Town Reaches Settlement With Fired Police Officer

The town has reached a settlement with a former police officer fired by the town after he was accused of consorting with prostitutes and felons while on duty, and a wide variety of other transgressions.

First Selectman Fillmore McPherson said Friday that the town settled a lawsuit with former police officer Bernard Durgin, who filed for a disability pension after being placed on administrative leave in 2007, pending an investigation into “a number of alleged transgressions.”

 “If granted, the disability pension would have entitled him to one half of his annual salary,” McPherson said, in a prepared statement. “The town denied the pension request and Durgin brought suit to have his pension granted.”

Case settled right before it was due to go to trial

Town officials met in a special emergency executive session Wednesday Jan. 18, 2012 to discuss the case. McPherson said Friday the settlement took place on the Jan. 20. The suit was scheduled to go to trial Monday, Jan. 23rd. 

“Under the settlement, Durgin will receive one half of his original disability pension payment (one fourth of the earned pension), amounting to approximately $16,000 per year, payable from the pension fund.  He also gave up the retiree health benefits which he could have been entitled to,” McPherson said.

"This closes a chapter from the past"

 “This closes a chapter from the past,” McPherson said. “While we were tempted to move forward with the trial because we felt the town had a strong case, there is always some uncertainty in these situations.

"We therefore felt it was in the best interest of the town to clear the decks.  An important factor was his yielding of retiree health benefits, because the liability over the next 25 years could prove to be very costly.”

The town still has another suit pending against it from former Police Officer Rebecca Ricciuti. McPherson declined comment on that suit, since the case is still ongoing.

Another suit from former police officer seeks $1.5 million in damages

Ricciuti filed suit against the town in 2009, seeking $1.5 million in damages, after being fired for “failing to meet acceptable standards,” according to the New Haven Register.

She filed suit against the town of Madison, along with Garry Gyzenis, Emile Geisenheimer, David Smith, Lawrence Moon, Edward Kritzman, and Robert Nolan.

In December 2011, United States District Judge Mark R. Kravitz denied the town’s request for a summary judgment in the case.

Ricciuti alleges she was fired "because she spoke out against ... spending and scheduling practices

“Plaintiff Rebecca Ricciuti alleges that the Defendants—the Town of Madison, its acting Chief of Police, and members of its police commission—fired her from the Madison Police Department because she spoke out against its spending and scheduling practices,” the memorandum of decision says.

“ … Ms. Ricciuti claims that the Defendants unlawfully retaliated against her for speech that was made as a citizen and protected by the First Amendment … on the record currently before it, the Court finds that Ms. Ricciuti’s speech was protected under the First Amendment, that the law clearly established this in 2009, and that the Defendants’ affirmative defenses hinge on questions of material fact that remain in dispute. For these reasons, explained more fully below [in the PDF provided with this article], Defendants’ motion for Summary Judgment is denied.”

Here is a link to the New Haven Register article about the Ricciuti lawsuit: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/01/28/news/shoreline/doc4f2380df6f0f8148775055.txt

According to the New Haven Register, ten Madison police officers were fired, retired, or resigned during the course of a department-wide scandal that occurred several years ago.

This story was updated Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m. to include a link to the New Haven Regiser story about the Ricciuti lawsuit.