Shawn Wooden noted that Thom Deller approved payments he shouldn’t have, leaving the city “out of pocket at least $735,000.”
The president of Hartford's City Council is calling for the termination of the city's development director, after a deal to build a new professional soccer facility collapsed and the city apparently overpaid for work at Dillon Stadium.
The original plan was to lease land to a developer who would then build the stadium. But then news broke that the developer -- James Duckett -- had financial and legal troubles. Then came word that the city had been overbilled by Duckett’s partner, Premier Sports Management Group.
And both facts have Council President Shawn Wooden wondering why the city hadn't done better due diligence. In a letter to Mayor Pedro Segarra Wednesday, Wooden asked the mayor to immediately “terminate the employment of Thomas Deller as Director of the Department of Development Services.”
“Mr. Deller cannot function in that position any longer because he has completely forfeited the trust of the Council, of the public, and, I must assume, of the Mayor,” Wooden wrote, noting that Deller approved payments that he shouldn’t have, leaving the city “out of pocket at least $735,000.”
“How can any of us have any confidence that the invoices that he may approve in the future, on any project, will be more carefully vetted?” Wooden asked. His letter then went on to list other areas in which he said Deller breached the public’s trust, including withholding information on Duckett’s background from the city council.
“I assume, because you did not notify the Council of that information, that he withheld that information from you, as well,” Wooden wrote Segarra. “How can you continue to employ him after he so badly failed the city’s trust?”
Segarra’s administration will end when a new mayor comes to office next year. But Wooden said that the city can’t wait that long to act.
Immediate efforts to reach Deller were unsuccessful. A spokesman for Segarra said the mayor has received the letter, is reviewing it, and is planning to respond.
In his role, Deller also served as Segarra’s point person in the early discussions to bring a baseball stadium and minor league baseball team to downtown Hartford.
UPDATE: Segarra responded to Wooden in a letter Wednesday evening. In it, he said he was concerned about the situation, too. But he also refused to act as Wooden suggested.
"It is premature to take any personnel action without having all the facts. Moreover, as you know, it may expose the City to civil liability," Segarra wrote. "While I am very disturbed at some the facts that have emerged thus far, I strongly believe that we need to give those who are responsible for investigating these transactions and processes time to provide an analysis of what has transpired. With those facts in hand, I will not hesitate to take whatever administrative action is necessary as I trust those who are conducting the administrative and criminal investigation will do the same."
