment, following him through town, using the police dept. to investigate his company. This case lasted 2 years before being pulled into Federal Court. The Attornies for Primex claimed that they had "well over $50,000 in legal expenses" at the time of the Federal Removal.

Next came the Artus, Brownfield, Lewis Case. This case was the straw that broke the camels back. Winding it way through the courts for 2 years before Primex finally pulled the plug on insuring the Town of Atkinson. AFTER Primex dropped coverage for the town, the selectmen added another professional services- legal line to the budget, funding it with $10,000. 3 months later this line was $29,900 OVER SPENT! According to the attornies between March and July 2011 they spent $68,000 in legal expenses defending Phil's atrocities.

So to recap; We have 6 1/2 years of legal expenses in the Peak case. As it is under non- disclosure we can only surmise what the cost was, but the average insurance company attorney at that time was about $180/hr.x 100 hrs./yr. x 6.5 years = $117,000.

Plus the settlement of $500,000+

Plus the NHPELRB cases; $200/hr. x 25 hrs. $5,000

Plus selectman consultation for all of Phils foibles(halloween, Rivera, Lorden, Buco, Daniels, Acciard, COI, Abuse of Authority, harassment, illegal SUV purchase, illegal creation of Ft Lt. position, Shut down of scenic byway, water issues, Winslow drive harassment, etc. $200/hr. x 40 hours = $8,000

COI case, 1.5 years, 2 depositions, two hearings $200/hr x 80 hours = $16,000

Contempt of Court defense $200/hr x 12 hrs. = $2,400

NH Supreme Court Appeal $250/hr. x 12 hrs. = $5,500

Grant case: $50,000 claimed legal expenses + $30,000 settlement

Acciard case: WELL OVER $50,000 legal expenses + 1 year more in Federal Court. Total $110,000

Artus et.al case: $68,000 in four months AFTER town loses insurance, PLUS two years insurance attornies..... $168,000

Phil's legal cost to the town and it's insurance companies, approximately $1,011,900.00 by best estimates, and extrapolations.

Isn't it time to end this debacle?