SundayRepublican

FINAL $1.50

JANUARY 18, 2015

Free tuition idea goes local

HEARTS
BEAT
KING

State regent will talk to legislators

BY MICHAEL PUFFER
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

MALIK PETTEWAY,
WATERBURY BESTS
NEW YORK, 64-51,
PAGE 1C

CHAMPIONS SUNDAY
BREAKDOWNS OF COLTS AT
PATRIOTS AND PACKERS AT
SEAHAWKS, PAGE 11B

Hearing in New Britain

The hearing process for the proposed
CPV Towantic Energy Center will continue
at the Connecticut Siting Council's New
Britain headquarters. PAGE 1B

First look at a few winter films

Whats up with Channing Tatums pointy
ears? Read about Jupiter Ascending,
Fifty Shades of Grey and more soon-tobe-released movies. PAGE 1E

The head of Connecticuts

public college system is hoping to move forward with free
community college tuition regardless of whether Congress
follows President Obamas
proposal for nationwide funding for the endeavor.
Lets not think of it as a tax
burden, as an expense, but as
an investment, said Gregory
Gray, Connecticut Board of
Regents president. I would

be remiss not to start to develop a program in the next

couple of months for Connecticut, with federal support
or without it.
Gray said he intends to ask
state legislators to consider
ways to make community college free. He hasnt calculated the expense. Tennessee already has taken the step, and
Gray says its an investment
that Connecticut needs more
than other states. He cited
See COLLEGE, Page 7A

REPUBLICAN-AMERICA ARCHIVE

Naugatuck Valley Community College student register for

classes in Waterbury.

Conduct
UNBECOMING
FBI wiretap reveals
racism, false claims
of former Waterbury
cop Ryan Cubells

THOMASTON The
sprawling industrial property
once home to the Plume & Atwood complex is in new
hands.
Matt Deziel, under the
name Deziel Industrial Properties, late last year bought
the industrial site at Exit 39
off Route 8 under the East
Main Street bridge. Since
then, hes entertained proposals from people interested
in leasing part of the property, and prepared his own
plans to use the site to
process used asphalt from
the paving business hes
owned for 20 years.
He said he plans to grind
the asphalt his company,
Deziel Paving, digs up from
driveways and parking lots,
and make it into a base material.
The purchase marks the
end of a decade-long quest by
town officials to get someone
to buy the property, where
former factory buildings
have been crumbling and collapsing in recent years while
much of the site sat unused.
The most prominent of the
former Plume & Atwood
buildings was demolished in
November 2013 after it was
declared structurally unsound. In June of that year,
part of another building
along the train tracks collapsed, prompting the rail
line to be temporarily closed.
Deziel said he has been in
talks with the Railroad Museum of New England to purchase the front four or five
acres of the property, so the

Tax the rich, Obama says

President Barack Obama wants to raise
the capital gains rate and eliminate a tax
break on inheritances to fund cost-saving
measures for the middle class. PAGE 5A

OPINION OF THE DAY: Perhaps Gov. Malloy

should have withheld some of the millions in corporate welfare he has handed out, and used that money to keep his signature 2010 campaign promise. Craig Hoffman, Cheshire
READ THE FULL LETTER ON PAGE 3C

WEB EXTRAS
TO DAY AT R E P -A M .CO M
>>HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS Watch a video report from

43
Low 28
AnniesMailbox 5E
Around the towns 5C
Arts beat 3E
Books 4E
Business 1C
Classified 6C
Crossword 8E
Editorials 2C

Engagements 5E
Horoscope 5E
Jumble 8E
Letters 3C
Lottery 2A
Movie theaters 2E
Obituaries 6-7B
Pets 7E

Light rain, drizzle and

light freezing rain are
possible. Page 8C

Public notices 7C
Public record 2A
Real estate transfers 5D
Social moments 6E
Stocks 4C
Sudoku 8E
Television 8E
Weddings 5E

80 pages. 2015 The Sunday Republican

Established 1906, Waterbury, Conn.
All rights reserved
6

34373 31950

Read todays editions

online at rep-am.com

Industrial land
has new owner
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

A Florida man had several pockets full of

ammunition when he targeted his wife in
a shooting Saturday that killed two
people at a mall food court. PAGE 5A

the Hearts 64-51 win over Christ the King of Queens, N.Y.
>> BUY PHOTOS Get high-quality
reprints from the Republican-Americans awardwinning photographers by visiting photos.repam.com. Click the Facebook icon to share with
friends. Scan the QR code at left for quick access.
>> TWEET US Send tips or questions to @RepAmNewsdesk.
>>FILL IT UP Find the best prices at the pump on our gas price
page.

New life
at site in
Thomaston
BY LARAINE WESCHLER

2 killed in Florida food court

High

REP-AM.COM

See LAND, Page 6A

ERIN COVEY REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

The Local Public House at 457 West Main St. in Waterbury was where several
police officers were secretly recorded by one of their own while they talked
over drinks. Those recordings led to officer Ryan Cubells termination.

n a small bar on West

Main Street, a few city
cops talked one night
over beers.
Officer Ryan Cubells, who
later told investigators he had
been drinking the entire day
while serving a work suspension, shot the breeze, griped
about his job and bragged about
abusing suspects on the streets.
See CONDUCT, Page 7A

THE
INCIDENT
>> Internal affairs
investigators found
officer Ryan Cubells
showed off a personal
gun for which he had
no permit at a city bar,
made racist remarks
in reference to the
police departments
chief and made false
allegations against his
fellow officers.
>> Read excerpts from
the wire tap on Ryan
Cubells, Jeffrey
Struber and Lt. David
Balnis, Page 7A.

Terror in Europe
Events Saturday include:
 A terrorism suspect held in
Athens is not the man Belgian
authorities believed was behind a jihadi cell that was dismantled in Belgium on Thursday.
 Belgium has raised its terror
warning to 3, the second-highest, and deployed 150 paratroopers Saturday to guard
possible terrorism
targets, including
some buildings
in Antwerps
Jewish quarter.
 in France, authorities quietly
buried the two
brothers involved
in the attack
against the Charlie
Hebdo newspaper
and banned an
anti-Islamist
demonstration in
Paris.

For more, turn to page 7A

JANUARY 18, 2015

THE SUNDAY REPUBLICAN

7A

CONDUCT: Cop lied about fellow officers Suspects held in Greece

as European terror
crackdown widens

Continued from Page One

Cubells named another officer who he claimed had an
inappropriate relationship
with an underage girl, a second officer who he said broke
a suspects arm, and a third
who allegedly received sexual favors from a prostitute.
He also made racist remarks in reference to Police
Chief Vernon Riddick Jr.,
who is African-American.
Cubells, who is white, joked
that he would wear a white
sheet over his head when he
met with Riddick, and said
what rope is good for
hangin, according to a report obtained by The Sunday
Republican through a Freedom of Information request.

he officers at the
bar didnt know
the FBI was listening to hours of
Cubells conversations, secretly recorded by another
officer as part of a federal investigation into possible civil
rights violations by police.
Those recordings were
turned over to the Waterbury
Police Department.
After a lengthy investigation, the Waterbury internal
affairs unit found Cubells allegations against his fellow
cops were false. Federal authorities, meanwhile, have
cleared the department of
any civil rights abuses.
Cubells, 29, has not escaped the consequences of
his statements.
Riddick fired Cubells after
internal affairs investigators
concluded Cubells violated
several department policies,
including truthfulness, conduct unbecoming an officer,
use of force and engaging in
malicious gossip.
Riddick said the termination was the result of progressive discipline and was
based on the totality of the violations Cubells committed.
Cubells, who has a slight
build and stands about 5 feet,
6 inches tall, had been suspended for kicking an
African-American man who
was on the ground and already being restrained by
other officers. Cubells told
investigators his recorded
comments were out of character and that hes not a
racist.
The investigators found the
rope comment was a very
strong inference to lynching
African Americans. The
white sheet comment was a
clear reference to the Ku
Klux Klan, the report concluded.
Riddick described
Cubellss comments as disgusting and hurtful.
It was an embarrassing
reflection of the Waterbury
Police Department. We
werent the only ones who
had heard this audio. This
was given to us by federal authorities, he said.
Riddick said the department has disciplined the other officers involved.
The public needs to know
that they should have trust in
their police department, that
we are willing and able
and have demonstrated in the
past that we will take care
of our issues, Riddick said.
Do I think theres a widespread culture in the Waterbury Police Department of
behavior such as this? No.
First of all, I will not tolerate
that, nor will the command
staff tolerate that. And the
other 98 percent of our officers, who do things right, will
not tolerate that. Equally as
important, our public will not
tolerate that.

ity police launched

their investigation
in July after the
FBI turned over
two CDs of recorded conversations. One of Cubells fellow officers recorded the
conversations at the Local
Public House bar under the
direction of federal agents,
internal documents show.
Most of the curse-laden
talk revolved around stories
about arrests or gossip involving fellow officers.
Cubells told one tale about
a cop he was working with
who had broken a suspects
arm after he chicken
winged it behind this guys
head and just kept goin until
it snapped.
In another story, he said an

BY RAF CASERT AND

DEMETRIS NELLAS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHRISTOPHER MASSA REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

The Waterbury Police Department on East Main Street.Federal authorities cleared the department of any civil rights abuses. A lengthy investigation by the Waterbury internal affairs
unit found that former officer Ryan Cubells allegations against his fellow cops were false.

WHAT WAS SAID

Conversations between police officers Ryan Cubells,
Jeffrey Struber and Lt. David Balnis were secretly
recorded at the Local Public House bar on West Main
Street and were given to the FBI as part of a now-closed
investigation. Federal authorities who were investigating civil rights complaints have declined to prosecute
any of the officers. However, two officers were disciplined and Cubells was fired by the department.
The following conversation was taken from a portion of
the recording. Officers discussed a possible meeting
Cubells would have with Police Chief Vernon Riddick
Jr., the departments first African-American leader,
who also is a deacon in his church.
Internal affairs investigators concluded the comments
left a very strong inference that they referred to
lynching African Americans and contained a clear reference to the Ku Klux Klan.
Cubells: Listen, it was mentioned to me to show up
(expletive), in some (expletive) rosary beads or something dude.
Struber: Beads and a collar.
Cubells: Yup. They told me to do it.
Balnis: A little crucifix on the (unintelligible)
Cubells: To show up with a white (expletive) cut-out
sheet over my (expletive) head.

In another conversation Cubells and Balnis, his supervisor, discuss Cubells return to patrolling the streets after serving a 25-day suspension for kicking a man who
was laying on the ground restrained by other officers:
Balnis: Where do you think theyre gonna make me
put him (Cubells) when he comes back?
Cubells: I dont think theyre gonna make you do anything. I think theyre gonna see what you do.
Struber: Listen, listen ...
Balnis: Ah, Ill throw you right back in (expletive) Alpha one (patrol assignment).
Struber: Listen, I personally think theyll want you
back on the road because if anything theyre gonna
give him so much rope to hang himself. Theyre not
gonna put him in communications.
Cubells: You know what rope is good for hangin?
Balnis: (Unintelligible)
Cubells: (laughs)

officer released a prostitute

after she gave the officer oral
sex. Several other allegations
followed, ranging from improper highway pursuits, to
bragging about beating up a
suspect who was involved in
a rollover accident.
Federal agents heard
Cubells say a school resource
officer told him a teenage girl
had complained that a police
officer wouldnt stop texting
her. Cubells later told investigators he had only heard stories about the officer and
couldnt remember his source.
Police sifted through every
allegation heard on the
recording. Dual criminal and
internal investigations were
opened, resulting in more
than 60 interviews, including
men Cubells had arrested.
The allegations were totally false, Riddick said.
When confronted with the
recordings, Cubells said he
had exaggerated, embellished or couldnt recall the
incidents.
On the night that this
recording took place, I was
drinking all day long,
Cubells told investigators. I
dont even recall how I got to
the bar or how I got home
from the bar.
Investigators concluded
Cubells had fabricated multiple accounts of himself and
coworkers engaged in civil
rights violations, criminal

conduct and policy violations.

The fact that all of the
people involved in these conversations would talk like
that in a public venue within
earshot of other people is
horrible, Riddick said.
Some of the things that were
said about other officers
were terrible, just terrible.
As investigators refuted
Cubells stories, they were
struck by his seeming lack of
understanding of how his
recklessness placed him and
others in harms way, while
damaging the reputations of
individual officers and the
department.
Investigators learned that,
during his session in the bar,
Cubells pulled out a .380-caliber pistol equipped with a
laser sight to show it off. He
popped the magazine and
handed it to Officer Jeffrey
Struber, who pointed the
laser at the floor.
Although the officers said
the magazine wasnt in the
gun at the time, they couldnt
say whether Cubells had
cleared the firing chamber.
iddick called the
handling of the
gun reckless, unsafe behavior.
Theres no excuse.
Theres nothing permissible
for those actions that oc-

curred in that bar regarding

a firearm, Riddick said. We
were fortunate that no one
from the public, nor one of
the officers, were severely
injured or killed that
evening.
Officers are allowed to carry personal firearms while
off duty, but need to qualify
with the firearms at a gun
range to show proficiency or
have a pistol permit. Cubells
has never had a pistol permit
and never qualified with the
gun, investigators found.
When asked why Cubells
wasnt charged with carrying
a pistol without a permit,
Riddick said investigators
didnt believe there was
probable cause to arrest him.
Riddick declined to elaborate
on that decision.
Although the investigation
led to Cubells firing, the
repercussions of the probe
are likely to continue. Suspects Cubells has arrested
may now challenge his testimony against them, citing investigators finding that this
investigation clearly established that Officer Cubells
does not speak the truth at all
times.
Cubells credibility has
been called into question, but
Riddick said there was always evidence to support the
arrests he made.
Cubells joined the police
force in 2008, earning significant commendations including an excellent police duty
medal. He arrested suspected drug dealers in some of
the toughest sections of the
city and took an assault
weapon off the street in 2012.
Other officers at the bar
that night were also disciplined.
Officer Hallock Yocher,
who is fighting cancer, was
suspended for a day for engaging in malicious gossip
within earshot of the public.
Yocher was heard on the
recording saying that he had
used a stun gun on a suspect
until the man passed out,
but later said he was exaggerating.
Lt. David Balnis received a
written warning. Balnis, who
was a supervisor, did nothing
to stop the talk, Riddick said.
Balnis also was removed as
an acting captain and returned to a lieutenant.
Officer Jeffrey Struber retired before investigators
concluded the report.
Lt. Nicholas Lukiwsky,
president of the Waterbury
police union, said Cubells
was clearly talking out of
turn, but believed he was
having a private conversation
with a friend.
As proven in the investigation, the comments he made
about other officers were
proven to be false. Cubells, for
whatever reason, was telling
stories which would have
made for good television, but
were not true, Lukiwsky
said. I am sure many people
have said things while having
a drink with friends that if
recorded and turned over to
their employer would be quite
embarrassing.
The union has filed a grievance on Cubells behalf. Although the comments were
rude to his fellow officers, he
shouldnt have been fired, as
he was off-duty and not
speaking publicly, according
to Lukiwsky.
Cubells did not respond to
a request for comment.

BRUSSELS With Europe on edge, soldiers

fanned out to guard possible
terror targets in Belgium
Saturday while police in
Greece detained at least two
suspects as part of a widening counterterrorism dragnet across the continent.
In France, one of the terrorists behind last weeks attacks in Paris was given a secret burial as authorities
sought to head off glorification of terrorism and civil
unrest amid a groundswell of
antagonism across Europe
against radical Islam, and
protests against caricatures
of the Prophet Muhammad
across the Muslim world that
have underscored vast cultural differences.
For the first time in three
decades, authorities used

paratroopers to reinforce
police in Belgiums cities,
guarding buildings within
the Jewish quarter of the
port city of Antwerp and
some Belgian embassies.
The move came a day after
anti-terror raids netted
dozens of suspects across
Western Europe and increased anxiety across big
swathes of the region.
Belgium has increased its
terror warning to 3, the second-highest, following the
anti-terror raids of Thursday
which left two suspects dead.
Police believe the cell they
largely dismantled was on
the verge of a major attack.
Authorities said that even
though they had broken up
the alleged terror cell they
were still looking for some
suspects abroad and briefly
hoped Greece could have
clinched the breakthrough
by detaining one remaining
key suspect.

COLLEGE: Regent
supports tuition idea
Continued from Page One
one study that predicts 70
percent of Connecticuts
jobs will require an associate degree or higher by
2020.
Last week, Obama introduced the rudiments of a
plan that would cover at
least three-quarters of the
expense for full-time students carrying at least a 2.5
grade-point average.
State Rep. Roberta B.
Willis, D-Salisbury, chairwoman of the General Assemblys Higher Education
Committee, gave an admittedly very rough cost estimate of $30 million for Connecticut to go it alone. She
doubts the state could afford that at the moment, but
says it is worth pursuing at
some point. Shes holding
out hope for federal funding.
Willis commends Obama
for at least starting the discussion. The fact people
are having these conversations and this has moved up
on the agenda is great,
Willis said. But the devil is
in the details.
Connecticuts 12 community
colleges
enrolled
55,154 full- and part-time
students last fall. The states
approved budget for these
colleges predicts $131.1
million in tuition payments
and another $49.2 million in
fees. State taxpayers are expected to pitch in another
$268 million.
Gray expects that free tuition would boost enrollments greatly at not only
the states community colleges, but the four-year colleges as well. He estimates
the system could accommodate a 20 percent increase
using existing facilities and
programs.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy
has said Connecticut would
participate if federal funding becomes available.
There are, however, strong
doubts in many quarters
that the Republican-led
Congress will pass Obamas
proposal.
U.S. Rep. Elizabeth H.
Esty, D-5th District, expressed some optimism Friday. Lets remember the
model they are working off
comes from Tennessee, a
very Republican state,
Esty said. They are not doing this as an ideological
commitment. They are doing this because it makes
sense.
At Naugatuck Valley
Community College in Waterbury, full-time students
pay $3,886 tuition alone,
plus additional lab and activity fees. Several students
approached in the halls Friday said Obamas proposal
would come as a great relief, even if they already receive aid.
It would make it easier
to attend, said Deidra
James, 28, of Waterbury.
She works part-time in stu-

STATE OF THE
UNION INVITE
Daisy De Filippis, Naugatuck Valley Community
College President Daisy
De Filippis will be U.S.
Rep. Elizabeth H. Estys
guest at President Obamas State of the Union
Address on Tuesday. The
charismatic college leader
has become an important
presence in the region.
Shes also a strong symbol
of what Obama is trying
to accomplish with his
free community college
tuition plan. De Filippis
immigrated from Dominican Republic at age 13,
speaking little English.
She did well in school and
ended up attending City
College of New York, tuition-free. She did some
teaching and research to
compensate the school
for her masters and doctoral degrees. Look at
what I did with my life and
the things Ive been able
to do, De Filippis said. It
was public, free education.

TODAYS POLL
VOTE ONLINE AT REP-AM.COM

Should two years of

community college
be free to qualified
students?
FIND RESULTS OF YESTERDAYS
QUESTION ON PAGE 2A.

dent information services at

the school, and attends
school on a half-time basis.
Her tuition still comes to
$600 yearly. And she has to
contend with car payments
and insurance.
Cable repairman David
Maciel Sr., 49, of Waterbury, just signed up for
courses in electrical engineering. He was able to
transfer in some prior college credit. School will cost
him $632 for seven credits
per semester.
His son, David Jr., has
also started at NVCC this
year, with grants and scholarships taking care of tuition. Maciel also has a
daughter at Post University.
He helps with things like tuition and car repair bills.
If there is a way to make
it easier on me as a parent,
Im all for whatever he
wants to do, Maciel said.
NVCC President Daisy
Cocco De Filippis said she
has seen many of her students struggling. Staff keep
$20 grocery store gift cards
and $5 cafeteria vouchers
handy for some students
who are clearly hungry. A
few hundred dollars could
make all the difference, she
said.
Over and over again we
see students who almost get
to the finish line and have to
stop, De Filippis said. As
affordable as it is, its not
that affordable.