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A Weston schools official says the New Canaan man accused of making threats against the town of Weston caused no problems at his job as a school bus driver until 2009. Scott DeiCas was a school bus driver for Laidlaw Bus Co. in Weston as early as 2003, but no official complaints were received for years, when he was transferred out of town, according to Superintendent of Schools Jerome Belair.
"We had received some complaints from parents and students in regards to how he was conducting himself, interacting with people, [he] appeared a little bit irritable and wasn't so patient," said Belair.
DeiCas, 48, who is accused of threatening Weston town officials through YouTube videos and comments posted on the schools' website, was transferred to Stamford by First Student Bus Co. (who bought Laidlaw) after the Board of Education asked the company not to reassign him to any bus routes in town.
DeiCas was arrested early Saturday at his New Canaan home after a standoff that lasted about 10 hours. He is accused of making a suspicious phone call to an administrative assistant at the Weston Board of Education office on July 29. DeiCas was arraigned Monday in Norwalk Court and is being held on $250,000 bond. He was a Weston school bus driver from 2007 to 2009.
Belair said Jo-Ann Keating, director of finance and operations for Weston schools, who DeiCas tried to angrily reach through a phone call to the Board of Education office on July 29, met with him and a representative from First Student. By the second meeting, it was determined that the town did not want DeiCas to return. Belair said DeiCas was never considered a threat to the children. "The only time that we had an issue with his performance was when we got into the spring of 2009," he said, adding that he is not the first driver requested to be transferred out and will probably not be the last.
According to Sarah Arnold, public affairs officer for Stamford Public Schools, DeiCas was only a driver in Stamford for one week in September 2009, but she does not know that if he left on his own accord or was released. Arnold said that Stamford schools did not receive any complaints about DeiCas during his short time working there. He has not worked for First Student since leaving Stamford, according to Bonnie Bastian, manager of media relations for First Student.
Bastian said all drivers are background tested before they are hired. "The safety and security of the passengers we transport throughout the area is our core value," she said. "We are working closely with the school district and local law enforcement as they complete their investigation."
Belair said the bus company conducts background checks that look at criminal and motor vehicle records. Random drug testing is also conducted. In a YouTube video posted by DeiCas in January 2010, he said he had taken the drug LSD in the past, but started using regularly 18 months earlier.
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