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Ex-Connecticut Gov. Rowland sentenced to prison a 2nd time

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiring to hide payments for his work on a congressional campaign.

The 57-year-old Rowland was sentenced in New Haven federal court on Wednesday, 10 years to the day after he was sent to prison on a previous conviction for accepting illegal gifts as governor. That scandal led Rowland to resign from office and serve 10 months in prison.

A jury convicted Rowland in September. He was also fined $35,000.

Prosecutors say Rowland was paid $35,000 to work on the failed 2012 campaign of Republican congressional candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley and conspired to hide those payments through a consulting contract with her husband's company.

They say he knew his role would bring unwelcome publicity.

Rowland is expected to appeal his conviction.

 

Rowland, wearing a dark gray suit with a purple tie, declined to comment during the sentencing hearing and as he left the federal courthouse in New Haven on a sunny but cold and windy day. He hugged his wife and daughter in the courtroom after they testified about his good deeds and commitment to public and community service, but he showed little emotion for the most part.

 

Federal prosecutor Liam Brennan argued that Rowland's sentence needed to send a strong message, especially with this being his second conviction. Rowland was sentenced to a year and a day in prison in 2005 for taking illegal gifts when he was governor, including trips and improvements to his lakeside cottage in northwestern Connecticut.

 

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton agreed with Brennan, saying Rowland's crimes threatened to undermine the integrity of America's election system and its laws.

 

"What is striking and disturbing is Mr. Rowland's total contempt for those laws," Arterton said. "It is really not clear ... what his motivation was to ... be involved in this sort of activity. Perhaps it's lust for influence, but it nonetheless cannot be tolerated."

 

Wilson-Foley and her husband pleaded guilty in the case. Wilson-Foley awaits sentencing, while Foley was sentenced to three years of probation.

 

Rowland, a Waterbury native, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1980 at the age of 23, then won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984 at the age of 27 and served six years. He served as governor from 1995 to 2004, when he resigned amid his corruption scandal.

 

Rowland was chairman of the Republican Governors Association from 2001 to 2002 and was mentioned in political circles as a possible vice presidential candidate and cabinet member.

 

But while he was governor, Rowland was fined $2,000 and ordered to donate $1,919 to charity in a 1997 ethics case for taking concert tickets from subordinates. He also was fined $9,000 in 2003 for accepting cut-rate or free vacation lodging from state contractors.

 

Rowland's wife, Patricia, and his daughter, Julianne, testified at the sentencing hearing that Rowland was a caring husband and father who selflessly volunteered for numerous community causes and helped people in need. Patricia Rowland said her husband had lost everything he had worked for, and they lost all their life savings over the past two years, suggesting that was punishment enough.

 

"He is a loyal and kind friend and he treats people equally and he is respectful to everyone," Patricia Rowland said. "He has never shied away from a request for help."

 

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Dave Rinelli

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