Date: Fri 14-Jul-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

a5-politics-Mooney-Cascella

Full Text:

WITH CUT: MOONEY TAPPED AS CASCELLA'S RUNNING MATE

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

First Selectman Bob Cascella has tapped James M. Mooney, former commander of

the state police's Statewide Narcotics Task Force and chairman of the town's

Public Safety Committee, to be his running mate on the Republican ticket in

the November election.

A resident of Newtown for 23 years, Mr Mooney, 53, retired from the state

police as a captain three years ago and currently is the director of campus

security for the University of Bridgeport.

Mr Cascella said he was "very, very confident" of Mr Mooney's abilities to

handle the position of selectman.

"I chose Mr Mooney for a variety of reasons but first and foremost was his

service with the state police in the administrative branch, especially dealing

with a lot of complicated rules and regulations involving unions," Mr Cascella

said. "He has been a friend of mine for six years and worked very hard in my

campaign two years ago as well as in the campaign two years before that."

"He is committed to the ideals and philosophy of my administration. We've met

and discussed my goals - we're on the same page. He also has a commitment to

the community."

Mr Mooney was a member of the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps for 11 years

serving as chief, assistant chief and training officer. He became active in

local politics during the 1991 campaign and was elected to the Republican Town

Committee in 1993.

A Bridgeport native who always wanted to be a police officer, Mr Mooney was

too young to join the police force when he graduated from high school in 1959

so he went to work for the F.W. Woolworth Company, completing its management

training course and becoming an assistant manager of several stores in

southwestern program Connecticut.

In 1964 he joined the Bridgeport Police Department and then the Connecticut

State Police in 1966. Beginning as a highway patrolman, Mr Mooney was

appointed in 1973 as the resident state trooper in Brookfield where he

supervised 10 constables and helped the town plan for its full time police

department. He rose quickly through the state police ranks, becoming a

lieutenant, commanding officer of the field support division, then deputy

commanding officer of internal affairs. Promoted to captain, he became the

deputy district commanding officer for the central and western districts,

responsible for the management of as many as 300 police officers and support

staff.

In February 1984 Capt Mooney was appointed commanding officer of the Statewide

Narcotics Task Force, a unit consisting not only of state police but also

officers on assignment from municipal departments. During his five-year tenure

the task force was restructured and expanded. It secured over $2.6 million in

funding through grants and the first asset forfeiture program, and initiated a

public education unit which sponsored the adoption of the statewide DARE (Drug

Awareness Education Program) now in schools in 151 communities.

During his career, Capt Mooney garnered many awards. He was cited for the

coordination of disaster relief in the Mianus River Bridge collapse and the

1990 Litchfield County tornado. He received the Connecticut DARE Officer Award

for "pioneering contributions in establishing project DARE in Connecticut" in

1991 and was honored by the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration and by the

Narcotics Enforcement Officers Association for outstanding service.

He is a member of St Rose Church and the Knights of Columbus Council 185 in

Newtown.

Mr Mooney and his wife, Adele, live on Partridge Lane. They have three

children: Adele, 31, a registered nurse; James, 30, a Newtown police officer,

and Kathleen Margaret, 15, a sophomore at Newtown High School. The Mooneys

also have three grandchildren: Jimmy, 1; Morgan Elizabeth, 3, and Bridgit, who

was born at 12:02 am on Wednesday.

"You'll have to excuse me," Mr Mooney said, stifling a yawn during an

interview just eight hours later. "We were up late.½

"The baby was supposed to be delivered by caesarian section later this week

but she decided to come early," he explained. "My son-in-law was playing

softball so my daughter called us. We drove to Roxbury so that our 15-year-old

daughter could babysit for our three-year-old granddaughter while we took her

mother to the hospital."

Having two grown children who went through the Newtown schools and a daughter

who is still in the high school has kept him interested in local educational

issues, Mr Mooney said, while his management experience, particularly in the

areas of budgeting, personnel and grant writing, also would be assets in

serving as a selectman. "The state police is an $80 million a year operation

with 1,700 employees," he said. "I was in the top management with only seven

other officers above me in the entire agency."

Mr Mooney said he felt that Bob Cascella has done a great job as first

selectman, running the town well and keeping taxes down. "Our biggest

difference - our ages - also is an asset," Mr Mooney said. "Bob is 35. I'm 53

and I look at things a lot differently. But we get along great."

Mr Cascella said he had considered a other potential candidates when Selectman

Jim Smith opted not to run again, but felt that Mr Mooney was the perfect

choice.

"I'm very, very confident of his abilities," Mr Cascella said. "We've worked

well together going back five years. I look forward to the campaign, and

hopefully we will be successful."