Police Chief Says He's 'Confident' Investigation Will Clear His Name

The city's police chief is denying allegations made by three officers that he tried to obtain prescription pain medication illegally from them several years ago, following internal affairs investigations into their conduct.

In a meeting at his office with individual reporters and Chief William McKenna, Mayor Dan Drew said Wednesday he has ordered an independent internal affairs probe into charges by three officers that McKenna tried to acquire prescription medication from them while acting deputy chief of police in 2011.

The mayor and police chief fielded limited questions, referring largely to two prepared statements.

Officer Gino Pulvirenti, who is out on disability, retired officer David Galm and Francesca Quaranta, who's on leave from the department, made the accusations, according to the chief.

For his part, McKenna said he welcomed an investigation. "I have done nothing wrong and am confident that the facts brought forth in the investigation will show that to be the case."

He maintains his innocence and says his police record is unsullied. "I would never have made it this far in my career," McKenna says, adding if he ever needed painkillers he'd obtain them from a physician.

"I will not be bullied into avoiding hard decisions out of fear that it will have a negative impact on me personally."

Pulvirenti is being investigated by the department's insurance company for violations while he's collecting workers compensation benefits. Galm retired from the force two years ago due to an incapacitating knee injury.

The charges by all three officers came in the past few months, Drew said, nearly two years after the chief's alleged drug violations took place. Police officers are obligated by law to report any crime they have knowledge of immediately to commanding officers. This was not done in the instances of these three officers, Drew and McKenna said.

Two former federal prosecutors will conduct the investigation, Drew said. James T. Cowderly, former chief of the criminal division of the U.S. States Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas J. Murphy, onetime assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, have been directed to look into allegations involving McKenna.

Drew said he hasn't been given a time frame in which to expect results from these attorneys, but acknowledged such internal probes could spur further investigations, elongating a final report.

"In the past two years Chief McKenna and I have implemented standards of accountability not previously present in the Middletown Police Department," Drew said. "I am proud of the job that Chief McKenna and our officers have done in changing the culture of the Middletown Police Department and the work they do each day."

McKenna was sworn in as chief in May 2012, after being named acting police chief by Drew, following former Acting Chief Patrick T. McMahon, who was fired Feb. 23, 2012, by Drew after a Loudermill hearing.