Conflicting Laws Stifle Release of Names In D-SNAP Case
by Christine Stuart | Jan 20, 2012 6:29am
(7) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Courts, Labor, Legal
It’s been more than a month since Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced he would be looking to terminate and prosecute any state employee found guilty of post-Irene food stamp fraud, but as of this week only two of the 74 state employees investigated were terminated from their positions.
Attorney Rich Rochlin, who was out of the country Thursday, has said at least one of his 17 clients has been terminated and the Malloy administration confirmed there was another employee who has been fired.
Beyond that the Malloy administration has been quiet about the investigation and Malloy’s Chief Legal Counsel Andrew McDonald said there’s not much he can say even about the terminated employees.
He said the state’s Freedom of Information statutes would normally require the state to disclose the information, however, there’s also statutes governing the privacy of food stamp applicants.
McDonald said he asked the attorney general’s office to look at the juxtaposition of the two statutes and make a determination about whether information about the terminated state employees can be released.
“The question the attorney general’s office is going to be analyzing is how to reconcile that general rule with a very specific statute that precludes the dissemination of that information,” McDonald said Thursday.
Until the terminated employee has exhausted their legal and administrative appeals the names of those individuals may go unreported unless the Freedom of Information Commission finds the information should be released. If that’s how it plays out it’s likely that a complaint would be filed and appealed to Superior Court before the issue is resolved.
Asked about state and federal prosecutors McDonald said none of those applications referred to those authorities has been released, “so they are still part of the criminal investigation.”
Rochlin has said he hasn’t heard from state or federal prosecutors regarding any of his clients.
The fraud investigation was announced by Malloy on Dec. 4.
Rochlin has been the Malloy administration’s most outspoken critic in the matter. Last week he filed a lawsuit against the administration for allegedly trying to stop him from speaking to his clients.
Tags: Andrew McDonald, Rich Rochlin, food stamps, D-SNAP, Malloy, state employees
(7) Comments
posted by: Disgruntled | January 20, 2012 11:03am
On the way to Switzerland,Dan should drop by some of the former Eastern Block capitols and pick up a few pointers on police techniques.
The heavy handed approach to “leadership” that this administration uses fits well with,say,the Stasi.
Bon Voyage Dan!
Tell all those folks in Davos that Connecticut (Hartford in particular) is a great place to breed rats!
posted by: lkulmann | January 20, 2012 12:32pm
OK…I think I got some inside scoop! The 2 people that got fired are Peter Pan and Mary Poppins. Does that really matter…Who cares WHO they are! Get rid of the debris and create jobs to remove all of it…we need to make room for the Federal government to administer the CT DSS programs…In case you haven’t heard, The DSS Iceberg is mucking up much more than DSnap…
posted by: ... | January 20, 2012 1:40pm
Disgruntled, if you had any historical knowledge of what the Stasi engaged in and accomplished in its nearly 40 year reign, you’d rescind your remark and apologize to all those families who lost loved ones to secret executions and imprisonments. Then again, your post has little relevance to the story above anyways, and is merely your rants about a state you seem to no longer care for, and have about 49 other you could move to.
As for the names being withheld, I believe this is a smart move for those workers who could be badgered by media or targeted by disgruntled citizens with malicious intent. Give the issue a year or so to be resolved before allowing the names to be released so they guilty (or not) and their families do not face the wrath of the public trials.
posted by: Disgruntled | January 20, 2012 3:27pm
Oh gosh! Just because I think of Wilhelm Zaisser or Eric Honecker when I seen Ben Barnes or any number of Dan’s cronies,does that make me a bad person?
Trust your government,no matter the party,at your own risk.
Dan’s heavy hand has historic (albeit minor) similarities to many political regimes but give him time.
“We have information in our possession” began a letter from the state of Ct. I received the other day….
As for a relocation:
I’m here.
On Sunday’s I will soon be able to buy beer.
I will not disappear.
Unless Christine completely censors me.
posted by: Disgruntled | January 20, 2012 4:48pm
While I was never one to be too paranoid (the Stasi could never happen here!Ask J. Edgar Hoover) ,another great information blog posted this,apropos to placing your faith in government officials:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security regularly monitors dozens of websites, including Facebook, Twitter, WikiLeaks, YouTube, and even the New York Times Lede Blog, Global Voices Online, and the Blog del Narco, in order to “collect information used in providing situational awareness and establishing a common operating picture,” reported Reuters.Why is the U.S. Department of Homeland Security monitoring American journalists in the USA? In the USA freedom of speech has its appropriate and legal limits, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Be aware that the U.S. government is watching journalists to monitor what they write or say. See the site, Department of Homeland Security Preserving our Freedoms.This initiative is called the National Operations Center (NOC)’s Media Monitoring Initiative. The ‘operations’ sprang up from the DHS headquarters in November, 2011. Washington has the written permission to retain data on users of social media and online networking platforms. See, Department of Homeland Security’s National Operations Center.And check out the site, Daily Kos “DHS to “collect personal information from news anchors”. Here’s what the DHS (Dept. of Homeland Security) can do. The DHS announced the NCO and its Office of Operations Coordination and Planning (OPS) can collect personal information from news anchors, journalists, reporters or anyone who may use “traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.”In real time, eh? Traditional? Keeping readers informed? That means you also, the citizen journalist. Watch what you say and stay ‘normal’ and ‘appropriate.’ If you rant and rave or show emotion in your writing (unless it’s compassion), you will be monitored, even your tweets and guffaws.
posted by: Disgruntled | January 20, 2012 5:17pm
A final link for the week and my rant will be complete. Germane to the article above? Only in the sense that the government is watching and listening and Dan would do anything to keep this job and move onto the next one.Think about it. That and the current Malloy administration appears to play loosey-goosey with facts,numbers and policy.
While CtNewJunkie is not on the DHS list,our public servants are reading (hopefully not on the job)as I noted recently when I heard a Ct.state official quote one of my Disgruntled rants practically verbatium! Christine obviously has a following!
Wish I could say someone was buying me a trip to Davos but I get to stay home and shovel snow. Paranoid? Nope. Just old enough to have learned NOT to trust my elected officials.
http://cryptome.org/2012/01/0001.pdf
posted by: ... | January 20, 2012 7:00pm
While it is certainly fine to rant and rave about the perceived or real ills of our nation, this comment board right here, right now, is about DSNAP. I made my complaint because your comments take an extremely loose hold of the story and then stretch it out past the limits of relevance.
So don’t worry Disgruntled, I’m not trying to silence your right to speak out about the issues you stated. Just perhaps to keep the topic at hand (this story) ‘at hand’.