Mayor: 'I'm Not Going to Get Down in the Mud'

In a brief public news conference at City Hall Friday, Mayor Donnalee Lozeau said she is interested in repairing the "friction" that exists with Police Chief John Seusing, and moving forward after what has been a week of upheaval between the city's two highest profile leaders.

However, Lozeau also said she's not backing down from her statement last week, that she believes someone from inside the police department leaked a 100-page investigation detailing attempts by Nashua Police to connect her husband, former Bail Commissioner David Lozeau, to various crimes including bid-rigging, drug use and sales. She also said believed the leaked information was an attempt to "bully and intimidate her" into easing up on police contract negotiations.

"Somebody leaked the existence of those documents because they were interested in bullying and intimidating me. I'm not going to get down in the mud, line by line, quote by quote," Lozeau said Frday.

That investigation, launched in 2009 after someone came forward to police promising "dirt" on the Lozeaus, was closed without any charges being filed under Chief Don Conley's watch, according to Lozeau's statement.

Early this week, Seusing acknowledged the investigation and released a statement that said, in part: "An investigation was conducted into the allegations of bid rigging; and, as a result of that investigation, no criminal charges could be substantiated against either Mayor Lozeau or David Lozeau. The investigation into the bid-rigging allegations was suspended pending any additional information."

In Friday's prepared remarks, linked here in their entirety, Lozeau said she and Seusing have had a strained relationship ever since she first took office in 2008. She said there has been a clash over what kinds of information she should be included in by police, such as major crimes, homicides and crime trends.

"I should know about major crimes. I should know about homicides, and with all due respect, I shouldn't read that in the newspaper, and those are some of the things I think we need to come to terms about," Lozeau said.

"But most of our conflict has been over dollars," said Lozeau. "We have locked horns over police department's budget levels, the cost to the city of police details, payment for dental benefits, police overtime, the number of annual work days for officers, and the other fundamental elements of the budgeting process."

Seusing flatly dismissed Lozeau's claims in his statement, saying, "These unprecedented allegations made by Mayor Lozeau implied that the Nashua Police Department conducted 'a smear campaign based on an unfounded investigation to achieve political goals.' These allegations could not be any further from the truth," Seusing wrote.

Late late week, Lozeau's husband released a brief statement addressing the leaked investigation, that included the 100+ pages detailing several instances when he and the mayor were under police surveillance; police wire-tapping his home phone and recording conversations between Lozeau and a wired police informant, someone whose family has had a long-standing relationship with the Lozeaus.

David Lozeau identified that informant in his statement as a Tom Brennan, who had been sued by Lozeau over a truck that Lozeau had let him use to try and find work.

Lozeau said these things should not be enough to create the kind of tension that exists between she and Seusing, who she said she'd like to be having regular monthly one-on-ones with, as she did with his predecessor, Chief Don Conley.

"We've had one-on-ones, and at some point it just stopped working out," Lozeau said of the communication breakdown with Seusing.

"I think it's because of a lot of the things I mentioned – contracts, budgets – there were a lot of things involved. There's a whole history of it, some public, some not so much," Lozeau said.

"If I am not on his Christmas card list, I'll get over it. If I am not on his speed dial, then we will continue to have a problem," Lozeau in closing her prepared remarks.

Afterwards, Lozeau, who also noted that her father had served as a downtown Nashua Police officer, fielded some questions from the press, during which she said she believes "it's for others to decide" if an investigation into how the information was leaked to the press came about.

"The press knows who leaked the story, and they're not in a position to disclose that, so going around and around in circles and keeping it out in the press isn't going to get us anywhere," Lozeau said.

"What I'm saying is I think it's unfortunate that we're here. I think a closed investigation that had no fruition should not have been leaked. I want to move forward with my job. I'm not going to keep trying to figure it out, I can't and I won't do it," Lozeau said.

A copy of the redacted police investigation into David Lozeau is available by clicking the links below. Due to the size of the documents, it is in three parts.

Retired Police Chief Don Conley, when contacted last week by Nashua Patch, said he did not recollect details of the investigation, and did not feel comfortable making comment on the matter.

New Hampshire Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, who was involved in the 2009 investigation of the Lozeaus, was contacted Nov. 7 by Nashua Patch. She declined to comment on whether there is any open investigation into the Lozeaus.

"That's a question for Nashua Police," Young said.

An attempt Friday by Nashua Patch to contact Chief John Seusing for comment was unsuccessful.

NPD Investigation into the Lozeaus:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Mayor Donnalee Lozeau's remarks

David Lozeau's Statement

Chief Seusing's Statement