The story of how the city came to secretly grant prime developer status for its waterfront to a Long Island engineering firm proposing a range of outlandish proposals, like a floating swimming pool, hotel and helipad, is, at best, unseemly.

The City Council's surprise awarding of prime developer status in September to Advanced American Engineering, followed a summer of secret talks between the Passero administration and the developer.

At no time was the public given any inkling that the city was considering a massive proposal to develop its waterfront.

Not only was no request for proposals ever issued, so that other developers could compete, but the whole concept remained secret until councilors met behind closed doors in executive session to discuss it, appeared briefly in public for the surprise vote on making the Long Island firm prime developer and then refused to discuss what they had just done.

The mayor said at the time the developer would unveil his plans at a public meeting within weeks. It still hasn't happened.

This is perhaps the most compelling reason why voters should turn out in big numbers Tuesday and reject all the incumbent councilors who voted for this outrageous secret development deal.

But it gets worse.

It turns out, I've learned from some correspondence obtained from Freedom of Information requests, Mayor Passero was introduced to the developer by Yehuda Amar, the owner of several downtown buildings who was indicted in December 2019 in Rhode Island on numerous felony charges related to what authorities call an extortion scheme involving the Twin River Casino.

Amar was charged with 21 counts, including bribery, obtaining property under false pretenses, conspiracy and failures to file corporate and personal income tax returns.

"Illicit deals and the crimes alleged disadvantage those businesses who play by the rules and create an unfair competitive playing field," Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said at the time of Amar's indictment.

The charges are still pending, and the next pretrial conference is scheduled for February, a Rhode Island courts spokesman said this week.

Mayor Passero, incredibly, said after Amar's arrest that he remained confident about the developer's work in New London continuing, although nothing has happened since with two major derelict buildings Amar has interests in on Bank and State streets.

More incredible, though, is that Passero took Amar's recommendation for a developer for the downtown waterfront. The guy accused of extortion and bribery recommended David Hancock and his Advanced American Engineering, a company with only a "virtual" office on Long Island, and the mayor went in for the recommended developer head over heels.

Hancock, after meeting with the mayor, went on a secret fast track to being named prime developer by the City Council, with absolutely no notice to the public about what was happening.

I've seen a lot of bad deals and horrible public policy enacted in New London over the years, but choosing, without any competitive bidding, a developer with no experience doing what he is proposing, based on the recommendation of someone facing a wide range of bribery, tax evasion and conspiracy charges, is really beyond the pale.

This reminds me of what happened in Groton with the Mystic Oral School property, when an all-Democratic Town Council made a series of bad decisions and is now heading toward expensive litigation with an unqualified developer who has a history of arrest on bribery charges.

In both cases, the lack of transparency and open discussion, with one party controlling the government, led to very bad decisions.

New London councilors have become much too complacent and even arrogant toward public participation, often waiving the requirement for three airings before a measure is passed.

In the case of naming a waterfront developer, a new City Council needs to do a makeover. If Hancock and his Advanced Engineering won't agree to sever the existing deal and start over with a competitive process, then the city needs to wait out the one-year contract, let it expire and then begin again.

To make that happen, voters next week need to shake up the council and choose candidates who respect the right of the public to participate in the city's destiny.

There are lots of interesting choices from the other two parties, credible candidates, some with experience, who are on the ballot.

Here's hoping for a better New London, where all the decision making isn't concentrated with one party that exercises it behind closed doors, with input from someone accused of multiple felonies, who, remarkably, seems to have an inside track.

This is the opinion of David Collins

d.collins@theday.com