Chief State’s Attorney’s Meeting
Minutes of the Meeting of May 21, 2012
Office of the Chief State’s Attorney
Rocky Hill, Connecticut
The meeting was called to order at 12:43 p.m. by Chief State’s Attorney Kevin T. Kane.
Also in attendance were Deputy Chief State’s Attorneys Leonard C. Boyle (Operations) and John J. Russotto (Personnel, Finance and Administration); State’s Attorneys David I. Cohen (Stamford-Norwalk); Michael Dearington (New Haven); Patricia M. Froehlich (Windham); Matthew C. Gedansky (Tolland); Peter A. McShane (Middlesex); Maureen Platt (Waterbury); Brian Preleski (New Britain): Michael L. Regan (New London); Stephen J. Sedensky III (Danbury); David Shepack (Litchfield); John C. Smriga (Fairfield) and Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorneys C. Robert Satti, Jr., (Fairfield) and Edward R. Narus (Hartford).
Also present: Executive Assistant State’s Attorneys Brian Austin, Jr., and Michael A. Gailor and Mark A. Dupuis, Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Communications Officer.
State’s Attorney Sedensky made a motion to approve the minutes of the April 23, 2012, meeting. The motion was seconded by Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto and passed unanimously.
Chief State’s Attorney Kane introduced Ngina Gibson, the Division’s new Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist, who spoke of her experience in state service, most recently with the Department of Administrative Services.
Chief State’s Attorney Kane and Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto reported on the 2012-2013 budget. The General Assembly added four positions in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, two positions to develop a new initiative for the investigation and prosecution of fraud in all state government programs, and three positions each for the Cold Case Unit and Shooting Task Forces.
State’s Attorney Platt introduced Denise Covington, Program Coordinator in the Office of Victim Services for the Gail Burns-Smith Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFE) Program, and Linda Cimino, Director of the Office of Victim Services, for a presentation on the SAFE program. The program operates at six hospitals and has received 230 cases since December 2010.
Executive Assistant State’s Attorney Austin reported on the agenda for the 2012 Annual Professional Development Conference for Prosecutors. The State’s Attorneys were invited to submit suggestions for topics to be covered during the ethics training. Additional information on the conference will be forthcoming.
Chief State’s Attorney Kane distributed information on asset forfeitures. Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Russotto distributed charts showing caseloads for each court location. Asset forfeiture cases will be a topic of the Annual Professional Development Conference for Prosecutors. Training also will be provided to clerical support staff.
Chief State’s Attorney Kane distributed a memorandum by the Appellate Bureau concerning the application of Padilla v. Kentucky, 130 S. Ct. 1473 (2010), in Connecticut.
Chief State’s Attorney Kane announced that there will be a leadership training component for the State’s Attorneys at the Annual Professional Development Conference for Prosecutors. A preliminary questionnaire was completed by each State’s Attorney.
Executive Assistant State’s Attorney Austin thanked the State’s Attorneys who are sponsoring summer interns. This year’s group of approximately 50 interns in the largest in recent memory.
Chief State’s Attorney Kane announced that Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Germain is the Division’s new DWI Prosecutor Coordinator.
State’s Attorney Froehlich reported on the National District Attorneys Association. The Division has made reservations for 40 employees for the training components of the Summer Conference in Groton in addition to the State’s Attorneys. A full agenda of training will be distributed.
There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 2:18 p.m.