| William A. Cugno | |
| Birth Date: | 4 April 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Waterbury, CT |
| Death Place: | Naples, FL |
| Allegiance: |  United States |
| Serviceyears: | 12 March 1968 - 1 May 2005 |
| Rank: | Major General |
| Commands: |
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| Battles: | Vietnam War |
Major General William Anthony Cugno was born April 4, 1948, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He was the son of Anthony and Marie Cugno of Harwich, Massachusetts. He graduated from Waterbury's Crosby High School in 1967. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut in 1984 and a master's degree in public administration from Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1991.
General Cugno served as the adjutant general and commander of the Connecticut Army and Air National Guard from June 1999 until his retirement in April 2005. Prior to becoming the adjutant general, during his 38-year military career, he served in several command and staff positions. General Cugno was a combat veteran of Vietnam where he served as a platoon leader from August 1968 to 1969 with the 9th Infantry Division. He joined the Connecticut Army National Guardin 1970 and held several staff and company command positions to include the 1st Battalion, 192nd (coastal) Artillery; Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 242nd Engineer Battalion; 130th Public Affairs Detachment. Following his company commands, General Cugno served as the Connecticut National Guard's Recruiting and Retention Manager for eight years. He then served as the commander of the 242nd Combat Engineer Battalion. Upon graduation from the U.S. Army War College, General Cugno was assigned as the commander of the 85th Troop Command, a brigade-size command, and served until 1994 when he was named the State Director of Plans, Operations, and Military Support for the Connecticut Military Department. In 1996, he served as the chief of staff for the City of Waterbury and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of city government.[1]
1984 Eastern Connecticut State University - BA Degree - political science
1991 Shippensburg University - MPA Degree - public administration
1991 Army War College
| Combat Infantry Badge | ||
| Silver Star | ||
| Legion of Merit | ||
| Bronze Star | ||
| Meritorious Service Medal | ||
| Air Medal | ||
| Army Commendation Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters | ||
| Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with 1 silver oak leaf cluster | ||
| National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star | ||
| Vietnam Service Medal with three bronze service stars | ||
| Humanitarian Service Medal | ||
| Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 1 silver hourglass device | ||
| Army Service Ribbon | ||
| Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 device | ||
| Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm | ||
| Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation | ||
| Major General | March 31, 2000 | |
| Brigadier General | September 30, 1997 | |
| Colonel | March 20, 1991 | |
| Lieutenant Colonel | August 29, 1984 | |
| Major | February 15, 1978 | |
| Captain | March 29, 1972 | |
| First Lieutenant | March 12, 1969 | |
| Second Lieutenant | March 12, 1968 | |
The Department of Defense Inspector General investigated MG Cugno focusing on several e-mails with sexual content with a Chief Master Sergeant Kristine Shaw in March 2004. Shaw denied any relationship with Cugno claiming she was the victim of jealousy and gossip. Shaw was a personnel administrator with the Air National Guard and did acknowledge she did work for MG Cugno beyond her normal duties, including travelling with him.
In an interview, Shaw denied any close or improper relationship with Cugno. Both were married. "I think it's pretty nuts," she said. "I never felt like he wanted a relationship, or he implied a relationship. As a matter of fact he would yell at me as much as he yelled at everyone else." She said others in the National Guard have resented that she has worked closely with Cugno. "I'm not the only one with a direct line to him," she said, but all the others are men. "I am a female, and there are a lot of jealousies."
Shaw acknowledged sending at least one e-mail with suggestive language to Cugno, but she said it was a bogus, intentionally provocative message designed to expose someone within the state military who she thought was snooping into e-mails sent by her and a few others who were close to Cugno.
The Hartford Courant obtained a printout of one purported e-mail exchange between Kristine Shaw and Cugno, dated March 1, 2004. In it, Shaw purportedly wrote Cugno that "it will be important to be able to have enough time for at least 3 or 4 times," with later language in the brief message becoming more suggestive. The printout also included a reply sent to Shaw soon after her suggestive message. The two-word message - "I promise" - appeared to have come from Cugno's military e-mail account and bore an electronic signature indicating it had been sent over his Blackberry wireless communication device.
As a result of the investigation and publicity, MG Cugno submitted a request for retirement to Connecticut's Governor, M. Jodi Rell effective May 1, 2005.[3]
Cugno lived in Southington, Connecticut but relocated to Naples, Florida after retirement. He was divorced from his wife Carolyn. They had two daughters.[4] Cugno died unexpectedly November 10, 2011.[5]