Bysiewicz Calls On Rowland To Reveal Legal Fund

By Susan Haigh

Associated Press

HARTFORD — Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz is questioning whether embattled Gov John G. Rowland can keep the names of donors to his legal defense fund under wraps.

Bysiewicz told The Associated Press Tuesday that she believes the Republican governor is obligated to release the information to her office so it can be made available to the public for review.

“To me, it’s very troubling that individuals can make substantial contributions to this fund,” said Bysiewicz, a Democrat who is running for governor in 2006. “There are no protections in this to prevent the quid pro quo or the expectation there is influence.”

But Rowland’s chief of staff, Dean Pagani, said there is no chance for a donor to expect favors from the governor because the fund, known as the Governor’s Legal Expense Trust, is a blind trust. That means the governor and his wife — whose legal bills will also be paid — do not know who is contributing to the fund.

“The whole point of setting up a blind trust is to assure the governor doesn’t know who is donating to it,” said Pagani.

Rowland and his wife, Patricia, set up the fund on January 29. Nicole Griffin, who worked in Rowland’s legislative liaison office, took a leave of absence to oversee the trust. She said she has already begun fundraising from her home.

She would not say who has contributed to the fund or how much she has raised.

The Rowlands have appointed three trustees: former Adjutant General David W. Gay, former Republican state Comptroller Nathan G. Agostinelli and former Office of Emergency Management Director Robert Plant. The trustees will also solicit donations and manage the fund.

The governor could face some hefty legal bills as he faces a legislative inquiry and a federal corruption probe. Both Rowland and his wife have hired separate private attorneys.

Rowland is under fire for accepting gifts for his Litchfield lakeside cottage from friends, employees and state contractors and later lying about it. Federal investigators have subpoenaed both of the Rowlands’ personal financial documents. The governor is the subject of the federal investigation, a step below a criminal target.

Rowland has said he provided no favors to the gift-givers.

The idea of setting up a defense fund first came up a year ago. Rowland’s personal attorney at the time, James Robertson, asked the State Ethics Commission whether such a fund could be established and what restrictions would be imposed.

Pagani said the rules of the trust are based mostly on a memorandum issued by Alan Plofsky, the ethics commission’s executive director, on March 7, 2003. For example, no donations will be accepted from lobbyists, businesses seeking or doing business with the governor’s office, or from the governor’s staff.

Donors to the fund will be limited to $2,500 in contributions, the same maximum amount an individual can give to a campaign. In his memorandum, Plofsky said the donations are not really gifts under state ethics rules, but rather more like campaign contributions.

Bysiewicz said she disagrees and believes donations to Rowland’s fund could be considered gifts. Calls seeking comment from Plofsky were not returned Tuesday.

Rowland first asked about setting up the trust last year after the state employee unions sued the governor, alleging he illegally laid off state workers, Pagani said. Even though the federal investigation was functioning at that time, Pagani said questions about forming a defense fund had nothing to do with the probe.

Bysiewicz said she sees a big difference between creating a trust to help the governor handle lawsuits over his work as governor, and forming a trust to help Rowland handle personal matters — such as accepting gifts for his cottage.

“He was making policy decisions in regard to state employees,” Bysiewicz said of the layoffs. “The legal proceedings he has against him now go to his personal judgment.”

Bysiewicz said she will ask the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee to pass a bill requiring that legal defense funds be reported to her office, where she can post the contributions on the agency’s website for public review. Unless such donations are made public, Bysiewicz said no one will ever know if state contractors, for example, are writing checks.