The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-20

THOMAS J. FLEMING
 Equally corrupt and working in
 complete harmony with the comp
 troller's office was the street de-
 partment under the supervision of
 Thomas J. Fleming :"
 and the Comptroller, rented an enormous quantity of trucks and equipment at excessive and unrea- sonable rates. The Street Depart ment, throughout the Hayes-Leary administration, kept a record of the number of trucks actually working for the city on a given date and the number of hours of operation, the rate per hour and the name of the owner. All of these records covering the period 1880 to 1888 were destroy ed sometime between the fall elec- tion in 1897 and the early part of January, 1888. These records were destroyed upon the specific orders of Thomas J. Fleming, Superinten- dent of Streets, in the knowledge that they would not justify the ex- orbitant payments made by the city for truck hire during the Hayes Leary administration nor check with the records of such payments in the Comptroller's office.
 It appears that the City of Wa terbury between 1930 and 1888 paid enormous sums of money to a favored group of contractors and truckers, prominent among whom were Philip Coppeto, Frank J. San- talucia, alias Frankie Burns, James P. Healey, Thomas G. Smith, Ralph Devino, Charles B. Jackson and Daniel J. Donovan.
 Amounts Paid COppetto
 Between the years 1892 and 1885 the city paid, according to available records, at least $21, ,754OO to Philip Coppeto. During the same years Coppeto also did business as the Abrigador Diggers and under this name he received, according to available records, at least $621,- 237.47. Engaged in this enterprise with him was his brother, Ralph Coppeto, an attorney, who appar- ently shared in these payments from this city.
 Another particularly favored con- tractor was Frank J. Santalucia, alias Frankie Burns. From available records it appears that between 1881 and 1885 he received at least $83, GOATS, and during the year 1887 alone he received approximately $85,000 from the city. During a DOT tion of this time Santalucia was do- ing business as the Connecticut Supply Company.
 James P. Healey, whose business is known as the H. w. Conner Com pany, received, so far as is known, $38,206.75 from the City of Water bury between 1884 and 1887.
 The Thomas G. Smith Company, according to available records, re- ceived between 1880 and 1895 the sum of $83,988.33 from the City of Waterbury.
 Ralph Devino, who did business under the name of the Waterbury Mason Supply Company and later under the name of the Waterbury Mason Supply & Lumber Company, according to available records, re- ceived between the years 1880 and 1885 the sum of $243, ,297 .39 from the City of Waterbury.
 Charles B. Jackson. doing business as the Thomas F. Jackson Co.,, Inc, according to available records, re- ceived between the years of 193O and 1895 the sum of 32,381. .64 from the City of Waterbury.
 Daniel J. Donovan, of Meriden between 1881 and 1887, according to available records, received at least $53,7l2.97 from the City of Water bury.
 Donate Pietraroia, alias Dan Peters, of Bristol, to whom reference has already been made, received between 1892 and 1895. according to available records, approximately $75,000 from the City of Waterbury for rental of trucks, although he in fact owned no trucks of any descrip- ton and rendered no services of any nature whatever to the City of Wa terbury.
 What additional sums were re- ceived by these companies in the years following has not yet been as- certained.
 Small Personal Property
 The records in the office of the assessors reveal that most of the contractors and truckers mentioned reported in their tax lists annually very little personal property. For example, between the years 1881