Second Trial Approaching for Rowland, Ex-Connecticut Governor
The accusations are similar. The judge will be different.
The last time John G. Rowland, the former governor of Connecticut, appeared at the federal courthouse here as a defendant in a criminal corruption trial, he received a sentence of one year and a day, and was freed after 10 months of incarceration.
This time, he faces trial as a possible repeat offender. After consulting with a grand jury, prosecutors accused Mr. Rowland this year of obstructing justice, falsifying documents and committing other violations of campaign finance laws in connection with services he provided Lisa Wilson-Foley, a Republican candidate for Congress in 2012, and her husband, Brian Foley, an operator of nursing homes. The Foleys pleaded guilty this year to related crimes, and Mr. Foley is expected to play a large role in the current case.
The case was sent for trial to Judge Janet Bond Arterton of United States District Court.
“We live in constant fear that the 2004 case against Rowland is going to have an improper influence on this trial,” Mr. Weingarten told the court on Aug. 13, as jury selection wrapped up.
That investigation ultimately led to Mr. Rowland’s conviction on one count of conspiracy to commit tax fraud and “deprive taxpayers of his honest services.”
His current legal woes stem from activities that began when he was back in the private sector, less than a year after his official probation ended.
Source: NYT
