DONALD BERG
32 SAWMILL ROAD
NEWTOWN.CT06470
203 4t7 3798
Stamford Director of Public Safety
Mr. William Callion
888 WashingtonBlvd.
Stamford,CT.06901
January26.2049
Dear Director Callion;
Thank you for your letter respondingto the incident that occurred regarding tampering
with my protective fire gear. I in fact did advise the Trustee's and Chief Bennett who
merely disregardedit. In fact, Chief Bennett accusedme of having urinated in my bunker
gear. Your advice to contactthe Police Department should I feel threatenedhas also been
weighed. I would prefer that as Director of public safety for the City of Stamford your
looking into this might carry enough weight to put a stop to the continued harassment.
After we spoke on January24,2008I mentionedthe most recent incident that had
occurred. During our phone conversationI advised you of the situation that occurred on
Monday January21,2008, where Long Ridge's Station 2 Tanker 78 did not respondto a
mutual aid structure fire in Pound Ridge New York. The Driver on duty; Peter Rustici for
unknown reasonsdid not respondwith the Tanker. Driver Kevin Re, who was on duty at
station 1. called and askedDriver Rustici why he wasn't respondingwith the Tanker.
Driver Rustici indicated that the Tanker was low on air pressure.Driver Re advisedFire
Marshal Anthony Olive to respondwith Station I's Tanker 78. Approximately thirty
minutes later Driver Rustici called Driver Re and advised him that there was no ignition
key in Tanker 78 atdthat he was unable to start it. Driver Re askedCaptain Roman
Bahar about the Tanker at station 2 and about the key beittg missing. Captain Balzat only
indicated that the Tanker was not in service. Later in the evening Driver Re askedLong
Ridge Vice PresidentDaniei Boudreau about the Tanker at station 2. Vice President
Boudreau indicatedthat Tanker 78 was in service and that it was the reasonLong Ridge's
ISO rating went down. Vice PresidentBoudreau also indicated that he was aware of the
Tanker key having beenhidden by Driver Chevalier at somepoint in the past, but was
unawareof where it had been hidden or why. The following morning Driver Rustici
indicated to Driver Re that Chief Robert Bennett advisedDriver JamesChevalier to
remove the ignition key and hide it so Driver Donald Berg could not move the truck.
Driver Berg had moved the Tanker during a recent snow storm so that he could put his
vehicle in the bay. This was done so not to impede the snow plowing of the rear ramp of
station 2. It is unclear whether Driver Rustici knew of the hidden key and did not want to
let on to Ex- Chief Roger Harris and offduty Driver Gunther Schaller who were both at
station2 atthe time of the incident,of the key's hidden location.
On the morning of January 26,2008I beganmy regular 24hour shift. As has beenthe
practice I wait outsidethe station until Driver Rustici vacatesthe building. As you may
iecall in my past correspondenceto you, this is due to Driver Rustici's open threat to kill
me. I was somewhatsurprisedto seethat Chief Bennett was waiting with Driver Rustici
in the Station. As my suspicionswere alerted, I checkedthe enginesand found that the
key to Tanker 78 was missing. I immediately contactedDriver Re who had been on duty
after the above incident, to confirm that the key had been replaced.Driver Re indicated
that he was shockedwhen he reported to station 2 and found that the key had not been
replaced,and insteadhad been left in its secrethiding place. Driver Re startedthe Tanker
and left the key in the ignition. Since there were no notes postedto indicate that the
Tanker was out of service,I called Long Ridge Trustee Stu Teitelbaum to ask about the
Tanker. TrusteeTeitelbaum directly advised me that the Tanker had been out of service
for months due to a lack of mechanicalservice having been performed. He believed that
there was somekind of mechanicalproblem. Trustee Teitelbaum then questionedhow
Driver Re locatedthe key and was able to start the Tanker. TrusteeTeitelbaum believed
there must be a Secondkey "floating" around. To confnm Trustee Teitelbaumsstatement
that the Tanker was out of service I contactedFire Dispatch and spoke with dispatcher
Croke. DispatcherCroke indicated there was nothing to indicate that Long Ridge Station
2 Tanker was out of service.
Unfortunately the managementof Long Ridge has once again seenfit to harassan
employeeby what ever treacherousmeansnecessary,with little or no regard to public
safety-My initial letter to you indicated that if they would tamper with protective fue
gear perhapsthey would not stop at tampering with a fre truck. Although thesetypes of
childish pranks were common antics of Peter Rustici, I was stunnedthat Chief Bennett,
Driver Chevalier, Vice PresidentBoudreau and Trustee Teitelbaum would stoop so low
as to endangerthe generalpublic. One can only wonder what other membersof the
departmentwere aware of this blatant violation and just how far the cover-up has spread.
I can no longer sit idly by and in good conscienceallow this to continue.I come to work
in fear of what other hidden dangeroussituationsmay be lurking to trap and ensnaremeObviously there is no point in bringing this to the attention of managementas they are as
much a part of the scandaland subsequentcover-up. I am offrcially asking for your
assistaniein bringing this matter to the attention of the City of Stamford Corporation
Council, the Fire commission the PersonnelDepartment as well as the Stamford Police
Department.If it were not for the friendship and diligence of Driver Kevin Re in alerting
me with regardsto this matter, one can only speculateas to the final outcome and goal of
just what managementand certain employeeswere willing to do simply to harass,slander
a defamea veteranemployee.
In the past the Members of the Long Ridge Fire Departmentwere merely standingup for
the injustice that occurred as a result of a hostile takeover by the City. The unfortunate
legal battle that ensuedwas done for what we believed to be a just cause.Sincethat time
thi Departmenthas fallen into ruin in part due to the seriouslack of funding, which has
contributed substantiallyto the deterioration and final breakdown of the Fire Department.
As an employee with27 years of service I trust that the many years of tax dollars spent
on my behalf will not go wasted.I feel that in light of the current intolerable and
potentially dangeroussituation, the City of Stamford should consider allowing me and
Kevin Re to make a lateral move to the Stamford Fire and RescueDepartment. Our
employment at Long Ridge with all that has occurred can only be defined as tenuous.
As a follow up to the above incident, on Monday night February 4that the regular Long
Ridge Fire Company February meeting, Chief Bennett was askedabout station 2's tanker
78. Chief Bennett indicated that the keys to the tanker have been on his desk for three (3)
weeks and that no truck for salewould ever have the keys in it. This is a fabrication by
Chief Bennett to protect Peter Rustici, Jim Chevalier as well as himself. In fact recently
tanker 78 respondedto a structure fire in Turn of Rivers fue district.
I assumethat the seriousnature of the incident will be addressedregardlessof the City of
Stamford's indirect involvement with the Long Ridge Fire Company. I and Kevin Re will
make ourselvesavailableto discussthis matter at your earliest convenience.
Resoectfullv"
'^ t'4 '}-=-,,d f ""
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-Donald E. Berg Lieutenant / Driver Long Ridge Fire Co.
c.c Director of Public SafetyWilliam Caliion
c.c. City of Stamford Human resourceDirector Dennis Mrrrphy
c.c Stamford Fire Commission Chairman Richard Lyons II
c.c Stamford Fire and RescueDept Chief Robert McGrath
c.c IAFF Local786 PresidentBrendenKeatley
c.c. Stamford Corporation Council President Thomas M. Cassone
c.c Stamford Board of Reps Chairman David Martin