Michael P. Mayko, Staff Writer
Published: 11:29 p.m., Wednesday, September 8, 2010
SHELTON -- Ask people in the Woodland Mobile Home Park what kind of neighbor Edward Voccola is, and several respond "Jekyll and Hyde;" "wanna be cop" and "a problem resident."
They also ask that their names not be published for fear of retribution.
"If you want me to rate him as to the average tenants," said Sam Campbell, the resident manager at the park located off Bridgeport Avenue, "I would have to say there have been problems."
But the problems mostly stem from an ongoing dispute between Voccola, 52, of 98 Woodland Park and his next door neighbor of four years at 97 Woodland Park.
Last October, the neighbor complained to park management and police that Voccola dumped waste motor oil in his yard.
Since then, the neighbor, who declined to comment on the incidents Wednesday, has claimed feces were thrown on his porch, rocks were tossed at his skylight and a shut-off valve was crushed by someone stepping on it. But none of this can be directly attributed to Voccola by witnesses.
So the neighbor installed a security system with a video camera on his house and, according to Detective Ben Trabka, captured Voccola pouring muriatic acid, a corrosive, poisonous masonry cleaner, onto the water line leading to his home.
As a result, police searched Voccola's shed Sunday and seized several bottles of muriatic acid and other chemicals. They charged Voccola, a 22-year veteran Bridgeport firefighter Sunday with attempt at second-degree criminal assault on a person over 60 and first-degree reckless endangerment. He is free on $25,000 bond pending an appearance Monday in Derby Superior Court.
Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch Tuesday placed Voccola on administrative paid leave, pending the outcome of the case.
Dismantled scanners and their motherboards lay on Voccola's porch and in his open trash can Wednesday afternoon. On three occasions no one answered knocks on his door, even though a car was parked in his driveway.
The incident and his arrest "shocked" Voccola's other next door neighbor, Mary Kovac.
"Whenever I needed help, Ed always obliged," said Kovac. "He cut my grass for me. I never had a problem with him. I feel bad if this is true."
She said she knows the victim and his wife "only to say hello."
But walk across the street and the opinions of Voccola are different among several older residents.
One elderly woman called him a "Jekyll and Hyde" who could be "very nice" at first, then will "complain about everything ... I want nothing to do with him."
Another woman said her husband often complains Voccola "is a problem."
A third woman described Voccola as a "wannabe cop."
About two years ago, the middle-aged woman caught Voccola "rummaging through the glove compartment" of her son's girlfriend's car while it was parked in front of Voccola's home.
"I asked him, `What are you doing?' and he told me, `If it is unregistered I'm going to get it towed,' " she said. "I told him, `I am going to call the cops.' "
She said Voccola followed her down the street before throwing the papers at her.
In another incident, she said a friend was fixing her car stereo and turned it on loud. She claimed Voccola came out, approached the man and began yelling at him.
"He should have been kicked out last year for the oil," the woman said. "He's part of the reason I am selling."
Campbell and Helene Stancato, an official of Garden Home Management which manages the park, both said attempts to evict him over the oil dumping incident failed because there were no eyewitnesses.
Garden Home Management paid approximately $6,000 to remove the toxic soil from the two properties, said Rick Ellis, Garden Home's regional manager and former head of the Bridgeport Economic Development Corp.
"We had tests done on the soil in his yard and in his neighbor's yard, and it came back positive for waste oil," said Ellis.
Campbell said that, as the resident manager, he has approached Voccola regarding complaints received.
"Generally, he has been receptive," Campbell said, adding that at times Voccola became "belligerent. He flat out denies things."
Campbell suspects pouring a corrosive acid on the rubber washer and bushings of the water line would cause them to deteriorate and lead to a water leak.
"I have been keeping a close watch on things," he said. "I've been going by the place and looking for anything unusual."
None of this seemed to bother Bill Kozak, who is attempting to buy the trailer at 96 Woodland Park, right next to the victim.
"This seems like a nice peaceful neighborhood," said Kozak. "This doesn't concern me, not in the least."