Former East Haven Police Officer's Lawsuit Dismissed Over Time in Iraq

East Haven Town Officials announced today that a lawsuit filed by former East Haven police officer Robert Nappe seeking additional credit on his pension was dismissed, marking an end to the litigation, town officials said in a prepared statement.

Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr. said in a prepared statement, “I’m pleased that the court saw it appropriate to dismiss this suit. I am equally pleased that, thanks to the diligence of Attorney Lawrence Sgrignari, the suit was dismissed in its infancy and was prevented from becoming protracted or costly to the taxpayers.”

In the original complaint, Nappe’s Attorney, John Williams, argued that the Town wrongfully denied Nappe credit toward his pension for one year of time Nappe spent working for a private contractor in Iraq and three years of time during which Nappe and the Town disagreed over his right to be reinstated by the Town after his work in Iraq concluded.

Attorney Lawrence Sgrignari, of the law firm of “Gesmonde, Pietrosimone, and Sgrignari” in Hamden said, “The court decision clearly specifies that Mr. Nappe did not take the proper steps to permit his claim to be heard by the court. Specifically, he did not exhaust his potential remedies through the State of Connecticut Retirement System nor did he attempt to resolve his dispute through the grievance procedure laid out in the Police Department’s collective bargaining agreement.”

In dismissing Nappe’s complaint, Judge Robin Wilson said, “It is unclear if the plaintiff possesses a statutory right at this juncture, which can only be determined after the proper procedural administrative or grievance steps are taken.”

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Town Attorney Joseph Zullo continued, “When this suit was initiated, the plaintiff’s counsel expressed the opinion that Mr. Nappe had been ‘treated badly by a lot of politicians.’ We are pleased that the court quickly saw through the political overtones that opposing counsel attempted to project on this case. This case was simply about the plaintiff’s failure to adhere to the local and state procedures that govern how challenges such as this need to be lodged.”

Zullo concluded, “Whenever a lawsuit makes outrageous claims or is alleged to have political overtones, the Town’s image unfairly suffers at the outset of the litigation. However, our legal staff aggressively and vigorously defends suits brought against the Town and its officials and, as quickly as possible, shines a light on the merits of each case. I’m pleased that we were successful in testing the merits of this case and that it was resolved in the Town’s favor.”