By RICHARD WEIZEL
Staff writer Posted: 12/16/2008 06:53:59 PM EST
Mayor's brother sues over records flap - Topix
STRATFORD -- Christian Miron, the brother of Mayor James R. Miron, is seeking monetary damages in a defamation lawsuit filed this week against the Stratford police union, current and former union leaders and Town Council Chairman Michael Henrick, R-10, over what he contends was the improper release of his personnel records when he applied to become a police officer in March.
The lawsuit alleges the defendants committed "civil conspiracy" and violated Miron's "right to privacy" under state statutes by publicly releasing his background file to the media and council members.
The defamation lawsuit was filed at Bridgeport Superior Court by Milford lawyer Anthony J. Pantuso against Stratford Police Local 407, Council 15, AFSCME; union President Joseph McNeil; Shawn Farmer, a former officer who previously was the union president, and Henrick.
"What happened to Mr. Miron shouldn't happen to anybody," said Pantuso. "This is small town politics at its worst and ugliest, with Mr. Miron targeted simply for being the mayor's brother."
The lawsuit claims "Miron has suffered lost wages and benefits, damage to his reputation, and mental and emotional distress and anguish."
The lawsuit alleges defamation, invasion of privacy, civil conspiracy and interference with business relations. It follows the October demotion of McNeil from captain to sergeant by Chief Administrative Officer Suzanne McCauley, and a 60-day suspension for "acting together" earlier this year with Farmer over the release of Miron's personnel file.
A conditional offer to hire Miron as a police officer was issued in March, even though the information leaked from his application raised questions as to whether he might not be fit for police work, officials said. The background file showed he scored well on the written and oral exams, and that a psychologist who interviewed him recommended he be hired, while expressing "strong reservations'' about whether he is emotionally fit for the job.
McNeil and Farmer strongly deny wrongdoing.
"Capt. McNeil and former Sgt. Shawn Farmer deny violating any Connecticut law, invading the privacy of Christian Miron, conspiring with anyone to do anything regarding Miron, or interfering with any purported business relationship between Miron and the Town of Stratford," Milford lawyer Clayton Quinn, who represents both men, said in a statement Tuesday.
"The background investigations of prospective police officers for the Stratford Police Department have been treated as publicly accessible for years," Quinn states. "The only thing unique about Christian Miron's prospective employment was his relationship with the mayor of Stratford and the substance of his background investigation."
The lawsuit contends that both accessing and releasing Miron's background file went far beyond routine departmental practices and "were taken with malicious and or improper intent."
"McNeil and Farmer, acting in their capacities as officers of the union, accessed Miron's background report, including [his] psychological evaluation on a computer in the Stratford Police Department's record room and printed one or more copies to the media and to several members of the Stratford Town Council, including Henrick," the lawsuit contends.
A disciplinary report issued last month by McCauley was made public two days after McNeil was demoted to sergeant and suspended without pay for three months.
It concludes that McNeil made copies of Christian Miron's nine-page background file, and Farmer, the former union president who resigned in May, sent them to several Town Council members and the media, in violation of numerous departmental policies.
The report does not speculate on the officers' motives for releasing the files, but some in the department have said they believe Miron was not qualified and was being fast-tracked for a job because he is the mayor's brother.
"By releasing Miron's background report and giving statements to the media, [the] defendants gave publicity to facts concerning Miron's private life, this invading his privacy," according to the lawsuit. "As a result, Miron was subjected to public ridicule, embarrassment and humiliation, and the offer of employment with the [department] was withdrawn."
Among the facts listed in Miron's background check include that he admitted smoking marijuana fewer than 10 times in the past decade; that he showed deception on a polygraph test when asked about driving after consuming alcohol; and doubts were raised by a psychologist about "a somewhat unstable work and academic history.
Concerning Henrick, the lawsuit contends the council chairman made "various false and defamatory statements regarding Miron, including that 'this is just another example of how this mayor gives relatives jobs that they are not qualified to do,' and 'If [Miron] became a Stratford police officer, he could put someone's life in danger.'
Henrick said he was "shocked" to be named in the lawsuit.
Town Attorney Richard Buturla said he is considering whether the town can or will provide legal defense for any or all of the defendants.