There’s our
poor governor, who just can’t get it right. Readers
will remember
that our designated police chief had a curious habit, come springtime or tax
time, of forgetting that he was married. So there were, well, irregularities or perhaps omissions or maybe you might be bold enough to say
errors. But these Tuller—just remembered the
guy’s name, sorry—resolved like a man to fix. So he did, to the tune of
$30,000, and where did that get him? Was anybody satisfied? Any pats on the
back? Calls at midnight to hold an emergency meeting to approve him?
Right—so
then the governor was stuck looking about for a replacement. But not a problem,
because down in the central part of the island there was a guy who had worked
long years in the force, and he was man enough to step up to the plate. True, José
Caldero, the gentleman in question, had retired from the force in the last
administration, and was working as an asesor en
seguridad pública para el Municipio de Caguas, in the words
of a local paper.
Is
it me—the cynical son of two newspaper people—or is there something just a bit
vague about this title, which in English reads something like a public security
advisor for the town of Caguas? That, coupled with fact that the last
administration—the one in which Caldero resigned—favored statehood, whereas
Caguas favors our current muddled mess, instantly suggests that Caldero left or
was squeezed out from one position and sank gratefully onto a nice, plummy
position. You know, one of those positions that are created so quickly that the
first order of business of the person filling the position is to write the job
description.
And
in fact, there were hints in the press that…well, wait. Here’s
what The New Day published last Sunday:
Por
entender que introducirá la política en la Policía, el presidente de la
Asociación de Miembros de la Policía, José Taboada de Jesús, rechazó este
domingo la designación del coronel José Caldero López como superintendente del
cuerpo de seguridad pública.
(Believing
that it would introduce politics into the Police Department, the president
of the Association of Police
Members, José Taboada de Jesús, came out Sunday against the designation of
Coronel José Caldero López as superintendent of the body of public safety)
Unfurl your
brows, Concerned Readers—the designee has cleared this up:
"Yo
no soy político. Yo soy policía. Trabajé en el plan y la plataforma de
seguridad (para el PPD), pero los que me conocen saben que el coronel Caldero
no es político, que siempre ha sido policía".
(Loose
translation: “I’m not politician. I’m a cop. I worked on the security platform
for the party in power, but everybody who knows José Caldero knows that I’m not
a politician, that I have always been a cop…”.)
OK—got that
cleared up!
Then
yesterday, a legislator came up with a charge: Caldero had had a role in
rearming Pablo
Casellas, the son of Salvador Casellas,
a federal judge. Pablo went on to—allegedly—stage a carjacking and then use the
“stolen” weapon to kill his wife. Here’s
what the legislator said:
Detalló que el
6 de febrero de 2007, el entonces superintendente auxiliar en Servicios al
Ciudadano, José Marrero Ruiz, envió una carta a Casellas indicándole la orden
de remoción de su licencia de armas (no. 7557) y el permiso de tiro al blanco
(no. 14499). En dicha carta se le presentó a Casellas, de acuerdo con la
legisladora, la opción de solicitar una vista administrativa si se encontraba
inconforme con la decisión.
Charbonier
indicó que “extrañamente, al día siguiente, Herman J. Wirshing, jefe de
alguaciles federales y amigo cercano a la familia Casellas, así como del propio
Caldero, le suscribe una comunicación, a puño y letra, al ahora nominado
expresándole su disponibilidad para eliminar la orden de revocación”.
(She
pointed out the on 6 Feb 07, the then auxiliary superintendent of Citizen
Services, José Marrero Ruiz, sent a letter to Casellas indicating the
cancellation of his license to bear arms (no. 7557) and permission to shoot at
targets (no. 14499). In this letter, and according to the legislator, Casellas
was presented with the option to request an administrative hearing if he
disagreed with the decision.
Charbonier
indicated that “strangely, the next day, Herman J. Wirshing, chief of the
federal marshals and a close friend of the Casellas family, as well as of
Caldero, wrote a communication, in his own hand, to the current nominee
expressing his willingness to eliminate the order of suspension.”)
I know—this
situation is raising your blood pressure, but relax, because guess what?
Caldero has an explanation for this, too.
“Lo que
existe es un documento que me envió a mí Herman Wirshing y yo se lo referí...
Yo no tenía potestad sobre eso”, indicó.
(“What
exists is a letter which Wirshing sent to me and I just sent it on. I didn’t
have any power over that,” he indicated.)
And today?
All going well for Caldero?
Absolutely.
All is completely under control and proceeding normally, though the New Day has pointed out that there is an
unsettled lawsuit in place against Caldero. And in the suit, brought undoubtedly
out of vengeance and a thirst to smear the name of an honest man in the mud, a
couple of police officers allege that Caldero, with other high-ranking
officials, created a hostile environment and improperly transferred them, after
they had blown the whistle on some corrupt cops.
And corrupt
they were—to the point of…OK, last quote:
El
exteniente fue acusado el 18 de diciembre de 2008 por la Fiscalía federal por
escoltar y prestar vigilancia a cargamentos de droga mientras ejercía como jefe
de la División de Arrestos Especiales y posteriormente fue condenado a 14 años
de prisión.
(The
ex-lieutenant was accused 18 Dec 08 by the Federal District Attorney of
escorting and guarding cargos of drugs while he worked as chief of the Division
of Special Arrests and was then convicted to 14 years of prison.)
Caldero’s
defense? That the officers who sued him had failed lie detector tests, and he
had had to transfer them….
There is
something odd about this appointment, though, however much all else is going
swimmingly. Because three chiefs ago, Hector Pesquera was making
$283, 100.
Then, James Tuller was making
$195,000….
And our new
top cop? Well, according
to the governor, he’ll get $106, 000
Are we—by
any chance—getting what we’ll be paying for?
