Monday, June 14, 2010

Veteran Berlin Borough Police Officer suspended

Berlin Borough Police Officer Anthony Anthony M Giannini, who is listed on Gannett's "DataUniverse" site as having made $70,688 in 2009, was suspended for twenty days on March 24, 2010.  Giannini was originally dealt a thirty day suspension by Berlin Borough Police Chief Robert L. Carrara on August 26, 2009, but the suspension period was reduced to twenty days by a Superior Court judge who ruled on Giannini's appeal on March 18, 2010. (Giannini v. Borough of Berlin, Docket No. CAM-L-5321-09.)   The judge also reduced a six day suspension Giannini received on April 16, 2009 and served in September 2009 to three days.  Thus, Giannini was required to serve another seventeen days of unpaid suspension.

The basis for the six-day suspension was set forth in an April 16, 2009 letter Chief Carrara sent to Patrolman Giannini.  According to that letter, Carrara, on April 8, 2009, had ordered Giannini to appear before the department's physician for a fitness for duty exam on April 15, 2009 and to telephone Chief Carrara after the exam was completed.  After Giannini reportedly failed to appear for the exam and failed to telephone, Chief Carrara filed five charges against him and proposed a three day suspension as a penalty.  Giannini rejected the proposal and demanded a departmental hearing.  On September 8, 2009, the Borough imposed a six day suspension which was served later that month.

The basis for the thirty-day suspension was set forth in a August 26, 2009 letterChief Carrara sent to Patrolman Giannini.  According to that letter, Giannini, during the July 22, 2009 hearing on the other charges, admitted that he had secretly tape recorded an April 20, 2009 meeting that Giannini had with Chief Carrara and Lieutenant Paul Miller. 

While being interviewed by Miller on August 7, 2009 regarding the charges arising out of the April 20, 2009 taping incident, Giannini was also found to have been secreting recording that interview.  This caused Chief Carrara to state in his August 26, 2010 letter that Giannini's "conduct shows a complete disregard for authority in that you were not only violating Department Policy on April 20th, but again on August 7th after you knew that you what you were being investigated for."  Carrara proposed a 30 day suspension and Giannini again rejected it and demanded a departmental hearing.

I have placed the disciplinary records on-line here.

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