Brown Reveals Morris Gave Her CRRA Letter

Quite the can of worms now wiggling out here. In responding to the FOIA request by Art Scialabba, Amanda Brown provided emails and voice-mail documentation that she obtained the CRRA letter she used on the floor of the Common Council meeting from State Rep Bruce Morris. Kinda interesting how that turned out since I outlined that this was the likely scenario last Wednesday.

Local Dems should pay particular attention to this story, because this story is not going to stop at State Rep. Bruce Morris. You see, I have a pretty good grasp of what constitutes real openness and transparency and when someone is being disingenuous. While some Dems have been under the mistaken impression this is about “saving South Norwalk” from something, a short trip to google and the words Morris and Branford will provide some fascinating reading. There are many dots that can be found that connect a handful of people who really don’t have the best interest of the towns they’ve served.

For example, Norwalk Dems, unlike Branford Dems, haven’t quite figured out what the Morris family clan is really up to. In Branford, Cheryl Morris was essentially kicked out of the Democratic party in Branford, even though she was the sitting Democratic first selectman. Then in January of 2008, Bruce Morris was asked to resign by the Branford DTC, from his State Central seat after being stripped of his role on the DTC. Granite gate, Ed Marcus, and the a whole bunch of shady self serving dealing are documented over at the New Haven Independent. That would be Norwalk’s Bruce Morris’ parents.

I point these items out only because knowing that former State Senator Bruce Morris was on the committee that gave us the original CRRA deal that somehow resulted in the Wheelabrator facility being paid for by tax dollars but becoming a private operation at the end of the contract. Not such a good deal for taxpayers of all the municipalities that have paid for the facility over the years yet now have nothing to show for it. So when the son comes barreling forth with all this CRRA documentation, you’d think that someone might start to question whence the real interests lie with Mr. Morris, instead of blindly accepting proclamations that only the righteous can serve environmental justice.

Justice, well she moves rather slowly sometimes. But those scales, like CRRA tipping fees, are tipping over with the weight of evidence slowly emerging. When strings are pulled, inevitably, someone will trace them back to the yanking source.

According to The Hour, Morris says this:

Morris said Brown was targeted because she brought up a valid point about the contract. He said the document that Brown produced at the City Council meeting was attacked but the accusation she voiced was never denied.

“They didn’t respond to the accusations,” he said. “They just tried to discredit the entity. We are just trying to confront the issues and make sure there is transparency in government.”

If there was a valid point made, Brown didn’t make it. All along, she pushed fellow Dems to go along with the idea that somehow they needed re-open the bidding process. That included an email inviting council Dems to make a site visit to Enviro in Bridgeport the Saturday before the vote. That was not the action of someone attempting to gain more information about the contract proposal at hand, that was the action of someone who was attempting to influence votes to abandon the completed bid process and possibly re-open the bid process. Why?

The first set of answers will be found in the results following a FOIA request for all contact between State Rep Bruce Morris and CRRA. It’s all about transparency after all.

  • Anonymous

    Turfie, you put the Hour to shame. For everyone who trashes this blog because it’s uncensored: there’s information like this that will never see the light of day in the traditional media.

    I suspect those who yell the loudest here about “personal attacks” are those who have the most to lose by being exposed. The Dems are so incompetent in this town, it’s no wonder they can’t get anything done.

  • Anonymous

    Poor Amanda, she needs to be watching out for that bus coming up behind her.

  • anonymous

    Lets recap. State Rep. Bruce Morris is involved. Morris enlists City Councilor Amanda Brown to try to derail the contract so that it can circumvent the legal bid process that is over and steer it to his preferred company CRRA . This is bid rigging. This is a crime. Thank you for exposing this stinky scandal.

  • Anonymous

    CRRA is radioactive and if I were a councilmember I’d stay far, far the hell away from it, even if they had submitted a timely lowest bid.

    One thing’s for sure: Turfie rocks!

  • Looks Like they were Bid Rigging

    Bid Rigging is an illegal agreement between two or more competitors. It is a form of collusion, which is illegal in most countries. It is a form of price fixing and market allocation, and it involves an agreement in which one party of a group of bidders will be designated to win the bid. It is often practised where contracts are determined by a call for bids, for example in the case of government construction contracts.

    There are some very common bid-rigging practices:

    * Subcontract bid-rigging occurs where some of the conspirators agree not to submit bids, or to submit cover bids that are intended not to be successful, on the condition that some parts of the successful bidder’s contract will be subcontracted to them. In this way, they “share the spoils” among themselves.
    * Bid suppression occurs where some of the conspirators agree not to submit a bid so that another conspirator can successfully win the contract.
    * Complementary bidding, also known as cover bidding or courtesy bidding, occurs where some of the bidders bid an amount knowing that it is too high or contains conditions that they know to be unacceptable to the agency calling for the bids.
    * Bid rotation occurs where the bidders take turns being the designated successful bidder, for example, each conspirator is designated to be the successful bidder on certain contracts, with conspirators designated to win other contracts. This is a form of market allocation, where the conspirators allocate or apportion markets, products, customers or geographic territories among themselves, so that each will get a “fair share” of the total business, without having to truly compete with the others for that business.

    These forms of bid-rigging are not mutually exclusive of one another, and two or more of these practices could occur at the same time. For example, if one member of the bidding ring is designated to win a particular contract, that bidder’s conspirators could avoid winning either by not bidding (“bid suppression”), or by submitting a high bid (“cover bidding”).

    Bid-rigging is a form of fraud, and almost always results in economic harm to the agency which is seeking the bids, and to the public, who ultimately bear the costs as taxpayers or consumers.

    In the United States, bid-rigging is a criminal offence under section 1 of the Sherman Act. In Canada, it is a criminal offence under section 47 of the Competition Act. In the UK, individuals can be prosecuted criminally under the Enterprise Act. In Japan it is a violation of both the Anti-Monopoly Law as well as Public Law, but is rampant nationwide in construction and engineering works.

    (Japanese bid rigging) or prearranged business agreement in which contractors privately form an agreement in advance on bid prices, etc. is still a habitual practice of the Japanese construction industry, although it is both a violation of Japanese criminal law and the Japan Anti-Monopoly Law. It has been shown by a number of academic studies both in Japan and in the USA to be a system which considerably inflates the cost of construction projects, and in the Japanese public sector, considerably wasteful of annual tax money amounting to billions of Japanese Yen. The US Government, specifically the United States Trade Representative Office and Department of Commerce, made fierce efforts in the late 1980s and early 1990s to urge the Japanese government to scrap “dango” as a de-facto non-tariff barrier to foreign firms in the Japanese construction market. Despite years of negotiations, including promises by the Japanese government in the S.I.I. (Structural Impediment Initiative) trade talks, the practice was never stamped out and continued to flourish. In 2006 alone, the governors of Wakayama and Miyazaki Prefectures, and former governor of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan were all nabbed or forced to resign due to nefarious connections to the Japanese construction industry involving”bid rigging instigated by government agencies.”

  • Anonymous

    Turfgrrl is like two reporters rolled into one. With trashgate, we can call her ‘Turfwood and Grrlstein’.

  • CRRA WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE LOW BIDDER

    According to the Advocate article, CRRA’s “bid” was $75.31/ton while the one from City Carting that the city accepted was $74.88/ton. What’s to re-evaluate?

  • Anonymous

    Hey Bruce, want some butter with your toast?

  • Anonymous

    Anyone read the letters to the editor today?
    Galen trashes Scialabba for falsely accusing Brown. How does she feel now?

  • Aunt Bertha

    Wow! Great reporting Turfgrrl. If this goes further, ie. court, what are the consequences for those involved? I would think Morris is shaking in his loafers.(fitting shoe for him)

  • old timer

    Bid had already produced a winning low bidder, what did they hope to accomplish ? Hal Alvord talked about Enviro tech and CRRA and how they were not competitive but tried, after bidding was closed, to get discussion and talk about better deals, and he threw them out of his office. He said they were operating in a “sleazy” manner and was criticised for use of the word sleazy. They had a lawyer at every meeting, whining about being unable to get a meeting with the City. Turns out Alvord was right. CRRA will probably end up with our garbage, delivered by City Carting, because they need the garbage and will make a deal with City Carting.
    Enviro Tech & CRRA could have won the bid in the first place but didn’t. Now they want the whole bidding process re-opened and “sleazy” is way too nice a word. I feel sorry for Amanda. It is never fun to be used the way she was. Morris is not a political newcomer and knew better. She needs to be more careful who she trusts.

  • a taxpayer

    What does Bruce Morris have to do with City Government and why is he trying to run things behind the scenes. This for Bruce Morris – Why not try to put as much energy into your job at the BOE as you do trying to manipulate things on the council? Why not try to put as much energy into bringing needed monies to Norwalk from your position in Hartford before you tey to run something that is none of your damn business? What right do you have to go behind council and city department heads backs and try to finagle back room deals that are none of your concern. Try spending time doing the jobs you are paid to do and stay out of city business. If you want to grandsatnd, try doing it with the kids you are ignoring throughout the school year! Is there a conflict or ethical problem with what Morris has done since he is employed by the Norwalk BOE?

  • watchdog

    Unbelievable reporting, Turfie. Reminds me of the good old days when investigative reporting was an art form. This all seems so particularly weighty, if not depressing. So what’s the next step?

  • Non-partisan citizen

    It sounds like Amanda was used, but who knows – I’m not defending her actions anymore – on the surface, it seemed like “much ado about nothing”. There needs to be a full investigation of Bruce Morris’s role in this process and to what extent Amanda’s knowledge and participation was. The question is, who will do the investigation? Will the Attorney General’s office get involved or will this been seen as partisan since the Republican Town Committee chair is pursuing this?

  • Non-partisan citizen

    Maybe Art can also request Bruce Morris’s application for employment with the Norwalk School District as part of his next FOIA request…

  • Aunt Bertha

    I still do not get how he is working for the BoE with no college degree. It boggles my mind.

  • anonymous

    The next step should be a FOIA of Bruce Morris. Their next step should be to consult with good criminal attorneys. This is bad. Bid rigging is a federal crime, go to jail bad.

  • a taxpayer

    If you look back in the posts since this began, many of the posts alluded to the fack that Bruce had something to do with this. I think a full investigation into what has transpired is in order and should be done immediately. Bruce Morris has now interfered in a legal process that is none of his business and should definately be a conflict because he is employed by the city of Norwalk.

  • http://yourct.com Chris MC

    Outstanding work Turfie.

  • X-Norwalker

    In my personal opinion for all bidding

    1. Follow the set bidding regulations.
    2. Give plenty of public notice and advertisement of said request for bids.
    3. Make bid documents easily accessible by the public by posting online.
    4. Set an objective minimum experience and financial solvency requirements for all bidders.
    5. Make all request for information /clarifications and responses public and online.
    5. Stop acting like the Republicans and Democrats are the Yankees and Red Sox and that everyone has to support their team; no matter how self-serving these public servants seem to be.
    6. The internet when used properly by government is a wonderful tool for democracy and can be used to reach the constituency faster and more objectively than our elected representatives.

    Norwalk’s biggest asset is that it is a city that is culturally and economically diverse and that most citizens live together in relative harmony. It could be a shining example of all CT has to offer. Good schools, jobs, transportation, parks, beaches, affordable housing., medical care. The potential is endless.

    The biggest problem of all this diversity is nothing ever seems to get accomplished due to a lack of focus.. This is really how Norwalk is viewed from the outside. Tremendous potential with an equal lack of execution. So keep infighting and wondering why Stamford ( a similar demographic 10 miles away) property values are double those of Norwalk,

  • Age of Aquarius

    It’s all about having a strategic vision and then FOCUSING and WORKING TOGETHER to get things done to achieve results.

    Getting caught up in all of the minutiae and political ‘he said, she said’ is counterproductive to moving forward.

    Norwalk can’t seem to get out of its own way!

  • Outraged!

    Bruce Morris, Norwalk BOE wag in charge of “human relations”. Has anybody else out there finally had it with this guy? Let’s see how this pans out, and if we really have people with guts on this “new” BOE. Looks like Ms. Brown has had an all expenses paid trip to Morrisville. Trouble is, it was a one-way ticket.

  • Anonymous

    Still the question here is how did they come by a letter addressed to the Mayor? is anyone getting this?

  • Anonymous

    Some people keep acting as if the contract we have now is great and our politicians for the most part suck.Maybe its time to look at all boards and all transactions from now on.Way too much in the past has slipped through the cracks.Most of it has been from lack of facts or ones that can’t be found or not furnished promptly.

  • Get a GRIP

    What dont you guys understand: WHAT THEY DID WAS A CRIME AND SOMEONE IS GOING TO JAIL. The only questions are whom and for how long.

  • has anyone checked the BOE

    HOw do we know if the BOE and Bruce Morris isnt trying to shift contracts to their friends ? Will the BOE be investigating Bruce Morris ?

    Bid Rigging Among School Suppliers Is ‘Pervasive,’ Experts Fear
    By Peter Schmidt

    As a result of one of the largest federal antitrust investigations in decades, a steady stream of bid-rigging charges has been brought against dairies that supply milk for school meals.

    Nearly 100 people and companies have been convicted of conspiring to fix school-milk prices, and dozens more cases are pending.

    Federal and state probes, under way since the late 1980′s, have netted some of the nation’s largest food-service and dairy companies, including Borden Inc., Pet Inc., SYSCO…

  • justWondering

    I was just thinking, since it is now … federal not state or city, has anyone told Amannda she will have to get a federal attorney to represent her at a lot more $$ than most people (her included) make yearly. Unless she make a six figure salary, & the city can’t help her anymore, she is on her own.

  • anon

    The City will not be paying for her criminal attorney.

    The State will not be paying for Bruce Morris’ attorney.

    Bruce Morris and Amanda Brown should both be resigning for their involvement in Norwalk’s Garbagegate.

  • Anonymous

    Get a grip you sound like an alarmist with half the facts.They can’t even put the ones the Norwalk police arrest in jail for crimes a lot worse you really think Brown is the fish to fry?

    The poor guy who owns that Shagi Dog sausage truck said he has lost over $48,000 dollars from what the city has done to him, is that a crime as well?

  • anon

    Alarmist ? What are you talking about ? Shifting multi million dollar contracts to ones friend is a crime. If true, they will be going to jail for a long period of time. Let me guess, they were looking to push a contract to their friends for what, the public interest ?

  • justWondering

    Well if I remember correctly they (Amanda)have to pay for an ethics attorney & then only if they win does Common Council vote to reinburse them or not. There is nothing for a criminal attorney & the feds love to get their hands on a state rep that has done wrong.

  • Aunt Bertha

    I do feel bad for Ms Brown. She has a really nice daughter who looks up to her and depends on her. I hope the true snake gets plucked from the grass. What she did was not the brightest move under the influence of REAL con man.

  • anonymous

    The next investigation will be into who else is involved and how far it extends.

  • anonymous

    Birds of a feather flock together. Dont let Amanda fool you with her fake saccharine act. She is a phony two bit slime who behind the scenes has done nothing but go after Laurel Lindstrom who was nothing other than nice to her. Amanda Brown is a fake. IF she was tryuing to steer a garbage contract under the guise of protecting the community while in cahoots with a rival bidder that the paper trail indicates she is a pretty bad apple and we should feel soory for her daughter but not Amanda Brown.

  • Anonymous

    Isn’t Bill Krummel on the Public Works Committee? What’s his role in this?

  • Do the Jailhouse rock !!

    Looks like Bruce and Amanda will be transitioning from schoolhouse rock to jailhouse rock.

  • What type of Sweetheart DEal Did Bruce Morris Get ?

    CT Attorney General

    Connecticut Attorney General’s Office

    Press Release

    Attorney General’s Report Concludes That Former CRRA
    Management Gave Manafort Trucks In Sweetheart Deal

    June 1, 2005

    Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has released a report concluding that Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority’s (CRRA) former management illegally gave CWPM, Inc., previously known as Manafort Brothers-CWP, trucks worth approximately $1 million and received virtually nothing in return.

    The agreement let Manafort use the vehicles for non-CRRA, as well as CRRA, activities, while requiring the authority to pay 90 percent of their ownership costs. The report estimates that CRRA saved only $7,000 in return for giving Manafort unrestricted use of almost $1 million’s worth of vehicles for two years.

    Blumenthal’s report praised CRRA’s new management for regaining title to the trucks and requiring Manafort to pay $4,138 a month to lease the vehicles. The attorney general called on the authority to take additional steps, including reassessing the legality of the deal and seeking further payments from Manafort.

    Blumenthal’s office will refer the case to the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) so they can determine if Manafort should have paid taxes on the deal.

    “This sweetheart deal for Manafort was a bad deal for CRRA, and the authority’s new management wisely unwound it,” Blumenthal said. “The agreement by former CRRA management made no sense: Manafort got trucks and CRRA paid the bill. CRRA’s new management regained ownership of the trucks, required regular lease payments and stopped payments for ownership costs.

    “The authority deserves just compensation for the use of these vehicles, and my office stands ready to assist in that effort. In addition, my office will ask the IRS and DRS to determine if Manafort should have paid taxes on the deal.”

    “It’s gratifying to see that the attorney general recognizes the efforts made by the new CRRA to unwind this deal,” CRRA Chairman Michael A. Pace said. “We have corrected not only this, but many other acts of the previous CRRA administration. As chairman, and speaking for the new CRRA board, we maintain our resolve to do what is in the best interests of the state of Connecticut and all the municipalities and a strong working relationship with the attorney general.”

    In June 2001, the former leadership of CRRA, including ex-chairman Peter N. Ellef, who is awaiting trial on unrelated federal corruption charges, awarded Manafort the contract to operate its Watertown and Torrington transfer stations. As part of the deal, CRRA transferred ownership of trucks worth about $1 million to Manafort for the duration of the two-year contract.

    Blumenthal’s office concluded that the transfer was illegal because CRRA lacks the authority to make such property transfers without adequate compensation. In addition, CRRA’s board never approved the transfer.

    Under the agreement, Manafort could use the trucks for work unrelated to its CRRA contract, which the firm acknowledged it did. Manafort and CRRA, however, have no records showing the extent to which the company used the vehicles for non-CRRA work.

    CRRA, meanwhile, agreed to pay 90 percent of the trucks’ registration fees, property taxes and insurance premiums. From July 2001 to June 2003, CRRA reimbursed Manafort $270,321 for such costs.

    Former CRRA officials claimed that the transfer would save the authority money, but the authority has no records or analysis to back up that claim.

    Blumenthal’s office found that the original deal’s total benefit to CRRA was a mere $7,000 over two years. CRRA turned over the trucks to Manafort for virtually no compensation, the attorney general’s office concluded.

    CRRA’s original Request for Proposal (RFP) failed to inform the six bidders that the winner would receive the trucks. In fact, the RFP specifically stated that the winning bidder would not receive ownership of authority vehicles and equipment and could only use authority trucks and equipment for CRRA work.

    CRRA’s new management moved to modify the deal. The authority regained title to the trucks, while Manafort agreed to lease the vehicles for $4,138.89 a month and stop using them for non-CRRA work. The company has an option to buy the trucks for $149,000 when the lease expires in 2006.

    Blumenthal’s office praised CRRA’s new management, but recommended that the authority take additional steps to make up for the authority’s loss, including:

    * Consult with its general counsel to determine the validity of CRRA’s contract with Manafort given that the authority’s board never approved the transfer and other bidders were never informed about the transfer of the trucks.
    * Reopen negotiations with Manafort to fully recover the value of CRRA’s trucks.
    * Issue RFPs inviting competitive bids on all future contracts for operation of its transfer stations.

  • What DEal Did Bruce Morris Get ?

    One needs to look into the relationships of the players to understand how this gets put together.

    The next FOI request should be for Bruce Morris, TOm Gaffey (CRRA is quasi public thus FOIA applies)and Bruce Morris SR (an official in Branford and subject to FOIA)..

    DIRECTOR OF RECYCLING & ENFORCEMENT

    Thomas P. Gaffey is director of recycling and enforcement for the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority. He oversees CRRA’s recycling facilities, scale operations and enforcement of disposal regulations.
    During his career at CRRA he has also managed the agency’s government, public affairs and education functions. Previously he worked as executive assistant for two commissioners of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. He has been a state senator since 1995, currently serving as deputy majority leader.
    to top
    GOVERNMENT RELATIONS LIAISON
    Michael R. Bzdyra is government relations liaison for the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority. He helps members of the state legislature and executive branch of state government understand the issues concerning CRRA and its operations and solid waste disposal, recycling and electric generation.
    Previously he was a project analyst for CRRA, peforming economic and feasibility analyses for the agency’s Operations and Recycling divisions. From 1987 to 1998 he worked at the legislature as a legislative aide and clerk for the legislature’s Finance, Revenue & Bonding Committee and a senior policy/communications specialist for the Senate Majority Caucus.

    Bruce L. Morris is a member of the Board of Police Commissioners in the Town of Branford.

    Mr. Morris is a member of the Democratic State Central Committee from the 12th Senatorial District. He previously representetived the 10th Senatorial District on the Democratic State Central Committee also.

    Mr. Morris was Chairman of the Branford Democratic Town Committee.

    Mr. Morris is a managing member of M & M Stony Creek LLC, a commercial mortgage company.

    Mr. Morris retired from the State of Connecticut and was the Commissioner of The Department of Public Works from 1991 to 1995.

    Mr. Morris, a Democrat, was a State Senator representing the 10th District in New Haven and West Haven. He was first elected in January 1990 to complete the term of Mayor John Daniels and was subsequently elected to a full term in November 9, 1990. He resigned his position as State Senator to become Commissioner of Public Works for Governor Lowell Weicker.

    Mr. Morris was a self-employed lobbyist, is a real estate broker and was Vice President of MorFam Electric, Inc. He was also an adjunct professor at the University of New Haven’s Graduate School of Business and taught a course in business and government relations.

    Mr. Morris also retired after 16 years with the Southern New England Telephone Company, as a Division Manager for Governmental Affairs, responsible for legislation in Connecticut. Mr. Morris was a Manufacturing Engineer for 14 years prior to his employment with SNET.

    Mr. Morris has a long career in public service. He served as a New Haven Alderman from 1962 to 1966, and in 1967 started a career as a State Representative serving five terms. He was Deputy Speaker, Assistant Majority Leader and Assistant Minority Leader.

  • justWondering

    Here is Bruce Morris’s bio on the state reps page:

    State Representative Bruce Morris is serving his first term in the Connecticut General Assembly. He is a graduate of Saint Thomas More Preparatory School and attended the University of Connecticut. Currently, he is the Director of Human Relations for Norwalk Public Schools, and serves on the ministerial staff of Macedonia Church in Norwalk.

    Rep. Morris presently serves as Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Norwalk Community Health Center; Chair of Public Services Division of United Way of Norwalk and Wilton; Board member of George Washington Carver Center; Norwalk NAACP; Macedonia AIDS Ministry; and, Cornerstone Community Development Corporation.

    Rep. Morris is also affiliated with the Community Prevention Task Force; Mid Fairfield Substance Abuse Coalition; Norwalk Weed and Seed Steering Committee; Norwalk Housing Authority Work Study Academy; Norwalk Clergy Association; Norwalk Urban Youth Coalition.