This was found on the TU's Schenectady's Blog:

Quoted Text

Besides the criminals, take a look at the facts about the police department. While you’re getting snockered or eating at the taxpayer funded restaurants in the city, take a look at what’s really been going on in the city. Start focusing on the important things, not the taxpyaer funded businesses (yeah, why does the city give the rich Golub a big tax break too?). JC, this probably goes back to before your birth.

by Pat Zollinger
(to be presented at the City Council meeting tonight)

Last year Mayor Stratton came up with a great idea. To either dissolve or consolidate the Schenectady Police Department. So I’m speaking in favor of dissolving it altogether because of its history.

And I know that Mr. Bennett doesn’t want to hear about the department’s history so he can close his ears.

In the 1980’s
– Patrolman Ambrose Mountain was convicted in 1983 of raping a female inmate in the city lockup.

– Patrolman Bruce Vacca – charged with four counts of aggravated harassment for making obscene phone calls.

– Arthur David Chaires Jr (brother of our current chief and son of a Schenectady Police officer) is convicted in 1988 of possessing cocaine and goes to prison.

– Michael J. Guthinger – is arrested for stealing money from parked cars behind Proctor’s Theatre in 1989.

PBA President Michael Andriano is quoted in a 1989 newspaper article saying, “The problems are caused by individual officers. We’ve had a few bad apples sour the whole barrel. It has nothing to do with leadership.”

There was an incident where a bunch of men in a bus harassed an elderly couple by throwing eggs at them. They turned out to be Schenectady cops and a couple of firefighters.

In 1988 Ten Thousand Dollars came up missing from the evidence locker, then another one thousand in 1989. I also believe that two motorcycles had disappeared. Were any of those cases ever solved?

Then in the 1990’s
– Richard Barnett and Michael Siler perform a “relocation service”, taking a suspect out to Glenville and leaving him there without his shoes.

– And a verdict against the Police Department and Officers Yager, Carroll, McHugh and Jack Falvo, for beating a suspect named Rodick, returns a $1.2 million award.

– Mr. Van Norden defended that case and isn’t Jack Falvo an assistant chief now?

Police Commissioner Charles Mills is quoted in a 1992 newspaper article as saying, “I have some shackles on me” because of the union contract.

– Then Chief Kaczmarek, a 25-year police veteran and son of a Schenectady officer, acknowledged that the department’s procedures are inadequate and that some officers have an arrogant sense of entitlement. But he said that he has brought the concept of internal affairs from theory to practice, and was working to make a department full of good officers more professional.

– Officer Kenneth Hill is dismissed for using a racial slur but later reinstated.

Then in the 2000’s
– Chief Kaczmarek spills the beans on an FBI investigation into the police department.

– Officer Marhafer blows his brains out right in the police department locker room.

– Michael F. Hamilton Jr. (brother to PBA president Bob Hamilton),
Nicola Messere,
Michael Siler (son of a Schenectady Police officer) and
Richard Barnett – are convicted on federal corruption charges.

– Kenneth Hill goes state prison for giving a gun to a drug dealer.

– Mayor Stratton fires public safety commission Boyle because he favored his political opponent.

– PBA president Bob Hamilton works only a few days each year and is paid over a hundred thousand a year.

– A man is badly beaten in Hamilton Hill on his way home from work and the cops said they didn’t have enough men to patrol.

– Kaczmarek is found guilty on drug charges and goes to prison.

– Officer Thomas Disbrow is found watching his son bowl in Scotia while on duty

– Darren Lawrence drives drunk on the Northway, wrecks his car, beats his buddy and is still awaiting trial.

– John Lewis is arrested five or six times and Mr. Van Norden is too scared to file a complaint against Judge Loyola because he’s not setting a trial date.

– Kyle Hunter is arrested numerous times for harassment and domestic violence.

– Dwayne Johnson is suspended and later arrested for being absent during overnight patrols and working at the Hess Station.

– Officer Michael Brown is arrested for DWI.

– A Police Department supervisor has his teeth cleaned while on the clock.

– Three cops, Haffensteiner, Reyell, and Karaskiewicz, are indicted for not filling out paperwork but were on paid leave for allegedly beating a suspect in a McDonald’s parking lot? Have they come back to work yet?

– Shari Barnes (also married to a Schenectady cop?), is arrested for prescription drug abuse.

– Joseph A. Peters IV is arrested for (DWI)

– Ronald Pedersen resigns in 2002 after allegations he roughed up a prostitute.

– Jeffrey Curtis goes to state prison after admitting he stole cocaine from the evidence locker. But he retired first so we’ve got to pay him the rest of his lousy life.

– Chris Maher pleads guilty to disorderly conduct and is demoted in connection with allegations he told a friend about an ongoing State Police investigation into gambling. Wasn’t that at some Metroplex funded bar downtown?

– and current Commissioner Wayne Bennett is found to have “sanitized” official State Police records regarding John Sweeney, former congressman.

Less than TWO Months into the fourth decade, the twenty tens we have:

- Rookie officers Bean & Overocker who don’t follow standard procedures and John Lewis is found not guilty. What’s the commissioner going to do about that? Defer to Mr. Van Norden?

- And we’re still waiting on a highly paid arbitrator – who Mr. Van Norden was so pleased to get – to decide if the taxpayers have to continue paying for these cops.

There’s a whole lot more to this problem, than a few bad apples.

Our taxes might be raised while this commissioner double dips, does nothing to clean up this situation, and these cops are getting paid not to work? People in this city are beaten, killed, bleached, and robbed and a cop gives out a ticket because some guy tosses a cigarette butt out his car window?

Don’t bother with consolidating this department. Do us all a favor and dissolve it. It’s beyond broken.

Comment by Barbara S — February 22nd, 2010 @ 8:06 pm

In regards to the previous post, I loved the part about Wayne Bennett “sanatizing records”.It is not the only thing he has “Santatized in recent years. Trust me when I say that he and Bob Hamilton make a great pair. “Birds of a feather flock together”

Comment by IMWATCHINGU — February 23rd, 2010 @ 5:02 pm

I’ll tell you, I glanced at that list by this Pat Zollinger when reading a Schenectady website (she has told about this website many times at council meetings). I hope she doesn’t mind that I posted it here. She is one incredibly intelligent woman, and she has found many loopholes in the laws, no, loopholes in how the city interprets of conveniently forgets to tell citizens things. Pat should be a Schenectady Patroon. But I only just read the whole thing now. How many I have forgotten about. Ms Zollinger was reading this at the priviledge of the floor where people can talk about anything that has to do with the city (got that Joe C?), and she was unable to finish reading it within the three minute time limit allowed! Things are that bad in this city, this focus on bricks and liquor establishments downtown must be abandoned and it’s time this city and this county get down to business of making the city safer, clean house at the police department, and lower our taxes.

Comment by Barbara S — February 23rd, 2010 @ 8:46 pm

http://blog.timesunion.com/schenectady/schenectady-victim-of-shootings/705/