New Haven Independent

To make the point Chief Gill took the unusual step of writing the final police report about the controversial inquiry into the former first selectman’s rock pile himself. He has concluded that the information provided by none other than town counsel Ed Marcus and Michael Milici, the former Democratic town chairman, was, well, wrong. As far as the chief is concerned, the case is closed.
In an interview, Chief Gill said that “Mr. Marcus and I have agreed that in the future if there is any reason for us to work together on any kind of issue, I would make the determination of whether the department has any interest in the matter.”
He also said that in his eight-year tenure as police chief he has never been put in this position with a town attorney. “It hasn’t happened.”
There probably would not have been a police inquiry if Marcus hadn’t presented Detective Duncan Ayr with a series of photographs that Milici is said to have asked a private investigator to take of the granite at Unk’s workshop and business.
While the pictures might not have meant anything, they did present the chief with a dilemma: “Our feeling was that we had to at least ask the question to make sure that we should not have any involvement….The question was raised so it was a question of whether or not we could just walk away from it. That is why I call this a query.”
The query began on Friday April 26 when Marcus requested that Detective Ayr meet him at 4:30 p.m. in First Selectwoman Cheryl Morris’s office. That is where Marcus displayed the enlarged Milici ordered photographs. Morris was not present at the meeting in her office and it is not known whether she knew about it.
While Marcus did not allege any impropriety on DaRos’s part, he nonetheless asked the detective to “inquire about receipts” for the granite. Marcus stated that the Town of Branford is entitled to royalties for granite sold from the Stony Creek Quarry.” It turned out that DaRos had receipts for the granite. Some pieces were 40 years old.
Ed Marcus is a savvy politician and an experienced lawyer who knows well how to follow the money trail. From where we sit this looks like a civil inquiry at most.
Apparently Chief Gill saw it that way, too. Here is his final police report, dated May 17:
“The inquiry by this department into the presence of granite on the property of 86 Thimble Island Road was in the context of an investigation into the overall operation of the Stony Creek Quarry, with regard to the Town’s interest of royalties from the distribution of granite quarried. The query at 86 Thimble Island Road did not in any way show any need for investigation beyond the initial query.
“I have concluded that the information provided to this department concerning the Stony Creek Quarry has not revealed any evidence, suggestion, information or purpose to continue involvement of the Branford Police Department in examination of the overall operation of the Quarry.
“The department’s incident case report is closed.”
But for many residents in town, the case is not over. Given the divisive state of the Democratic Party in Branford, many believe that DaRos was the target of political dirty tricks. Penny Bellamy, who served as town attorney under DaRos, said, “It is very hard to find an innocent interpretation of these matters.” Neither Marcus nor Milici was immediately available for comment.
Asked if he knew who took the photographs for Milici, Chief Gill said “No, I don’t.” Nor did he know if Milici, the assessor of East Haven, held a position in Branford town government that gave him the authority to hire a private investigator. “I have absolutely no idea of what his capacity is in any regard. And that is part of what I hope I have explained. If we were doing an investigation we would have to go to him as well because it was obvious the photos came from him. But we were not doing an investigation from the time we talked to Unk DaRos. We just got the information to satisfy us that there was nothing for us to become involved in.”
The result is that important questions remain unanswered. Why was Marcus able to use the police department as he did? Who paid the private eye to take photos? Did the funds come out of the taxpayer’s pocket? Or were they drawn from the Democratic Party? Perhaps the investigator worked for Marcus. Who told Mike Milici to hire a private investigator to gather information about a town contract? Where is First Selectman Cheryl Morris in all this?
Finally, how should the town investigate these questions?