AP: Conn. Gov. Now 'Subject' in Fed Probe

[MrRant 0]

http://www.comcast.net/News/POLITICS//XML/...9f84b88cab.html

 

HARTFORD, Conn. - Gov. John G. Rowland's status in a federal corruption probe has changed from "witness" to "subject," sources told The Associated Press on Thursday.

 

A source with knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the change means that a person's actions are within the scope of the federal investigation, but said that is different from being a "target" of the probe _ someone the government believes has committed a crime.

 

A second source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said it would be accurate to call Rowland a subject "now that his personal financial records are subpoenaed."

 

Rowland received a subpoena this week seeking all documents relating to improvements at his Litchfield County vacation cottage. The three-term Republican admitted last month that he lied when he initially denied that some of the work was paid for by politically appointed state employees, friends and a state contractor. Several of those who provided gifts to the governor are at the center of a federal corruption probe into the steering of state contracts.

 

Ross Garber, the chief counsel to the governor's office, said he could not comment on the reports. Rowland has not been charged with any crimes.

 

Quinnipiac University Law Professor John Pavia said a change in status would not be unexpected.

 

"After everything that happened over the past 2 1/2 weeks, especially after a subpoena was issued to him, it would be surprising for him not to be a subject of the investigation," Pavia said.

 

He said a change would mean that federal investigators have found that Rowland's conduct falls within the general scope of the investigation. It would not necessarily mean the conduct is at the heart of the probe, and Pavia said Rowland could later be ruled out as a subject.

 

Also Thursday two law enforcement officials said the Justice Department's public integrity section in Washington, D.C., which investigates public corruption, is consulting in the investigation.

 

The officials said an acting U.S. attorney in Connecticut, appointed for this particular probe, remains in charge of the investigation. However, the public integrity section is consulting.

 

Connecticut Deputy U.S. Attorney John Durham is serving as top federal prosecutor in the Rowland probe. Connecticut U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor has recused himself from the Rowland investigation because of personal conflicts of interest. O'Connor's wife used to work for Rowland. Also, Rowland supported O'Connor when he ran for Congress.

 

The public integrity section handles highly sensitive corruption cases. It can take over an investigation when major conflicts of interest exist, though it has not done so in this case.

 

Pavia called that the ordinary course of action when a case involves a public official.

 

"The only thing it confirms is the investigation has reached critical mass and we are at a serious point in the course of the investigation," Pavia said. "It begs the question how big of a role they have in this investigation."

 

Meanwhile, rank-and-file House Democrats on Thursday were attending a mandatory, closed-door caucus at the Legislative Office Building to discuss whether the Democrat-controlled House should consider impeaching Rowland.

 

The caucus was expected to last late into the evening.

 

Rep. Andrew Fleischmann of West Hartford said lawmakers' views divide into three groups, with most favoring the appointment of a select committee to review the Rowland scandals and recommend whether or not to pursue impeachment.

 

A smaller number of lawmakers would prefer to wait and see if Rowland is hit with a criminal indictment, he said.

 

Rowland appeared on television Wednesday night, asking the public for forgiveness and insisting he never provided any favors to those who gave him the gifts.

 

House Speaker Moira Lyons, D-Stamford, would have the ultimate say about whether to appoint a committee to study impeachment. Several of her members have urged her to do so, claiming the three-term governor can no longer be trusted.

 

Following the six-minute speech Wednesday, Lyons said Rowland appeared somber and sincere in his attempt to regain the public's trust.

 

"However, given the drip, drip, drip of the very egregious revelations, I think that is a very huge hurdle to tackle," she said.

 

Also Thursday, the first Republican state senators called on Rowland to resign. Sen. John Kissel, R-Enfield, spoke with Rowland shortly before a morning meeting at the governor's residence with some legislators.

 

Kissel said it was a difficult decision for him to make, but he believes Rowland should step down for the good of his constituents. Kissel said the governor was courteous and pleasant, but assured the senator he has no plans to resign.

 

Sen. Anthony Guglielmo, R-Stafford Springs, also said it would be best for the state if Rowland stepped down.

 

"Upon reflection, I do believe the governor when he says that he is sorry for what he has done, but as the chief executive of our state he must have the trust of the people in order to have the ability to govern," Guglielmo said. "He has lost that trust."

 

Some Democrats have also called for Rowland to resign, including Sen. Gary LeBeau, D-East Hartford, who issued a statement Thursday.

 

"At this point, 'I'm sorry' is not enough," LeBeau said.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Following the six-minute speech Wednesday, Lyons said Rowland appeared somber and sincere in his attempt to regain the public's trust.

 

Well I sure would if I got busted.

 

Fuck him. He's not even a real Republican -- he's from the Northeast. (Not that I'd approve of a southern Rep. doing the same thing)...

[Guest Cerebus]

Hey not all of us Northeast Republicans are that bad

 

Ok, as a lifetime resident of Connecticut and a soon-to-be employee of the State Republican party here are my $.02. At first the guy was disdainful of everything, as if "I've been here for nearly a decade what are YOU going to do about it?" then when things got worse he openly admitted he lied during an incredibly bizzare speech in which he invoked God, the Devil, and Saddam Hussien. Then his wife recited a poem insulting the Hartford Courant (our "fair" city's leading paper) on state television. Then two nights ago he gave an incredibly tearful apology...about a month too late. From what nearly everyone I've talked to says, we're all wondering why the fuck he hasn't resigned yet. State Democrats are talking about impeachment and since the Legislature's embattled Republicans have never been too cozy to Rowland they aren't looking for much of a fight should one come up. So it goes like this: Rowland has almost no support among the citizens, the press, or the legislature and his enemies are ready to impeach him. If he doesn't resign things are going to get ugly, fast.

[Mole 0]

Bah, Rowland has done nothing really for my state at all.

 

The one thing that he has done that really annoys me is about the casinos here in CT. I live right next to Foxwoods, the biggest casino in the world, which is 5 mins away from me. If you come just about anywhere in this country, you have to go through my town to get to Foxwoods.

 

Foxwoods has brought lots of crap to my little town, and what do we get for it? Shit.

 

The state gets a certain percentage of the slot machine money. Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport gets most of the money and my town gets very little from it.

 

Does Hartford have to deal with Foxwoods? Nope. My town had to raise taxes to deal with all of the casino fucks, and we don't get the slot share we deserve.

 

Who allows this to happen? Rowland.

 

Plus everything he did in the article is true, so he should be gone.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Update...

 

Connecticut Gov. John Rowland to Resign

 

HARTFORD, Conn. June 21, 2004 — Gov. John G. Rowland will announce his resignation Monday night, amid a federal corruption investigation and a growing move to impeach him, his lawyer told The Associated Press.

 

The governor was planning to announce his resignation on a live television address to the state at 6 p.m., lawyer William Dow III said Monday. Dow would not specify when the resignation would take effect, but an administration source speaking on condition of anonymity said the resignation would be effective at noon July 1.

 

Earlier, a spokesman for the governor's office refused to comment.

 

Rowland's resignation will elevate GOP Lt. Gov. M. Jodi Rell to governor and she would serve out the remainer of the term, which ends in January 2007. The lieutenant governor's office did not immediately return phone messages.

 

Rowland, 47, a Republican easily re-elected to a third term in 2002, admitted late last year that he lied about accepting gifts and favors from friends, state contractors and state employees. But he continued to insist that he did nothing in return for the gifts.

 

"No one has even said I've compromised this office," he said in a recent Associated Press interview. "I've not done anything inappropriate for anybody."

 

State and federal authorities have been investigating the allegations, and a special House committee also has been considering whether to recommend Rowland's impeachment. The committee had been scheduled to begin its third week of hearings Monday.

 

House Speaker Moira Lyons said in light of the reports, she did not plan to ask the committee for an impeachment recommendation. "What's the point of impeaching someone who's no longer in office?" she said.

 

Rep. Arthur O'Neill, the inquiry committee's Republican co-chairman, called it a sad ending to a brilliant political career.

 

"It certainly takes an enormous weight off the shoulders of the committee and of the House of Representatives, and for that matter the whole legislature," O'Neill said. "In that regard, I believe the governor is doing a service to the people of Connecticut by eliminating that process."

 

O'Neill said he had not reached a conclusion on whether to recommend Rowland's impeachment.

 

Last week, the state Supreme Court had ruled that the legislative panel could compel the governor to testify.

 

Rowland was once the nation's youngest governor he was 37 when first elected in 1994 and considered a rising star in the GOP. He is a former chairman of the Republican Governors Association and was rumored to be considered for several positions in the Bush administration.

 

When he first took office, Rowland made $78,000 a year, was paying alimony and supporting a large family when his much wealthier friends and state contractors began to give him a taste of the finer things in life.

 

They fixed up his cottage in bucolic Litchfield, where Connecticut's movers and shakers summer, complete with a hot tub given to him by a state employee. The governor got thousands of dollars in Cuban cigars and French champagne, a vintage Ford Mustang convertible and free or discounted vacations at the estates of his friends contractors who won substantial business from the state.

 

But the high life started crumble in 2003. That's when Rowland's former deputy chief of staff, Lawrence Alibozek, pleaded guilty in March to federal charges he steered state business to certain contractors in exchange for gold and cash.

 

That plea and the governor's subsequent acknowledgment that a federal grand jury had subpoenaed stacks of documents set the stage for a spring and summer of embarrassing revelations.

 

One of his vacation hosts was William Tomasso, a principal in the contracting company under scrutiny by the grand jury.

 

Rowland paid $9,000 to the state Ethics Commission to settle its probe of the vacation stays. Two months later he paid $6,000 to the state Elections Enforcement Commission to settle a complaint over charges he made to a state Republican Party credit card.

 

Rowland admitted no wrongdoing in either case.

 

But in mid-December Rowland admitted he had lied about who paid for improvements to the one-story, lakeside cottage he purchased in 1997. Asked Dec. 2 about who paid for the work, Rowland insisted he and his wife, Patricia, had taken out several loans to cover the bills.

 

Ten days later he issued a statement apologizing to the Capitol press corps and admitting friends, employees and some state contractors including the Tomassos had paid for renovations, including a new heating system, a hot tub, work on the kitchen, ceiling and deck.

 

But he said those helping him got nothing in return.

 

"I'm not going to sell my integrity or my 25 years of public service for a box of cigars. I mean, it's silly to even think that," he said.

 

Before being elected governor, Rowland had served three terms in Congress and two in the state House.

 

The governor's plans to resign were first reported Monday morning by WTNH-TV.

 

Only seven governors in U.S. history have been impeached and removed from office. The last was Arizona's Evan Mecham, a conservative former car dealer whose campaign accepted a secret $350,000 loan from developers. A campaign finance charge was dismissed, but the unpopular political outsider was impeached in 1988 on an unrelated charge of trying to thwart an investigation into an alleged death threat made by a state official.

[Guest Cerebus]

Well the one day I don't get called into work, the shit hits the fan. I've actually been part of this inquiry from the beginning (I work for the Connecticut Republican caucus) and the writing was on the wall for Rowland months ago.

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

No shit -- look at when this thread was started...