Bridgeport
In several previous posts, I urged Bridgeport residents to vote against former Mayor Joseph P. Ganim in his bid to reclaim the Park City’s mayoralty. I cited Mr. Ganim’s 2003 federal corruption conviction; the former mayor’s reluctance to apologize; and the pattern of corrupt Connecticut politicians getting in trouble after paying their debts to society.
In the end, Bridgeport residents decided to give the Democratic Mr. Ganim another chance. On Election Day, he took nearly 60 percent of the vote in defeating Republican Enrique Torres and independent Mary-Jane Foster. The Connecticut Mirror reports that when Mayor-elect Ganim delivered his victory speech Tuesday evening, he was cheered on by one of the aforementioned repeat offenders: Former Waterbury Mayor Joseph J. Santopietro.
Mr. Santopietro, a Republican, was the Brass City’s chief executive from 1986 through 1992. Not long after he lost his 1991 re-election bid to Democratic former Mayor Edward D. Bergin Jr., Mr. Santopietro was convicted in federal court on charges of bribery, conspiracy and tax evasion. He served more than seven years in prison. In 2007, Mr. Santopietro pleaded guilty to helping a mafia-linked trash company stymie its competitors in the western Connecticut and eastern New York markets. The former mayor was not returned to prison, but he was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Bree Burns to pay a $30,000 fine and serve six months of home confinement.
Unlike former Gov. John G. Rowland and former Bridgeport state Sen. Ernest E. Newton II, Mr. Santopietro did not resort to political corruption. Nonetheless, the fact he landed in more legal hot water indicates he didn’t use his stint in the slammer to examine his character.
At last night’s party, Mr. Santopietro sang the praises of his friend Mayor-elect Ganim during an interview with the Mirror. “The people of Bridgeport love him. Everybody deserves a second chance,” he said. Boy, talk about you just can’t make this stuff up. In light of the “second chance” bit, one can’t help but wonder of Mr. Santopietro envisions a comeback attempt for himself.
