Piscottano v. Murphy

• Decision Date: 14 May 2004
• Docket Number: No. 3:04CV682 (MRK).,3:04CV682 (MRK).
• Citation: 317 F.Supp.2d 97
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Gary PISCOTTANO, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Brian MURPHY, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Correction, et al., Defendant.

317 F.Supp.2d 97

Gary PISCOTTANO, et al., Plaintiffs, v. Brian MURPHY, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Correction, et al., Defendant.

No. 3:04CV682 (MRK).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

May 14, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Kathleen Eldergill, Beck & Eldergill, Manchester, CT, for Plaintiffs.

Mark P. Kindall, Attorney General's Office, Hartford, CT, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

KRAVITZ, District Judge.

This is an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and § 1988 by five corrections officers employed by the State of Connecticut's Department of Correction ("DOC") who claim that the defendants — the Commissioner, the Deputy Commissioner and three Wardens of DOC — disciplined them in violation of their constitutional rights under the First Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment for associating with a motorcycle group known as the Outlaws Motorcycle Club ("Outlaws"). The present proceedings arise from the Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction [doc. # 4]. The parties engaged in expedited discovery following the filing of this action and submitted briefs, including proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. This Court held two full days of hearings on the motion, during which the Court heard testimony from each Plaintiff and from the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of DOC, among others. On May 3, 2004, the Court entertained two hours of oral argument on the motion. In view of the urgency of this matter and both parties' need for a prompt decision on the pending motion, the Court issued an oral ruling on May 4, 2004. This memorandum of decision does not change the result or the reasoning of the oral ruling but merely sets forth the Court's orally announced findings of fact and conclusions of law in the form of a written decision. As noted at the time this Court's oral ruling was announced, Plaintiffs' Motion for Preliminary Injunction [doc. # 4] is DENIED.

I.

It is undisputed that in or about August 2003, DOC began an investigation into allegations, some of which were included in an anonymous email message that Commissioner Lantz received (Def's Ex. 504), that several correctional officers were members of, or had been associating with, the Outlaws. In connection with the investigation, DOC interviewed each of the plaintiffs in September 2003 about their involvement and association with the Outlaws. Plaintiff Piscottano has worked for DOC for approximately 18 years and was at the time working as a correctional officer at Northern Correctional Center, a supermax facility, which is the highest security level for correctional facilities in the State. Plaintiff Sabettini, a 12 year veteran of DOC, also worked at Northern, where he oversaw lower-level inmates from Enfield who took care of the grounds at Northern. Plaintiff Vincenzo has worked for DOC for approximately 18 1/2 years; he supervised inmates at a medium-security facility. Plaintiff Kight has worked for DOC for approximately 11 1/2 years and at times relevant to this case was a correctional officer at the Webster facility, which is a minimal security facility. Plaintiff Scappini has worked for DOC for 9 years, and he also worked at Webster overseeing inmates at the time of the events in question. None of these officers had ever been subjected to any disciplinary action in the course of their employment with DOC.

On or about September 18, 2003, DOC's Director of Security issued a report (the "Report") on the investigation, Pls' Ex. 3. The Court will not repeat in detail the contents of the Report. Suffice it to say that it contains a summary of certain historical information regarding the Outlaws that had been gathered from a National Drug Intelligence Center ("NDIC") report dated October 2002. That summary indicated that the Outlaws Club was an expanding motorcycle club that was a rival to the Hell's Angels Motorcycle Club. The summary reported that the Outlaws group was considered a major drug producer and trafficker that had used extreme violence to protect and expand its territorial influence, that Outlaws members were known to associate with self-proclaimed militias and white supremacist groups, and that the Outlaws sold stolen motorcycle parts and laundered the illegal proceeds. The summary stated that RICO prosecutions had been instituted against Outlaws in Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, and Wisconsin and that a number of Outlaws members had been convicted of felonies. The NDIC concluded that the Outlaws "will become a greater threat to the general public and law enforcement" in the foreseeable future and noted that "law enforcement sources expect the newly founded New England chapters to follow suit with the criminal activity of older established chapters." Id., at 6.

As it relates to Plaintiffs, the Report summarized interviews with each Plaintiff and the results of DOC investigatory efforts. The Report stated that Officers Piscottano, Sabettini, and Kight admitted being members of the Outlaws at one time but claimed to have left the group before DOC commenced its investigation. However, the Report concluded that Officers Piscottano, Sabettini, and Kight had been less than truthful about their association with the Outlaws during the investigation since DOC believed that they continued to be associated with and involved in the Outlaws despite their claim that they were no longer members. While Officers Vincenzo and Scappini — who were never members of the Outlaws but who did attend some Outlaws functions — were not found to have been less than truthful, the Report noted a concern that all of the correctional officials were associating with known felons and other members of a group, the Outlaws, that was known nationally as having been involved in criminal enterprises.

The Report recommended that each Plaintiff be found in violation of Administrative Directive 2.17 (Def's Ex. 502) in several respects. Among other things, Officers Piscottano, Sabettini, and Kight were cited for violating subsections that prohibit officers from failing to cooperate fully and truthfully in an inquiry or investigation conducted by DOC and from lying or giving false testimony during the course of a departmental investigation. All of the Plaintiffs were also cited for engaging in conduct that constitutes or gives rise to the appearance of a conflict of interest, engaging in unprofessional or illegal behavior that could reflect negatively on the DOC, and for acting in ways that jeopardize the security of the unit, or the health, safety, or welfare of the public staff or inmates. See Pls' Ex. 3, at 15-18.

In November 2003, Commissioner Lantz decided to create five separate investigations for Plaintiffs, and at that time each Plaintiff was placed on paid administrative leave pending conclusion of the investigations. At or around the same time, Plaintiffs were given copies of the Report and, through their counsel, each Plaintiff submitted responses to it. In sum, those responses disputed that the Waterbury Chapter of the Outlaws — with which the five Plaintiffs had been associated and which had only begun operations in approximately January 2002 — was involved in any criminal activity or violent conduct of the sort that the Report attributed to the national Outlaws. The responses disputed that Plaintiffs had been less than truthful during the investigation. Plaintiffs also submitted information that various DOC officials had led them to believe that their association with the Outlaws would not pose a problem so long as Plaintiffs were not involved in criminal activity. Each Plaintiff was also given one or more hearings under the principles set forth in Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 84 L.Ed.2d 494 (1985).

The investigatory files on each Plaintiff (which have been marked in their entirety as Def's Exhibits 513-517) were reviewed by various officials of the DOC including human resources personnel, the Deputy Commissioner, and the Commissioner. Based upon recommendations of the Deputy Commissioner and the human resources personnel and upon review of the factual circumstances, the Commissioner made her decisions regarding each plaintiff. Both the Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner testified at length regarding the reasons for their decisions and recommendations regarding each Plaintiff. Each agreed that three of the Plaintiffs should be dismissed due to a combination of the fact that they had been less than truthful about their association with the Outlaws and the fact that the Outlaws group was considered a criminal enterprise and a gang with whom DOC officers should not associate because of security, safety, and conflict of interest concerns. As to the two Plaintiffs who had been truthful during the DOC investigation, they would receive formal counseling because of the security, safety, and conflict of interest issues raised by their association with what the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner considered to be a gang or criminal enterprise.

On or about April 22, 2004, plaintiffs were notified by DOC of those actions. Plaintiffs Scappini and Vincenzo were issued what DOC termed a "Formal Counseling" for violating AD 2.17. Pl's Ex. 10, 18. The letter informed them that any recurrence of the behavior giving rise to the counseling would result in more severe disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. Plaintiffs Piscottano, Sabettini, and Kight were each told they would be dismissed from State service for just cause for violating AD 2.17. Pl's Ex. 2, 7, 13. Specifically, they were told that based upon the Security Division investigation they were found to have been less than truthful when questioned regarding their association with the Outlaws. Unless enjoined, the dismissal of each Plaintiff would take effect on May 6, 2004. Each Plaintiff is a member of a union and has already filed a grievance challenging the disciplinary action, or will do so shortly.

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