Two More Receive Prison
Sentences in the Donovan Campaign Scandal!!!
The Federation Asks Attorney General Jepsen to Pursue Legislation to Place the Burden of Cost
for Incarceration on the Felons, Not the Taxpayers!
Per Study Released Jan
2012: The total cost of Connecticut’s
prisons and jails—to incarcerate an average daily population of 18,492—was
$929.4 million
September 5, 2013
From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-803
Donovan Campaign Scandal Raises Questions….
As the Felons are Jailed, Who Will Bailout
the Taxpayers from the Costs of their Incarceration?
Will the Attorney General Pursue the
Pensions of the Corrupt Public Employees/Officials Involved? Does the 2008 Law Apply? If Not, Will the AG Seek to Improve the Law?
What Did Taxpayers Pay to Incarcerate John
Rowland, Philip Giordano, Joe Ganim, Ernie Newton and
other Corrupt Public Officials?
This week the Federation posed these questions to Attorney
General Jepsen in the following letter. Let us know your thoughts on this issue as we
review a report issued in January, 2012 captioned The Price of Prisons |Connecticut -
Vera Institute of Justice. The report notes that in Fiscal Year 2010, the Connecticut
Department of Corrections (DOC) had $613.3 million in prison expenditures.
However, the state also had more than $316.2 million in prison-related costs
outside the department’s budget. The total cost of Connecticut’s prisons and jails—to
incarcerate an average daily population of 18,492—was therefore $929.4 million,
of which 34 percent were costs outside the corrections budget. Read the report at http://www.vera.org/files/price-of-prisons-connecticut-fact-sheet.pdf
Our September 2, 2013 letter to Attorney General Jepsen is provided below and includes references to the
efforts made by the AG’s office in attempts to have the pensions of some
corrupt public officials revoked. Our
letter also emphasizes that
- Connecticut taxpayers should not be
burdened with the costs to incarcerate corrupt public officials, public
employees and their criminal associates.
- State Laws should be enacted to lien
the criminal’s assets to pay for their incarceration and all associated
costs (healthcare, etc).
- If the Attorney General’s office has
been thwarted in its attempts to secure the pensions of some corrupt
public officials and public employees due to the wording of 2008 state
legislation, we encourage your office to seek legislative review and
revision.
In summary,
revisions to the 2008 state law relating to pensions should include not only
the loss of pensions beyond the scope of the law as it currently exists but
also the ability of the State to confiscate the assets of corrupt public
employees,
public officials, and
their counterparts to cover the full costs of their incarceration.
(Our Letter to AG Jepsen
is provided below)
Today, we learned of two more sentenced in the Donovan
campaign scandal. The first, George Tirado gets prison in Donovan campaign case. CTMirror.org
reports the “former Waterbury police detective and co-owner of a roll-your-own
smoke shop, was sentenced Wednesday to 26 months in prison for his role in a
conspiracy to direct illegal contributions to the congressional campaign of
former House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan. “The U.S. attorney's office told Arterton that a prison sentence within the guideline range
was necessary to protect the electoral and legislative process from corruption.
"There is a need for the Court’s sentence to make clear this type of
behavior is intolerable," Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Glover wrote in
his sentencing memo.” ….. “Tirado lost his police job once he pleaded guilty.”
The second was Hogan gets 21 months in campaign scandal. CTMirror.notes “A 34-year-old former smoke-shop manager was
sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison, the fourth defendant to get prison
time in the campaign finance scandal that derailed the 2012 congressional campaign
of former House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan.” “U.S. sentencing guidelines recommended a
sentence of between 24 and 30 months in prison for Hogan,
and prosecutors sought a sentence at the bottom of the range. They described
him as less culpable than other defendants, but not a minor player. "Mr.
Hogan’s knowledge of and participation in the bribery component of this
conspiracy renders his conduct more serious than an average participant in
similarly charged conspiracies," Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Mattei wrote in his sentencing memo. “Hogan
was an investor in the smoke shop, as well as the manager. “Prosecutors
said he was aware that the goal of the conspiracy was to bribe Donovan.”
The Federation’s letter to
Attorney General George Jepsen follows…..
September 2, 2013
To: Attorney General George Jepsen
attorney.general@ct.gov
860-808-5318
Fr: Susan Kniep, President
The Federation of CT Taxpayer Organizations
FCTOPresident@aol.com
Cell 860-841-8032
Public Pensions and Incarceration Costs
Donovan Campaign FBI Sting, Guilty Pleas,
Court Convictions and Sentencing
*********************
- Connecticut taxpayers should not be
burdened with the costs to incarcerate corrupt public officials, public
employees and their criminal associates.
- State Laws should be enacted to lien
the criminal’s assets to pay for their incarceration and all associated
costs (healthcare, etc).
- If the Attorney General’s office has
been thwarted in its attempts to secure the pensions of some corrupt
public officials and public employees due to the wording of 2008 state
legislation, we encourage your office to seek legislative review and
revision.
In summary,
revisions to the 2008 state law relating to pensions should include not only
the
loss of pensions beyond
the scope of the law as it currently exists but also the ability of
the State to
confiscate the assets of corrupt public employees,
public officials, and
their counterparts to cover the
full costs of their
incarceration.
*********************
To date, the pay-to-play scheme
uncovered by the FBI in 2012 ultimately resulted in guilty pleas and a court
conviction in the Donovan campaign scandal.
Again, the label Corrupticut took
the spotlight - Political Corruption in Connecticut: Corrupticut
Abides - Connecticut .. . - and brought us back to the Rowland era scandal which put
the former Governor in jail and also served as the impetus to 2008 State
legislation which put at risk the pensions of future corrupt public officials
and public employees.
To date, it appears at least two
former State employees were netted in the 2012 FBI sting; i.e. Harry Raymond Soucy and Josh Nassi.
In June, we learned David Moffa sentenced to 2 years in
prison for role in Donovan ...
scandal. News reports noted he “was one
of seven who pleaded guilty in the case and was the first of the group to be
sentenced on felony charges in relation to illegal donations made to Donovan's
campaign on behalf of tobacco shop owners”.
Last week we learned the fate of
William Braddock in the article captioned Fundraiser sentenced to 38 months in prison in case that
derailed congressional campaign. As the article notes “A federal grand jury
eventually indicted Braddock, Nassi and five
others. “All but Braddock pleaded guilty, as did an eighth and pivotal
figure in the conspiracy, Harry Raymond Soucy, a
politically connected union official who coached the smoke-shop owners”.
It is interesting to note the
timeline between July 27, 2012 when it was reported Soucy pleads guilty as others
indicted in campaign scandal ... which followed the July 14,
2012 article announcing Alleged
Co-Conspirator Soucy To Receive His Pension -
Hartford .... Therein it was reported “The
state has a law under which the attorney general can sue in court to revoke or
reduce the pension of a state employee convicted of a crime, but it is narrowly
written and difficult to enforce; it only applies to convictions for offenses
such as larceny, embezzlement, fraud or bribery relating to the worker's
government job. “So far law-enforcement documents indicate Soucy
was involved as an individual in a political campaign scheme — and he has not
been charged with anything.”
To reiterate, within two weeks
of the July 14th article announcing Soucy’s
pension and stating “he has not been charged with anything”, the July 27th
article noted Soucy pleaded guilty “to one count of
devising a scheme to bribe a public official and one count of conspiring to
make false statements to the Federal Election Commission.”
On April 12, 2013 we learned Nassi Pleads Guilty; Donovan Says
He's 'Disappointed' . Therein it was noted “Nassi worked as an adviser for Donovan for years before
leaving his state Capitol job to serve as the campaign manager for the former
speaker’s unsuccessful congressional bid.” Another article notes “HOGAN
and NASSI are scheduled to be sentenced on July 9 and July 16, 2013,
respectively. “Both face a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and
a fine of up to $250,000”. Apparently, the sentencing dates have been
rescheduled.
According to the State’s
Transparency website, it appears Nassi earned in
excess of $100,000 in wages and benefits and Soucy
earned nearly $80,000.
Upon the sentencing of Braddock, U.S.
Assistant Attorney Christopher Mattei stated
according to news sources “it was important that Braddock’s sentence be an
adequate punishment for a crime that fuels public alienation from the
government”. “Who gets left out in the cold when that entire [campaign finance]
process is concealed from the public? The public,” Mattei
said. “Who gets hurt? The people of Connecticut
get hurt. The voters of the 5th district get hurt.”
And we would add that all
taxpayers in the State “get hurt” when burdened with the costs of incarceration
of all criminals to include our public officials and public employees who are
ultimately incarcerated for their crimes at the taxpayers’ expense.
The question left in many
concerned taxpayers minds is – Does your office intend to pursue the pensions
of any and all public employees and/or public officials who have been and may
be netted in the FBI sting involving the Donovan campaign scandal resulting in a
guilty plea or a court conviction?
If not, is there a flaw in the
2008 law which prevents you from doing so?
Further, would you consider
proposing legislation which would look to the criminals for the costs of their
incarceration as opposed to burdening the taxpayers with those costs? One such cost is Healthcare. It is interesting to note that many honest,
hardworking taxpayers cannot afford healthcare as noted within Daily Kos: Medical bills cause 62
percent of bankruptcies while their taxes pay for the healthcare of
incarcerated criminals.
Below are various news articles
relating to public employee crimes, the pursuit of pensions by you and your
predecessor, Attorney Blumenthal, and why, in some cases, the 2008 legislation
apparently did not apply giving rise to the question – Should the 2008 law be
revised?
If we look back to the May 23,
2012 article captioned Rowland birthday present: Pension
payday - Connecticut Post, which relates to the $50,000 pension scheduled to be paid to the
former Governor, it notes:
State law requires that Comptroller Kevin Lembo pay Rowland $5,000 for each of the nearly 10 years that
Rowland served in office before his resignation in the face of an impeachment
inquiry on July 1, 2004.
The multi-month investigation, which cost the state $6.5
million, culminated in a ruling from the state Supreme Court ordering
Rowland to testify before the House Committee of Inquiry.
He immediately resigned from office.
In late December of that year he pleaded guilty in federal
court and served 10 months of a one-year sentence in a minimum-security prison.
"It is what it is," Lembo
said in a Wednesday interview. "He's entitled to the $50,000. That's what
the law requires and that's what we will do. There is obviously justifiable
anger on this, outside the bubble of Hartford,
but until such time as the law changes that's what we have to do."
Attorney General George Jepsen agreed.
"Under state statute, Connecticut's Attorney General is
authorized to initiate a civil action seeking reduction or revocation of the
pension of any public official who, in state or federal criminal court, is
convicted of or pleads guilty to a crime related to state or municipal office
on or after October 2008," Jepsen said in a
statement. "Therefore, future governors -- or any other state or municipal
official, for that matter -- convicted on corruption-related charges could face
court action from the Attorney General seeking to revoke or reduce their
pension."
Below are similar articles
relating to public employee crimes and pensions to include an article dated
Oct, 2011 which focuses on a $66,000 pension paid to an incarcerated former
public employee, why the 2008 law did not apply, and your office using another
means to pursue the pension he was receiving while in jail.
In summary, revisions to the
2008 law should include not only the loss of pensions beyond the scope of the
law as it currently exists but also the ability of the State to confiscate the
assets of corrupt public employees, public officials, and their counterparts to
cover the full costs of their incarceration.
Further, it would be interesting to know what taxpayers paid
for the incarceration of those public officials who received their pensions
while not impacted by the 2008 State legislation and as referenced within the
2008 article captioned Pensions Paid To Guilty Officials - Courant.com.
If you know these costs, we
would appreciate your disclosing them to the public. If not, we will attempt to obtain the
information.
Thank you for your consideration
of the aforementioned. We commend you for your efforts to date on this
matter.
I look forward to your
reply.
Thank you.
*********************
Santorella
fights to keep pension - Connecticut Post May 16, 2013 STAMFORD -- State Attorney General George Jepsen's office
has won a preliminary victory in its battle to revoke the pension of former
City of Stamford accountant James Santorella, who
pled guilty in 2011 to stealing $21,000 in city funds. Santorella
has collected more than $90,000 in pension benefits since the city began
issuing his $5,297 monthly checks in December 2011. The Norwalk resident spent 36 years working for
the city and retired before his arrest, which has so far allowed him to protect
his pension. http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Santorella-fights-to-keep-pension-4524059.php
AG Jepsen going after pension of convicted former Redding ...
highway super Monday, February 4, 2013 Attorney General George Jepsen
has filed a suit in Hartford Superior Court seeking to revoke or reduce the
pension of former Redding highway superintendent Bruce L. Sanford of
Redding, who recently pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree larceny and
was sentenced on January 17. Mr. Sanford worked for Redding from July 1990 to July 2011 and rose
to highway department superintendent. He embezzled town funds for repairs and
parts for a lawn mower and an antique truck and a lawn mower. “Additionally, he
sold multiple vehicles owned by the municipality and kept the proceeds,” Jepsen said. Sanford
is serving three months in prison as part of a five-year prison sentence,
followed by three years probation.
Jepsen
Seeks Prison Costs From Convicted Sex Abuser - Hartford ...
August 28, 2012|By JON LENDER, jlender@courant.com, The Hartford
Courant
State Attorney General George Jepsen
is again trying to recover incarceration costs from the state pension of
Richard Straub, a former state probation officer convicted of sexually abusing
juveniles he supervised and later convicted in an attempted murder-for-hire
plot against a state prosecutor. Straub, now in a Florida
prison as part of an interstate prisoner-exchange agreement, is still receiving
a monthly Connecticut
pension payment of $3,788, after taxes. "Connecticut taxpayers should not
be expected to pay for the cost of incarceration, when Mr. Straub can afford to
pay for those expenses himself through his state pension," Jepsen said in a statement. Jepsen
said his office has filed papers seeking a judgment in Hartford Superior Court requiring Straub to
pay the state $179,816 for the expense of keeping him in prison through March
1, 2014. http://articles.courant.com/2012-08-28/news/hc-jepsen-convict-pension-0829-20120828_1_state-pension-richard-straub-pension-revocation-law
State
Targets Pension Of Ex-Official Jailed For Sex With Inmate ...
October 21, 2011|Jon Lender, Government Watch - Kearney
retired in late 2009 at age 48, and his pension now amounts to $66,666 a year
after an annual cost-of-living increase of 2½ percent last January. His guilty
plea in June to second-degree sexual assault did not trigger an attempt by
state officials to reduce or cancel his pension by use of a pension-revocation
law that the state legislature passed in 2008. That's because the law applies
only to a public employee's conviction of crimes involving improper financial
gain or fraud – not a crime against a prisoner who was under that employee's
control, according to state Attorney General George Jepsen.
However, last week, state officials tried another method for targeting
Kearney's lifetime pension: They utilized a different law — one that enables
the state Department of Correction commissioner recover the expense of
incarcerating an inmate — to seek a judgment in Hartford Superior Court that
Kearney's pension payments must be used to pay incarceration costs, calculated
at $133 a day. That would amount to $121,562 if Kearney serves the full 30-month sentence, or $60,781 if he's released on the earliest date
possible, Oct. 12, 2012. http://articles.courant.com/2011-10-21/news/hc-lender-column-jailed-warden-1023-20111021_1_pension-payments-incarceration-retirement-payments
Attorney
General Files Lawsuit to Revoke Perez's Pension September 27, 2010 CTNewsJunkie.com
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s office filed a lawsuit Monday which seeks
to revoke the pension of former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez, who was convicted
of larceny, bribery, and conspiracy. Blumenthal said his office filed the
lawsuit “because the law requires us to do so.” This is the first time the
pension revocation law that passed in 2008 has been tested. There really has been no full scale
proceeding under this law,” Blumenthal said. “It’s required by law that we
bring the action.” http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/attorney_general_files_lawsuit_to_revoke_perezs_pension/
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