East Haven mayor's 'taco' remark causes uproar

East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. Photo: Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close East Haven mayor's 'taco' remark causes uproar 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

East Haven Mayor Joseph A. Maturo Jr.'s reaction to the indictment of four cops on federal civil rights charges might have taken some of the national focus off his troubled police department.

Members of Congress, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and a variety of state lawmakers on Wednesday teed off on Maturo's remarks to a New York TV reporter, when he quipped Tuesday that he might go home and eat tacos as a way to reach out to his Latino constituents.

Maturo apologized Wednesday for the comment, saying it was "stupid" and blaming the incident on stress.

But the mayor has other problems, including a simmering conflict over his disability retirement.

On Sept. 2 of last year, more than two months before the election in which Maturo defeated Democratic Mayor April Capone by 34 votes, the State Comptroller's office warned that if he won, the monthly disability pension he has been receiving since October of 1991 would end.

Now, Maturo is battling Comptroller Kevin Lembo to keep the $43,184.76-a-year disability for back injuries he sustained on the job as an East Haven firefighter. He has been receiving the benefits since October 1991.

Maturo and his attorney, Lawrence C. Sgnignari of Hamden, did not return calls for comment on Wednesday. But Brenda K. Halpin, director of the Retirement Services Division in the Comptroller's office, said Wednesday that the issue has not been decided.

"Mr. Maturo has appealed the Connecticut Municipal Employee Retirement System's decision to terminate his disability retirement," Halpin said. "Our office is reviewing that appeal and has not yet made a final determination."

In the Sept. 2 letter, signed by Halpin and sent to thousands of retired municipal employees, she warned that their disability benefits could end if they work more than 20 hours a week for more than 90 days.

In a second letter sent only to Maturo, Halpin reiterated her warning. "If the re-employment exceeds the 90 working days per calendar year, the retiree's benefit must be terminated and the retiree must repay all the pension payments he has received in the 90-day period," Halpin wrote in a Nov. 21 letter.

Although he was in Switzerland at the World Economic Forum, Malloy on Wednesday led a rising wave of criticism against Maturo's ethnic remark.

"The comments by East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo are repugnant," Malloy said in a statement from the Capitol. "They represent either a horrible lack of judgment or worse, an underlying insensitivity to our Latino community that is unacceptable. Being tired is no excuse. He owes an apology to the community, and more importantly, he needs to show what he's going to do to repair the damage he's done. And he needs to do it today."

House Majority Leader Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, called for Maturo's resignation.

"Mr. Maturo's comments reflect not only an insensitivity to the Latino community in general, but an inability to grasp the seriousness of the problem his town is facing. East Haven has work to do, and Mayor Maturo should step down if he is not up to the task."

Republican Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton said Maturo should dismantle and rebuild his police department.

"There seems to be a pervasive attitude, at least among some members of the department, and I would take it apart and start from scratch," Boughton said. "Regarding the comments by the mayor, they were completely insensitive, totally inappropriate and just wrong. He has apologized, but one of your most-important jobs is understanding your constituency and listening to them."

A New Haven-based immigration-reform group called Junta for Progressive Action on Wednesday announced a campaign in which people are invited to text "Taco" to 69866. The organization said it would total up the number of texts and send a corresponding number of tacos to Maturo's office on Thursday.

State Rep. Andres Ayala, D-Bridgeport, a Puerto Rican, said he was "completely appalled" by Maturo. And U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., also criticized Maturo.

The furor caused by Maturo stems from remarks he made Tuesday. On that day, four East Haven police officers were arrested by the FBI on civil rights charges that they intimidated and terrorized Latino residents and tried to cover up their offenses. The four pleaded not guilty to the charges. Hours after their arrests, WPIX11's Mario Diaz asked Maturo, "What are you doing for the Latino community today?"

"I might have tacos when I go home," Maturo replied. "I'm not quite sure yet."

Wednesday morning, speaking on WPLR-FM's "Chaz and AJ" morning show, Maturo said "It was stupid, it was insensitive and I gave my detractors ... a reason to make matters worse with a `gotcha' and an insensitive and stupid answer to something I should have never said."

Later in the day, Maturo issued a statement apologizing for his comments.

The mayor said the "community needs to refocus on healing together." He said the administration has taken steps in that process, creating an advisory committee to the mayor named "LEARN" (Law Enforcement Advisory Resource Network) to update the policies and procedures of the police department. The board includes Jose Velasquez, a community volunteer and native of Puerto Rico.

The working-class community of 28,000 along the Long Island Sound shoreline has seen its Latino population double in the past decade, creating racial tensions, according to advocates of the Latino population.

Maturo, first elected in 1997, served as the town's mayor for 10 years before losing to Capone in 2007. It took a recount for him to lose his seat, and another recount, this time in his favor, to get the top spot in town hall back in 2011.

Staff writers Tom Cleary and John Pirro contributed to this report.