Subject: RE: Salary issue, Suspension of the Rules
Paul A. Camuso
City Council “president”
85 George P. Hassett Drive
Medford, MA 02155
Dear Solicitor Rumley and Sheriff Koutoujian:
In light of a staff attorney at Boston City Hall in the news on Monday, 9/29/14 bringing to light the “ethics law prohibits government officials from voting on matters in which they or their families
have a financial interest,” it makes City Council “president” Paul Camuso’s wrongful denial of this resident’s petition to discuss the suspicious pay raise Camuso, Fred Dello Russo, Jr. and Rick Caraviello voting themselves, with an additional vote to get more money from novice rookie councilor Adam Knight after only 3 weeks on the job. What a greedy money grab during these tough economic times.
This is a demand to speak at the City Council of Medford to discuss the outrageous salary increase using the underhanded “rule of necessity.”
EXHIBIT A
Henry Luthin said Monday that Massachusetts ethics law prohibits government officials from voting on matters in which they or their families have a financial interest
Mr. Camuso refused to vote for the residents to see a video of the 9/10/14 parking meter hearing; Dello Russo and Knight also voted against transparency.
So Peter Koutoujian’s employee votes for a pay raise and then, taking taxpayer monies, refuses to be transparent with the taxpayers of Medford
1)Paul Camuso needs to be open and transparent with residents about his allegedly troubled past. If voters are informed the way Camuso is informed on the backgrounds of people applying for a taxi license, voters might not vote for Mr. Camuso
What is a bigger public safety issue? A taxi driver having a criminal record, or a city council president possibly having character flaws that voters were not given information on.
2)Peter Koutoujian and LaDonna Hatton responded to a public records request in a manner that I feel was not forthright. Furthermore, Camuso is seen in a photo with Sheriff Koutoujian where Camuso is campaigning for the Sheriff who promised not to take campaign contributions. That “in kind contribution” of an employee campaigning for his boss smacks of duplicity. Mr. Koutoujian also allegedly said he would clean up the corruption of the late Sheriff DiPaola’s dirty filthy office, yet Camuso, a pure hack remains, despite Camuso’s vulgar behavior during and after City Council meetings
EXHIBIT B
http://www.mertsplus.com/mertsuserguide/index.php?n=MANUALCAN.ContributionsAndOtherReceipts
In-kind Contribution: In-kind contributions are goods, services and facilities donated or loaned to the committee at no cost or at a discount. An in-kind contribution could be a donation of postage stamps, paying off a debt incurred by the committee or donating professional services to the committee. The value of an in-kind contribution is the fair market value of the goods or services or the usual rental charge of the facility. If the committee receives a discount unavailable to the general public, the value of the in-kind contribution is the amount discounted.
3)Paul Camuso slams the council gavel like a 5 year old in a sandbox. Camuso intentionally disrupts the flow of the conversation to cloud topics residents want to bring forward.
Mr. Camuso has not the temperament, the experience or the character to hold the position that he abuses with every council meeting he “moderates.” It isn’t moderation when the “president” fractures council rules and goes rogue with his quick-tempered knee-jerk attacks from the president’ chair.
Mr. Camuso’s alliance with the twice-arrested Gary Zappelli is equally troubling. Camuso appeared on “Zapp TV” while Mr. Zappellli was on the board of directors of TV3, a violation of the Internal Revenue Code. Zappelli would smear other politicians while protecting those who paid him for “services” which appeared like a cleverly disguised ploy to sell airtime at TV3. Those who didn’t purchase that which was not for Zappelli to sell were humiliated, besmirched and in some cases allegedly threatened.
Few residents have the courage to call out an employee of the Sheriff, and the Sheriff himself for not eliminating a serious problem from the Sheriff’s office.
Mr. Camuso’s behavior – thwarting First Amendment rights at the “people’s forum” demands he be removed. Not censure, not a “no confidence” vote, but impeachment and removal.
Setting a bad example by having Mr. Camuso throw his temper tantrums without the public having full knowledge of his past – be it squeaky clean or be it dirty filthy – puts the voters at a disadvantage.
Camuso’s failure to even discuss the pay raise, when Camuso has looked into the backgrounds of so many taxi drivers, is a huge red flag that Camuso is hiding something.
What benefits public safety more? A background check on a taxi driver, or a background check on a council president who holds the very life of our city in his hands?
Mr. Camuso needs to come clean on his past and needs to stop abusing the citizens at the City Council.
I would like to, again, ask why Adam Knight deserves a salary increase after only 3 weeks on the job and after 8 months of poor votes and self-serving congratulations to his neighbors, his friends, the lamp post, and to anyone who can benefit Mr. Knight.
The self-serving members of the City Council are obvious. They vote for what the Mayor wants. ANY Councilor voting for the parking meters is firmly in the Mayor’s back pocket, and if 5 councilors vote for Republic, they should be removed from the city council by the voters in 2015.
The citizens aren’t stupid, just at a disadvantage. That Camuso won’t allow discussion of his ugly pay raise, or won’t vote for voters to see the parking meter hearing, just the tip of the iceberg at how controlled by Mayor McGlynn that Camuso is, It also gives the impression that McGlynn -with the late Sheriff DiPaola’s wife in the McGlynn Administration- that McGlynn has some control over the office of Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, just as McGlynn had control over the Medford Housing Authority when Adeline DiPaola’s in-law, Robert Covelle, was in power.
It takes courage to put the facts on a communication.
Mr. Camuso has damaged this city by not being forthright and by not allowing free speech at the People’s Forum that he, Camuso, has hijacked as surely as TV3 was hijacked by the Frank Pilleri gang, which Camuso was oh so supportive of. The disreputable Pilleri regime which counted on Camuso’s support to continue their hideous practices.
It is time to install a new access station immediately and to remove Mr. Camuso from both the City Council and Sheriff Koutoujian’s office.
I demand the opportunity to bring these issues to the City Council
Sincerely,
Joe Viglione
