Marijuana Policy Project

STAMFORD — Republicans and Democrats expressed concern for the family of Stamford Mayor Dannel M. Malloy after his son's drug arrest.

Malloy's son, Benjamin Malloy, 19, was arrested along with four minors on Wednesday, Nov. 7 and he faces an array of drug charges including possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

"Any of us could have that problem and some of us did with raising our children," said Chris Munger, chairman of the Stamford Republican Town Committee. "Dan and Jackie [Malloy] need our prayers and help that this problem can be resolved."

Munger spoke with Malloy on Thursday and said his "prayers and thoughts" are with the mayor. Speaking on behalf of the Stamford Republican Party, Munger urged Republicans to set aside political differences when addressing the matter.

"This is not a political thing," he said. "This is a parent thing. Most of us are parents and our heart goes out to him."

Ellen Camhi, chair of the Democratic Town Committee, said humanism will prevail in public opinion of Malloy.

"Democrats and Republicans are people," she said. "We bleed red and you have to have this kind of understanding. I can't imagine too many people who will come down harshly on him."

Camhi believes the arrest will not affect the Stamford mayor's political career.

"He's not alone," she said. "There are so many other families who face this tragedy and it is a tragedy."

On the blog "My Daily Rant," Tom Alessi, a former city employee, called for Malloy's retirement as a result of his son's arrest.

"If he can't manage his kids, how can Stamford trust him to run their city?" he wrote. "STEP DOWN [sic] DAN!"

Alessi, who now lives in Darien, said the post reflects his general opinion about Malloy's political career and he feels sorry for the Malloy family

"I feel sorry for the kid," he said. "I have nothing against Ben Malloy."

Munger stated the blog does not represent the Republican party in Stamford.

"That's not our blog," said Munger. "We don't have a blog, so to speak, and that blog does not speak for us."

Benjamin Malloy was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, conspiracy to possess marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia.

He was released on a $2,500 surety bond and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 14.

A search and seizure warrant was executed at the mayor's residence at 277 Ocean Drive East by Greenwich police Wednesday, Nov. 7. Police said a "small amount of cocaine residue and drug paraphernalia was located in the residence."

The warrant stemmed from an earlier search and seizure warrant executed on a vehicle parked in the Springdale section of Stamford.

According to the Greenwich Police Department, at approximately 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, members of its Narcotics Section, along with the Stamford Police Department, executed a search and seizure warrant on a Ford Taurus station wagon occupied by five people, including Benjamin Malloy.

Upon execution of the warrant, police seized 34 individual baggies of marijuana with a street value of $20 per bag from three of the vehicle's occupants. Police also seized $514 from two of the occupants and paraphernalia from one of the occupants.

With the exception of Benjamin Malloy, the suspects were minors. The youthful offenders — two males age 17, a 16-year-old female and another male age 16 — are Stamford residents and scheduled to appear in Stamford Superior Court Nov. 14.

The charges for three of them ranges from conspiracy to possess marijuana to possession of marijuana. The charges against the female includes possession of marijuana with intent to sell.

This is the second time in 2007 that the personal family life of Dan Malloy has been in the news. Earlier this year, his youngest son was allegedly involved in racist incident against a Stamford High School student.

Dan Malloy refused to comment directly on the incident and Malloy's attorney, Bob Bellow, would not comment on the incident, as he has a policy of not commenting on pending cases.

Mayor Malloy and his wife released a statement calling it a matter of immense concern and asked the community to keep them in their thoughts as they work through it as a family.