Governorship floated on river of corruption

Journal Inquirer, June 22, 2004

. . . Federal prosecutors began gunning for the real decision-makers in Rowland's administration -- the governor himself and officials like Peter N. Ellef, who, as the governor's co-chief-of-staff, presided over the state trash authority's disastrous $220 MILLION deal with the now-bankrupt ENRON Corp.

Before the governor lied last December about who paid for the improvements at his Bantam Lake cottage, he also had LIED about his contacts with Enron and its chief executive, KENNETH LAY, whom Rowland insisted he had never spoken with despite Enron documents that show otherwise.

Enron, which sought to do two major deals with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority, contributed $80,000 to the REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION as Rowland took its helm in 2001; dangled an unspecified "success fee" in front of a Rowland fund-raiser who had set up a key meeting in the governor's office, Anthony M. Ravosa; and hired a former Rowland aide, Michael J. Martone, as its principal lobbyist in Connecticut.

The RGA and its other corporate sponsors, meanwhile, had covered the costs of ferrying Rowland to high-level political powwows in power centers like Washington, D.C., New York City, and Dallas, as well as to vacation resorts in Colorado, Florida, and Puerto Rico. . .

. . . Gov. John G. Rowland's resignation was forced by an array of questionable dealings with his political cronies and personal friends, who helped him live like the highly paid corporate executives he saw as his rightful counterparts. . .