Clinton veterans agent comes under fire

CLINTON — When Lancaster resident Sharon Goodsell’s husband Thomas, a Vietnam veteran, passed away in 2002 from cancer, she realized she could no longer pay the bills on her own. She was staring down the all-too-real-possibility that she might lose her home.

Because the veterans agent for Lancaster was in the process of leaving his position, Goodsell was told to meet with Clinton Veterans Agent Gerald Coppenrath, who was assuming the responsibility of providing services to Lancaster’s veterans and their families. But when she approached Coppenrath asking for help, Goodsell said she was trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare and often told to come back at a later date to meet with then veterans agent assistant Michelle Marino.

“It wasn’t like I was looking to get rich; I was just looking to get what I deserved so I wouldn’t lose my house,” Goodsell said. “Mr. Coppenrath really seemed to be useless and never seemed to take my situation seriously. I would go in the office and ask him for something and he would tell me to come back on Tuesday when Michelle would be in, and I thought to myself, ‘You’re the veterans agent, why do I have to wait for your secretary to come in?’”

In fact, Goodsell said she only started receiving her husband’s benefits once Marino began helping her.

“Michelle was always right there at bat for me,” Goodsell said. “She even went so far as to hand-deliver a couple of the checks to me. Mr. Coppenrath never really did much to help me; he always had Michelle do all the work. It seemed like he was just there in the position and he seemed to take a very cavalier approach to my situation.”

Whistle blower or disgruntled employee?
A veterans agent serves as a liaison between the veteran and the departments at both the state and federal level that provide veteran benefits. Coppenrath has been serving as the Clinton Veterans Agent for about three years and was appointed by the then sitting Board of Selectmen.

Coppenrath said no complaints have been brought to his attention and claims criticisms are being drummed up by a “disgruntled person,” Marino, who was asked to leave the Clinton office after selectmen met in executive session with Coppenrath last November. Marino now serves as the veteran agent for Lancaster, Berlin and Bolton and works out of an office in Berlin.

Coppenrath, who comes from a long lineage of veterans and is a disabled veteran himself, said he is the last person that would turn away a veteran looking for help.

“I help every veteran that comes into the office and I resent comments that are being made by a disgruntled person that I don’t help veterans,” Coppenrath said. “No veteran has every come into this office and told they couldn’t be helped. This is all coming about because of a disgruntled lady because she was asked to leave this office.”

On Nov. 1, Coppenrath met with selectmen in an executive session to address some concerns brought to the board that he was not keeping regular office hours and veterans were having difficulty reaching him. Coppenrath said whenever he leaves the office he places a sign on the door stating when he will return. He said there is also an answering machine for veterans to leave a message and he always returns their calls.

Coppenrath, who attended the meeting with a number of veterans that were willing to speak on his behalf, said any complaints against him should have been brought directly to his attention.

“I take all matters with respect to veterans very seriously,” Coppenrath said during the executive session, which the Times & Courier requested and received from the town on audiocassette. “I don’t take it lightly when a veteran comes and tells me they need my help… If someone is bringing complaints about me to Michelle she should bring it to my attention first. That’s what a truly loyal employee would have done, but she doesn’t see herself as an employee of Clinton, she sees herself as an employee of the Veteran Affairs Office… I take great umbrage with someone with three years part-time experience finding fault with me, who has 40 years of public service experience.”

Coppenrath also said Marino never should have considered herself as an employee of the town of Clinton as she was working as part of a work/study program that ended once she withdrew from school.

Marino’s side of the story appeared to be absent during the executive session on Nov. 1 and selectmen agreed that the best course of action would be to remove her from the office since she was not helping any veterans from Clinton.

“We have no control over that office,” Selectman Robert Pasquale Jr. said. “Obviously, there is a problem with the person in that office and maybe we have to restructure that office. She is going to have to move because of her disruptiveness.”

“We need to make sure the veterans are getting the help that they need,” Selectman Joseph Notaro Jr. said.

Town Solicitor Dennis Sargent then brought Marino, who had been waiting in the hall, into the selectmen’s chambers and told her the board decided that she and Coppenrath could no longer work together and she would need to find another office.

Seeking help elsewhere
So are local veterans being provided with all the services they need?

Coppenrath believes they are and said he offers every service that a veteran could want or need. Several Clinton veterans were contacted by the Times & Courier and all declined to comment.

But if the Clinton Veterans Agent is providing all the services a veteran could possibly need, why are some leaving town to get help from veterans agents in surrounding communities?

Gary Brown, who serves as the veterans agent in Marlborough, said he is assisting four to five veterans from Clinton on a regular basis. Brown said it is unusual that a veteran from a town with a full-time veterans agent would seek assistance from an office in another town.

Are the services he is providing something a veteran should be receiving from their hometown agent?

“Absolutely,” Brown said when asked “I don’t mind helping another veterans agent if they are having trouble with something, but I would say it is extraordinary that I would be helping veterans from a town with a full-time veterans agent. For whatever reason, these veterans are coming to me for help and I won’t turn them away.”

Another veterans agent from a surrounding town who did not wish to be identified also admitted that he is helping a handful of Clinton veterans. Marino said she has also helped several veterans from Clinton when they come to her and is helping one on a regular basis.

“If any veteran calls me I’m not going to turn them away if they need my help,” Marino said.

Coppenrath said a veteran can choose to use whatever veterans agent they want and it isn’t unusual for veterans to work with different agents.

But why would a veteran seek help in another town?

Former Veterans Agent Chris Dziczek might have the answer.

According to Dziczek, a number of veterans from Clinton have approached him claiming they were having difficulties dealing with Coppenrath and asked for his help. Dziczek said because he couldn’t help them himself he sent them to agents he felt would be able to provide them with the services they need.

Marino, who now works out of an office in Berlin, said she was limited on what she could say about the matter. She said it is unfortunate that she and Coppenrath couldn’t work together and is worried the veterans of Clinton are the ones that are being affected. Marino said she started looking for another office in August, prior to the executive session meeting, when she realized she could no longer work with Coppenrath.

“I decided that it was time for me to leave and approached the towns I was servicing asking for an office to work out of,” Marino, clearly frustrated by the entire situation, said. “Mr. Coppenrath and I have a difference of opinion on how veterans should be served and hopefully veterans in Clinton are getting the help they deserve.”

(Patrick Brodrick can be reached at 978-365-8044 or at pbrodric@cnc.com)