Foolish Slugfest
March 18, 2007
Two of Connecticut's sleaziest political operatives are toe-to-toe in New Haven: Mayor John DeStefano Jr. has accused Scot X. Esdaile, president of the state and New Haven chapters of the NAACP, of using threats to try to cajole a contract worth hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the city. Esdaile, in turn, says the mayor turned a blind eye to police corruption in the Elm City.
When either of these men call fire, one is well advised to sit tight. Odds are it's a bluff.
DeStafano claims that Esdaile came calling this week. Esdaile wanted the City to outright award the NAACP a community outreach program worth $400,000. No need for a demonstration of qualifications. Just how me the money. When DeStafano balked, Esdaile reportedly said that word on the street was that the mayor had previously intervened to save the job of a police detective who just this week was arrested by the FBI for corruption. DeStefano sensed a shakedown and the meeting ended.
Timing is everything. Esdaile visited immediately after the FBI shut down police headquarters as it arrested the city's top narcotics cop and seized records. After the meeting between Esdaile and DeStefano, word spread of a public meeting on March 27 at which Esdaile will be a panelist. The topic? Why, the mayor's role in covering up corruption. Serendipity? I don't think so.
DeStefano is capable of just about anything. Not long ago, New Haven's former chief of police, Melvin Wearing, who is black, was tagged with a $5 million verdict for retaliating against a police officer who had arrested one of the mayor's cronies. DeStefano testified at trial and was reviled by jurors. The city's response to the chief in the wake of the judgment? You are on your own. The city intends to walk away from the punitive damages component of the award. Trouble is, Wearing was never consulted about potential settlements and was not informed prior to trial that he might get stuck with the award. DeStefano looks sleazy. (Full disclosure note: I am helping the plaintiff's lawyer attempt to secure the award. Bad faith claims, anyone?)
Esdaile denies any shakedown, of course. "That man has a serious character and integrity issue. He should be ashamed of himself. He hasn’t done right in dealing with violence in the community. He hasn’t done right in dealing with the corruption in the Police Department," Esdaile said.
But Esdaile brings the moral sensibility of a retired pimp to his role as state leader of the NAACP. I cannot fathom why an organization with such a long and proud history had to resort to a hustler as chairman. Esdaile sees race in every issue, whether it is present or not. He is not a black professional seeking to advance the interests of people of color; he is a professional black man spending moral capital invested by others. He is fully capable of the shakedown described by DeStefano.
A federal grand jury is rumored to be impaneled to take a long, hard look at the New Haven police department. The chief predicts there will be more arrests. Public confidence in the department is shaken.
It's no suprise that some seek to take advantage of this for political gain. But the NAACP deserves better leadership than it gets from Mr. Esdaile. Shakedowns demean an organization with a proud history.
DeStefano v. Esdaile? Not much of a showdown. Call it the undercard in a foolish slugfest.