David Graves

One 943,

What do you mean call David? Who is David? You surely aren't talking about David Danz. That guy doesn't know anything, and if you do call him he will charge you. Oh wait, he does know one thing. How to take money from a Village that is going broke and give nothing in return.

geezsh..comments already disabled on other article!

Hey pantywast in mean drtfever now look what you buddys did I don!t blame you I would not say my name if I was on the crooks side. HA! just teasing you might be ok person I will quit being mean I!m sorry.

Where is the 'eject moron' button? (Apparently can't tell time either.) zatchoo Barney?

When are the men in this town going to stop this bull.Qnly the town can stop them lets have a meeting of the people who wants this to stop.HAVE 2 People then stand against this stubit man and get people higher up to stand with us.Demand that they all metzner putman dennson dean both lawers and new idiots that wants the town for their own to push around stoped.Someone has to be over this show.Does metzner have a boss? They had that meeting to throw wilson under.Not to stop anything just to start more lies and crap.Lets not forget about the other liers.

williepeter
Call David-- If the village pays for a squad they get the fines.And they will do what ever the asks.

Residents should know that cutting the police dept down will NOT cut costs OR lower taxes. A clever way to word it in the Family Connections, but very misleading.
These Good Old Boys have GOT to GO. They've been hoodwinking this village for too long, and look where they got us.
CITIZENS - I don't care who you vote for - just vote AGAINST Metzner AND Putman. Putman has had his turn, time for some new blood to show him how it's done.
Then we can keep our police protection, get new ways to revitalize, and finally get some credibility back.
Now they've set their sights on Officer Wilson? Give me a break! This whole village debacle is not only a witchhunt, but a disgrace.

Responsible

You might want to talk to the old board member Spoo or Hensch. One of them had checked into contracting the mowing out to 2 different companies, both came in cheaper than what the village pays employees to mow it. And I believe he said the whole place could be mowed in 2 days max, which included weed eating. He even went to a local landscape company, so the money goes back into the community eventually.

When he brought it in front of the board they laughed because that means the good ole boys friends would be without work. And as for the water, when a pipe or anything breaks within the Village it gets contracted out to Oldling. They had a chance to hire an Oldling employee full time. But they hired a mechanic instead. And all our village vehicles go to Schultz’s pit stop for service. Again, good supervision Hey?

living in a Village that is mostly comprised of Citizens who don't care about their community will make any one "a little off"

ResponsibleCitizen you are a little off.

"If somebody else patrols the village and issues a ticket, that ticket goes through THEIR court, NOT Darien's muni court"
If you hire the County the tickets all go to Darien's court. If you don't hire them--they get the fines

I understand that cuts need to be made everywhere...but do you want to volunteer your services free of charge to mow city grass, fix water issues, plow the streets, etc...Greg himself works his fair share as well. Tax dollars do not fund the DPW...if you attended a few budget meetings you would know that. All parties involved in the Village need to start cutting back...no OT unless absolutely necessary, un-necessary purchases, etc. We have been having the snow plowed in the Ponds Development off of Old 89 and yet there is no top coat of asphalt or street signs...this has not been added to the Village yet; HOWEVER we are paying for it.

Cut back in all Depts. then. There used to be 2 old men that did the job of 4 on DPW. Plus they used to pick up Garabage too. Granted we have 1 new park. They take advantage of this Village with overtime and paid lunches. And the police when DeVoy was there did everything he could to keep hours and costs down. Let Gregg Epping try doing that.

Reasonable,

I agree with cut backs, don't get me wromg, but all depts. need to do it. I can give you a list that would save this village $50,000 dollars a year, or more, just in the DPW alone. Tax payers spent money to send Epping to school, time he starts useing that education.

no one is talking about disbanding Williepeter...just cutting back!

Williepeter you said it right but you forgot about the force they use like guns in hand for paper warrents like childsupport and landlord problems. I have never seen darien pull gun without reason. Anyone who wants to get rid of police is a idiot or has bad reason. Also county won!t come to lockouts or lost pets .They also don!t know by site children and teenages if their is a problem.They don!t have the time or manpower.It!s not just tickets and such we need first hand police that know who is who and where each belongs you know what I mean.

People of the village didn't think so, thats why he is an old board member.

Hensch must be pretty smart if he sounds like me.

YEA FOR NOWAY. Looks like no one has the guy fooled. I vote for him to get $40.00 hour to teach metzner kid the ropes. Oh did I say that?I need a ride to creek road to pick up my truck think city will take me free they do free stuff for others?

Maybe not a "reduction in police coverage" just a different department doing it.

AND!!!!

This is just a perfect example of our village only trying to cut costs in one place. Did anyone see 3 DPW workers on Sun. working double time for the little amount of snow we got? Where is the supervision there? Almost all Villages have one Clerk and one assistant. Why does Darien need three people? You wonder why your water bills are so high and your taxes. There’s the problem. Maybe you should look into contracting out lawn mowing, we have some high paid DPW guys that ride around on mowers all day. What about the fuel and wear and tear on that equipment? Yes we need to make cuts but don't look in one place.

And remember, Zipp, Abbott, Wenzel and dear old Puttman got us in this situation. They need to step down and let some fresh Trustee's on the board that actually give a damn about the taxpayers. Not to pay people to say, " I have nothing to report at this time" Well you know what find something to report, that’s what we pay you for!!!!!!!

debio maybe they can get some more charge backs if they hire others? Why don!t these people just watch the cops they just don!t set in the cars and look pretty.There is a lot of stuff going on maybe that why the Family connections did!t put the police reports maybe Metzner don!t want the public to know? Looks like more kickbacks like others.

Responsible Ciitzen:

Before you and others start suggesting a reduction in police coverage I think things have to be thoroughly looked at. Has anyone solicited the opinion from the business and industrial owners in the village. Most if not all are not residents of the community and will not be able to cast their opinion via referendum. I would think most of the business owners, especially the bank, medical center, jewelry store etc would not appreciate their business unprotected. Darien needs positive "controlled" growth to increase the tax base. How many people are interested in moving to a community or starting a business knowing that they are not going to be protected. It's the year 2009 and if you don't read the papers to see how bad the crime rates are as a result of the economy - you should start. Everyday the papers are filled with articles involving criminal activity! As far as charging the village of Sharon for police services maybe you should check to see how many times they assist Darien without charge first. Charging other agencies for our services would turn into a full-time accounting job, then what have we gained? Having said all that, I do believe that there are options but I also believe they should be well thought out first before acting, and business owners (who pay the largest amount of taxes in the community) should have their say too.

Have a heart attack and wait for the county to respond vs. the village.

(Mortal means deadly)

There are extensive costs to having an officer of our own...with benefits & hourly plus fuel, wear & tear on vehicles, etc. $85/hr is not bad at all...I'm not saying get rid of our PD just look at the actual costs...this is public information.

mortal?

My understanding is for $85 per hour a Walworth Co squad will be dedicated to the Village. Now we need to know how much per hour it cost to keep a Darien squad car on the road

ResponsibleCitizen -
You are absolutely correct, there are options. All should be explored and offered to the public so an informed decision/choice can be made.
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Presenting the issue to the Public in the Family Connections as an either/or choice (the 'OR' choice being touted as equal to a 'tax reduction') is misleading and irresponsible.
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Not only did the Board vote unanimously NOT to use the Family Connections in political issues, the announcement failed to present the additional (and significant) costs associated with contracting out to Walworth County, both financial and mortal.

there are options

there are options to how many hours police coverage needs to be handled by a local PD...3 shifts 2 shifts M-Th & 3 shifts F,Sat,Sun...etc Hours can be managed to lower cost...The WCSD does not need to maintain a 24hr presence however we can attempt to rely on them should we be short handed...Other options are that we start to charge other municipalities when we assist...ie Village of Sharon; We do a lot of assists in Sharon. If we charged them for our presence it could help.

Well guess what Dr1, the county charges the village for that coverage at a rate of $85.00/hr. These simpletins on the board forget to tell you things like that. Plus houses are being broke into along with churches. So if you don't want police coverage then move somewhere else. I DO!!!

Guess what? My web is working.I heard some bad things are being said my name is Regina and I will stand up for the McCues and the Chief ON this web or in the face of the wrong side I not afraid to to tell anyone my name.As far as when the Chief was taken out of the meeting and the doors nailed shut some board members did not no what was going on.This was Metzners doing.As far as cutting our police Dep.and fire Dep. Why don!t they cut the library money down we can do with out that instead of our public service.Move the city offices in that building to save money they don!t need all that room.

That's a mouthfull, WP, but you are spot-on.

Lifeisawheel: It is refreshing to see the support, but as CuGuy said, this is the exception, rather than the rule. I don't think the general citizens of communities realize how many 'hollow' leaders they have. 'Hollow' having several meanings: One is the 'leader' who looks good on paper, but can hide their actual lack of leadership skills behind a talent for schmooz. Another might be the 'leader' who deals with their own shortcomings by trying to make others look bad. Still another might be the 'leader' that is so caught up in themselves that they won't give the time of day to more experienced, better educated employees. The problem is that often, the public wont find the time to actually look closely at the situation, until the 'house of cards' inevitabley falls. The public is too often ready to accept the official 'party line' of those in charge, to the chagrin of truth and reality. Our 'system' needs more than just passive attention--from the locals right up through the state and federal leadership. America is hard work, if you want it to succeed; too few are willing to put the time in. Your community, in this case, is doing it right!****Ok, I'm starting to sweat...I'll step down off the soapbox now....

Yes Danz was a DA, but then you think he would be smart enough to handle a municpality. So why does he have to hire other lawyers to help him. Darien is a big cash cow for him. After this is all said and done, I hope people wake up and see how much of an Idiot this guy is and get rid of him. Hire a municple Lawyer.

If he was such a good DA why is he working for the Village???

Has anyone seen the agenda for tonight? Is the board reconvening to open session after the closed portion? If so, what is the agenda item under open session?

Does anyone know if Chief DeVoy is going to be there?

I really don't think one has a choice NOT to 'rally to his cause'. It is so obvious, that it is both deafening and blinding what is going on here. I feel sorry for Chief DeVoy and his family for having to have gone through this. No one deserves anything close to that for simply doing their job.

Agreed with all your points, Prof. I say again, that the people of Darien are lucky that this is public. I also want to say that Chief DeVoy is lucky that some of the citizens of Darien are principled enough to stand up for him. This is pretty rare.

Also, keep in mind what happens to officers/Chiefs who are wrongly accused. Folks here have talked about how the problems of Orfordville and Albany could have been discovered with a background check. That can also work against a good cop/chief. A chief falsely accuses a cop becuase the chief feels threatened. The board goes along with the chief and fires the cop. Now what? When that cop tries to get hired elsewhere, the rumors from the previous employer come up.

What, then? If the cop files suit, he may win against that village, but he will then be even more tarnished in some eyes for having filed the suit.

Fortunate is he who has the backing and support of citizens who will take up the cause. Chief DeVoy is perhaps the luckiest guy around today because of those who rally to his cause!

At any rate, good luck to the citizens of Darien tonight; you deserve better.

Another thing to maybe keep in mind. Atty Danz was at one time the Walworth County DA. As such, he probably has a much better understanding of law enforcement practices than the average municipal attorney. Thus, he should well know about the legalities of the use of surveillance equipment. At least one would hope so at any rate.

Finally, there are MANY eyes watching. Are you reading this, Danz, Metzner and Dennison? You'll be on STAGE tonight...
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Will Connie be there, or is she crouched in a corner somewhere mumbling to herself in 'distress'?

He didn't get a 'pass', and no one looked the other way. He kept a little 'black book' on what was going on, and when he thought it would benefit him, he made the official accusations. After that, a special prosecutor investigated, and presented the case. What hurt the former chief the most was that he never once denied any of the charges--never! There was no doubt in my mind, based on the evidence presented over 3 days, that the allegations were true. That doesn't mean I gave the 'individual' a pass, or looked the other way; quite the contrary. He lost credibility in my mind because he didn't come forward sooner. I also remember his Albany days. And, "Nowwhat", I'm sorry your village spent that kind of money. Fact is, though, a number of you guys let that person be chief, despite all that was going on. It was a disgrace. Getting back to the Darien situation, the tragedy is that the chief--or his designee--apparently didn't do a thorough background.

nowwhat,

Kind of happened the same way here. Funny how he seamed to move right in while Chief was on medical leave. Thats probably when Chief got suspicious of files being tampered with. And Metzner was there behind him the whole time. They looked so cute riding around with each other holding hands. Kinda like a married couple.

And now our acting Chief, sry can't say that. Cause he will never be more than a Sgt. (little fella,barney) won't even stand in the board room during meetings. He hides in the doorway of the police station, half in half out. Probably afraid he will be confronted about his lies. And if he hides behind a door afraid to confront the people who pay him, think how well he will protect us out of the office. He is just a scared little kid that got in way over his head, and I hope Chief DeVoy slams the door shut, HARD, soon!!!!

And remember, in situations like this, people will make up lies to further their own agenda. It's not just limited to Darien unfortunately.

I dont know your Chief Devoy I am sure he is a good guy. But all I can say is he did not do a very good background check on Maltese. It would not take much for someone to find out what he did in Orfordville and Albany. Even if the local officials would not say anything other area law enforcement officers would have gave him an ear full.

Professor -

Is it true?
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DID you excuse 'the indvidual' at some point? Did he bamboozle you or did you just look the other way?
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Valid question, because people were bashing DeVoy for hiring him in the first place.
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Did your actions (or non-actions) result in the ruination of a Police Chief's career?

What this boils down to folks is this. Maltese will do what ever it takes to get himself a Chief of Police job. When he was in Orfordville he was fine until he found out he was going to get laid off because of budget cuts. He waited until the chief went on a weeks vacation and he went to work with his lies and back stabbing. He may look like he is a professional and that he cares about your town but it is all a show to get him into the chiefs job. He could care less about you or your town. Ask him if he will move there. He will never move to your town unless he is forced to. He will use anyone he can to support his agenda. When he doesn't need you any more you will never hear from him again. He went to people that had axes to grind and got them fired up against the chief. He went to the chief's sister inlaw and got her to make stuff up. Beleave me he will do what ever it takes. And if you support him and beleave what he is saying then I feel sorry for you. Because at some point you and your community will pay for it.

Professor, You say "Trust me, virtually everyone saw at the end of that case how a certain individual conducted himself, and how he set a new low for underhanded, stab-in-the back-if-it-benefits-me behavior; it was lost on no-one with any kind of values--professionally, or personally. Few had respect for this individual before hand; even fewer afterwords." Then why did you rule against the Orfordville Chief when you knew that Maltese was lying. Got his inlaws that were mad about a estate matter to lie about him. The chief wasn't perfect but 90% of that circus was all made up and bull sh*&^. For you to go one here and bad mouth Maltese makes me sick. It makes you look like an idiot for buying in to his MO of getting other officers fired to futher himself. Orfordville spent over $100,000 and the chief spent over $20,000 for that witch hunt and YOU went along with it.

LOL

A lake that is on fire.

lifeisawheel-
Only if it's pointed downhill at a lake.

cc_d

I understand and agree but apparently only 80 of us are going to ever help C.K. jump start her car.

BoBo Stop over by my house this evening if you can after 9pm . ResponsibleCitizen and you to .

Skip--Ok, I figured out what you meant. Trust me, virtually everyone saw at the end of that case how a certain individual conducted himself, and how he set a new low for underhanded, stab-in-the back-if-it-benefits-me behavior; it was lost on no-one with any kind of values--professionally, or personally. Few had respect for this individual before hand; even fewer afterwords.

About 11 years ago, I was an elected member of a school board (in another state) with a student population twice the size of Darien. I was elected to this board during a time of great controversy regarding irresponsible spending by the prior board and unfounded accusations against the superintendant.

The most tragic of all was the division in the community. The wrongs were righted, the financial issues dealt with, the responsible parties, well, fired. It took time, and cost the taxpayers money, much like this situation.

But when you have neighbors upset with each other, and other people calling your community degrading names, it's just so unhealthy. (you can imagine how bad it was given our situation, which involved the education of our children - emotional!)

I guess I just wanted to say that just remember, no matter what happpens with this, you will still want to be able to count on and have a neighborly relationship with, those who live around you and your family. So don't let the actions of others, or comments during an emotionally charged time, make you forget about the comfort of that friendly wave from the guy down the street on your way home every evening, or keep you from taking that extra ten minutes to grab your jumper cables and help the lady across the street get her car started so she can get to her doctor's appointment.

This siuation has been handled with disrespect for many people in Darien, in many ways. But we are still neighbors.

Unfortunately, the sewers are running deeper than most want to believe. The unfortunate part is that, to an uninformed public, any time a working stiff accuses management of wrongdoing, they are immediately branded as 'disgruntled employee'--a brand that is often accepted because of an apathetic public. That forces lawsuits. What a shame. In a lot of cases, you have a decent worker going up against a solid member of the 'peter principle' club. At a different level, you might also have a village president or city manager do something completely absurd, but you hear that tired old response by the governing board, "Well, we have to back our guy." It's that kind of crappy leadership by an arrogant few that the rest of us end up paying for. See what you've done? Now you've got me started!

Another example of corruption in politics? What's our free country coming to? I find it rather embarrassing and wonder how hard deceased vets are turning in their graves to find out the country they fought for has gone completely to the sewers!

Angel--Thanks...

Copperguy and Professor-
You both are very well-versed with Police and Village governing rules. Please continue to share your comments and observations after tomorrow's kangaroo court is convened and the 'charges' against Chief DeVoy are finally brought out, and his status is addressed.

CuGuy--I guess what I was trying to say was that I hope each and every Board member had their heart and soul into the decision they made to suspend, and it wasn't just a case of 'you lie, and I'll swear to it.' I've seen a number of cases in small communities where no one wants to take ownership of their decision, instead, putting it off on--like this case--the atty. Because something is legal, doesn't make it ethical or moral. BTW, this is exactly why the law cannot be ammended to allow suspension w/out pay. There was some heavy momentum for that after a couple of celebrated cases from Madison F.D. and Milwaukee P.D.

Skipp--Sorry, but I'm not sure what you are getting at????

Hey Professor, it wasn’t too long ago when the “acting chief” buffaloed you in Orfy.

Prof:

I agree with what I think you are saying. However, you and I both know the statutory protections for police officers' employment. Granted, some attorneys may be well versed in certain areas of municipal law but yet not be familiar with the police employment aspect. But, if an attorney counsels a municipal body that action they are considering would violate the law - thus creating substantial liability for the municipality - then I think a decision to act contrary to that advice is ethically wrong.
If things are as they appear, then I cannot imagine the Darien corporation counsel suggesting they were safe in suspending Chief DeVoy. If he advised them of the legal liability and they suspended anyway, then they should be held accountable.
I know Chief DeVoy has to be spending a lot of money on attorneys. They won't work on contingency unless he actually gets fired. This is a losing situation no matter the outcome. It's exactly why the statutes protect police officers' jobs.

CuGuy: Excellent points. Is the Board--the elected representatives of Darien--doing what THEY want to do in this situation, or, as is too often the case in smaller communities especially, are they just doing what the atty. suggests? In other words, the Board should make whatever policy decision they see fit (and be responsible for it), and 'execute' it with city atty. guidance. I HOPE this isn't a case where the atty. was asked to make the underlying policy decision on what to do with the Chief, and the Board simply endorse it. If the Board is 'wagging the tail' (as it should be), then they can stop this any time they want. The fact that they haven't leads me to believe that a majority (at least) realize they've stepped into quick-sand, and don't know how to get out.

George,
Stop over by my house this evening if you can after 5pm

SarahB...Hooterville is a compliment, we should be so organized.

What a mess. I, too, only know what I have read in the Gazette on this matter. I feel for the community because the place comes off looking like Hooterville and an image like that brings zero growth.

copperguy-
Very astute observations.
Question is, will the book be a spoof or a horror story?

The people of Dairen are fortunate that this entire situation is public. Often in villages, things are kept so quiet that the citizens never have a clue. That situation deprives everyone of knowing that there are bad players - be it elected officials behaving badly toward a Chief, or a Chief behaving badly toward subordinate officers.

I agree with Professor. It seems that the Board lacks grounds to terminate Chief Devoy, or they would have done so by now.

One other observation...there can be no expectation of privacy in a public area. A village hall or police department building is a public place. Public areas are frequenty subject to surveillance, either with or without notice.

The idea that the Chief of Police would be suspended as a result of him conducting an investigation is mind boggling. Many, many investigations occur every day without anyone other than the investigator(s) knowing about them. It's tough to investigate wrongdoing if the potential wrongdoers are aware they are being investigated.

Based on the information presented in the Gazette coverage, I am astounded that the Chief was suspended. I would be more surprised if a competent municipal attorney counseled the Village Board TO suspend. I would NOT be surprised if a Village Board suspended even though their counsel advised them not to do so.

Sounds like a good book waiting to be written!

ResponsibleCitizen:
"This whole situation might show why the Village Board should not have control over the Police Department...it should supervised by a Police Commission."

AMEN! This is the most intelligent thing you have said! I know this was on one candidate's agenda to prevent this from happening in the future, but then you don't like that candidate...

Professor:
Couldn't have said it better!

As it will be a closed meeting...we won't know what exactly is said in the meeting.

I can't wait to hear what was of such grave importance that the entire Board voted to suspend the Chief, and escort him out of the building. It clearly couldn't be THAT bad, or they would have had clear grounds to have already fired him. My guess is that it will end up involving Metzner, his tool (the acting chief) and some irrelevant issue. Textbook case of how to be unprofessional. Each time I read about this case, and some of those directly involved, I feel like I need to take a shower.

Attorney Danz needs to find a new job. When will the board figure out he has done nothing at all to help this community. How long has the sewer thing on Beloit St. been going on? 3 years now? Maybe he is so busy covering everyone’s butts on the board and also village employees, that he doesn't have time to help the taxpayers who pay him.

He has lied to former board members and has to hire other Attorneys to do what we pay him to do. New board members: First thing on your Agenda should be to find a competent Attorney. And then start building the downtown and put Gerry Pelishek in his place.

Bring back our Chief Danz!!!!!!

that is a committee not a commission!

From looking at the Darien Web Site your Police Commission is made up of your board members.

This whole situation might show why the Village Board should not have control over the Police Department...it should supervised by a Police Commission.

Obviously this entire situation has been handled badly...in 3 months Hazelbaker has spent less than an entire work week handling this case.

I don't know anything about this situation other than what I've read in the Gazette. But, I'll tell you what. If I were a Darien resident, I'd be absolutely FUMING! Since the beginning of December, the Chief has been suspended with pay while the board and others apparently wring their hands and hem and haw about what to do. How much has the Chief been paid, with Darien resident tax dollars, to sit at home while the board tries to devise a way to get out of trouble?

Again, based only on what I've read in the paper, it would seem obvious that "someone" was accessing confidential records and, when they figured they were caught, panicked. I don't know who that someone is but, to my way of thinking, he or she has a lot of explaining to do.

Here's hoping the truth will come to light, and SOON!

I don't blame DeVoy one bit for having the cameras installed. It's pretty sad when you can't trust the people you work with, especially when you work in law enforcement. I hope he is reinstated soon and the trouble makers are removed from duty.