Rochester, NY Police Sgt. Paul Grande
It's been just over a month since I exposed Irondequoit, NY Police Detective James "Jim" Frascati, right here on my blog, for his disturbing, racist Facebook posts attacking First Lady Michelle Obama, and Mexicans.
Frascati, a former Rochester, NY Police officer, also posted an eerie message to President Obama, where he basically dared the President to come to the small town of Irondequoit, threatening the President, saying "Love to process you personally."
As a result of my exposing Detective Frascati on my blog, the Town of Irondequoit, NY suspended him while it launched an investigation into Frascati's posts.
In my blog I also exposed Stephen Cuszens, the Deputy Director of 911 Communications for the City of Rochester, NY, who posted offensive comments against Mexicans, under one of Detective Frascati's original postings.
The City of Rochester, NY suspended Cuszens for one week without pay and ordered him to attend racial diversity classes.
On April 9th, the Irondequoit, NY Town board unanimously voted to give Town Supervisor Adam Bello authorization to fire Detectve Jim Frascati.
The town immediately removed Detective Frascati from its payroll, amd the termination process was initiated, but under civil service law, Detective Frascati had up to 8 days to respond and also had a right to ask for a hearing.
Instead, Detectve Frascati announced he would be retiring, leaving under a dark cloud, and scandal.
A scandal which Irondequoit, NY Town Supervisor Adam Bello referred to as one of the worst times in the town's history.
The entire incident raised a lot of questions.
Among them, questions about free speech.
There were some who defended Detective Frascat's racist posts, saying it was free speech.
But this wasn't about free speech.
This was about individuals, public servants, who are paid with our tax dollars, harboring, spewing and spreading hate.
But some didn't seem to understand that this wasn't about Free Speech.
Perhaps Miriam Hernandez, who posted the following comment on Facebook when some were defending Detective Frascati's racist posts as free speech, said it best;
"It's interesting, how folks keep misunderstanding this as a free speech issue--it isn't. Three things are at play, 1) these folks are not self employed, they have signed a contract with an employer. It is common today that your off-work hours behavior is part of that contract, if your conduct is unbecoming, it reflects on your employer, and may open them up to liability. 2) in the case of the police officer, any racial profiling he does in his personal life will jeopardize his arrests--he is compromising cases he is involved in if it becomes apparent he's prejudiced. Literally, cases could be thrown out of court and a criminal be let lose because of this officer's racial views. 3) These folks do not own their Facebook accounts--neither do you or I own our accounts--Facebook owns the accounts, and even when you set your privacy settings to "only friends" legally nothing you post online is private. This is our Capitalist system--you have no right to your job, you are under contractand can be fired if you open up your employer to liability--and Facebook is private ownership of Mark Zuckerberg and investors--you are using their platform, but the account is not owned by you and is not legally private. What don't people get here?"
Hernandez was spot on.
And in fact, some of the very points which Hernandez made in her comment are in essence, what makes up the Police Officer and Firefighter Code of Ethics.
Specifically referring to a police officer's off duty life, the Police Officer's Code of Ethics reads; "I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all."
And the Firefighter's Code of Ethics reads; "Always conduct myself, on and off duty, in a manner that reflects positively on myself, my department, and the fire service in general."
However, it seems that police officers, and firefighters just don't care.
Take, for example, Rochester, NY Police Sgt. Paul Grande.
Lets just say that Sgt. Grande clearly hates Muslims, as is quite evident by his disturbing Facebook posts.
Sgt. Grande also hates President Obama, and he has no shame in not hiding his hatred, even posting
a "PRESIDENT'S ENEMY LIST" meme, where he and Joe Borzirelli, a member of the Monroe County, NY Sheriff's Office proudly display on their Facebook pages.
RPD Sgt. Paul Grande claims to belong to the "PRESIDENT'S ENEMY LIST"
Another meme posted by Rochester Police Sgt. Paul Grande showing his obsession and hatred of Muslims.
In the Facebook post below, RPD Sgt. Paul Grande writes "Obama these are the people that are misunderstood. Admit you hate Christians and Jews. It's ok. It's in your dna."
In the post below referring to President Obama, RPD Sgt. Paul Grande writes; "He is clueless on everything except his true agenda of transforming the USA to a third world Muslim nation!"
In the post below, Rochester, NY Police Sgt. Paul Grande attacks New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, while calling New York State "the welfare state."
Rochester Police Sgt. Paul Grande's Facebook post attacking minorities.
As for Rochester Police Sgt. Paul Grande's hatred of Muslims, he even has a problem with Muslim
women wearing their religious headdress, as you can see in the meme below which Sgt. Grande posted on his Facebook page.
Monroe County, NY Sheriff's member Joe Borzirelli boasts that he's an enemy of President Obama.
"I'm on the roster."
Joe Borzirelli, Monroe County, NY Sheriff's Office.
GREECE, NY FIREFIGHTERS JIM O'KELLY AND LYLAK MARKIJAN POST BLASPHEMOUS MEMES OF JESUS CHRIST
Greece, NY Firefighter Jim O'Kelly
Greece, NY Firefighter Lylak Markijan one of several who "Liked" blasphemous Jesus Christ post.
By Davy V.
On Easter Sunday many of us were wishing our family and friends a Happy Easter, and making plans to get together with family members.
Some of us posted messages on Facebook in memory of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Greece, NY Firefighter Jim O'Kelly also posted things about Jesus Christ on Facebook.
It's what O'Kelly posted which prompted an outraged fellow firefighter of O'Kelly's to contact me.
In the email to me, the firefighter writes;
"Firefighters who make a disgrace of Easter and Jesus by joking about nailing him to a cross, this should be brought to the public'so attention. I like how you are keeping people honest."
Jim O'Kelly who works for the Ridge Road Fire District in Greece, NY writes "Happy Easter to all!" then posts the meme below, which shows a shadow figure intended to represent Jesus Christ, running away from a tall cross.
The caption on the photo reads "SHOULD HAVE USED A DIAMOND"
Diamond is a brand of nail gun.
Jim O'Kelly's disgusting point?
Jesus Christ should have been nailed to the cross with a nail gun.
Greece, NY Firefighter Chris Williams' blasphemous post of Jesus Christ's resurrection.
Then there's Ridge Road Fire District Firefighter Chris Williams.
Not to be outdone by Jim O'Kelly's blasphemous photo of Jesus Christ, Williams posted a meme depicting an illustration of Jesus Christ laughing.
The meme reads; "WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AMD A PICTURE OF ME? IT ONLY TAKES ONE NAIL TO HANG THE PICTURE."
Greece, NY Firefighter Chris Williams' post.
So there you have it.
Rochester, NY Police Sgt. Paul Grande.
Greece, NY Firefighters Jim O'Kelly, and Chris Williams.
First Responders.
Public Servants.
Paid with YOUR Tax Dollars.
And who are clearly not abiding by their profession's Codes of Ethics.
It's not about free speech.
Yes, in the end anyone can pretty much say what they want.
But these are public servants.
And as such, they are held to a higher standard.
Both on and off duty.
When I was a child, I used to look up to police officers and firefighters.
What happened?
What is going n?
In Holley, NY, firefighters hold an annual "Squirrel Slam" encouraging people, including children as young as 12 years old to slaughter in cent squirrels, all n the name of fundraising.
Prizes for the mat squirrels killed have included brand new automatic rifles.
And just last month, in March, I exposed Joel Ramirez, a Rochester, NY Fire Department recruit after he posted an Anti-Semitic video he and his brother made.
Click link below to read my piece on that.
PLEASE SUPPORT MY FILM "A PROMISE TO MY DAD"
That's me on the right with my dad Mario Vara, and Judge Provenzano
when my dad became a U.S. citizen.
For the past 20 years my work has centered around exposing police misconduct and corruption.
Most recently, I exposed an Irondequoit, NY Police Detective, Jim Frascati, for posting disturbing racist posts on social media against African-Americans and Mexicans.
As a result of my exposing Detective Frascati right here on this blog, he was fired, and a 911 Deputy Director was suspended without pay after he also posted racist comments on Detective Frascati's original post.
As an activist, my goal is to put a spotlight on incidents which mainstream news media often ignores.
So why do I do this, you may ask?
Well, my story begins as the son of a Cuban immigrant, who left his homeland in search of a better life for his family.
And it's that story, my Dad's story, which I want to tell through my film, "A Promise to My Dad."
But I can't do it alone.
I need your help.
'A Promise To My Dad' is a documentary film about a promise I made to my father at his wake, after my father committed suicide.
The short film explores the life of my dad, Mario Vara as he leaves Cuba with my mom and older brother in 1968, in search of freedom and a better life for our family.
After moving the family to Rochester, NY, my father realizes that despite the promises of freedom and liberty that a life in America can bring, the harsh reality is that there are many injustices as well.
In fact, my dad would soon face very similar 'police state' tactics, as the ones he escaped his homeland for in the first place.
"A Promise to My Dad" highlights an incident in the 1980's, when Rochester Police officers Mark Mariano and Randall Benjamin kicked down the family's door, illegally entering our home, terrorizing me and my family at gunpoint.
As a result of that incident, my dad becomes outspoken against police abuse and misconduct.
Unlike many Americans who take their rights for granted, my dad took a stand to denounce law enforcement violating U.S. citizen's civil rights.
Having lived a communist dictatorship, my dad knew all too well what it was like to live in a totalitarian police state, where simply expressing one's dislike for Castro and his government could land you in prison.
My dad was passionate in his denouncement of rogue cops abusing and violating citizen's civil rights in the U.S.
As a teen, I would tag along with my dad accompanying him to community meetings, rallies, and marches where he, along with other citizens demanded accountability from those whose job is to serve and protect, as well as the elected officials whose job it is to keep them in check.
'A Promise To My Dad' features me telling my dad's story, including talking about my father's depression and how it led to him committing suicide in 1993, after the Rochester, NY Police Department targeted my father through a series of selective harassment and intimidation tactics.
'A Promise to My Dad' follows me as I struggle to keep the promise I made to my dad, to continue his work against police misconduct and corruption, while at the same time trying to find my own identity as a young man, then as a father myself.
Throughout the film I will talk about my own struggles with depression, my father's suicide, and the effects that my work has brought to me and my family, including my children being stalked and receiving death threats.
One example of this came in August of 2014, when an ex-con who is known to work with Rochester Police as a paid confidential informant (C.I.) was captured on a store's surveillance video threatening to murder, and decapitate my 5-year old daughter.
Despite the video clearly showing the individual threatening to kill and decapitate an innocent child, Rochester Police and the Monroe County, NY District Attorney's office, including D.A. Sandra Doorley, refused to charge the individual.
Please support my film "A Promise to My Dad" by making a donation.
Making a donation is easy.
Just click on the link below which will take you to my blog.
Once there, click on the 'Donate' icon located at the top right of the page and follow the easy steps.
All donations are secure through PayPal.
Any donation over $35.00 receives a free 'A Promise to My Dad' t-shirt.
Just be sure to include your address when making your donation.
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