Following up on my post last week about the corruption scandal surrounding Connecticut Gov. John Rowland (R), the governor received a federal subpoena yesterday, requiring him to produce all of his documents relating to his water-front cottage, personal investments, tax returns, and all gifts.
To briefly review, Rowland got into some trouble when a prominent state contractor and several government aides paid for the refurbishing of the governor’s cottage, including a new kitchen, a cathedral ceiling, and a hot tub with a water view. Making matters worse, Rowland lied about paying for the improvements himself.
Complicating matters further, the New York Times discovered that Rowland is a business partner in a private development group that has been awarded $1.3 million in state work during Rowland’s tenure, raising even more questions about ethics violations.
These controversies follow two other controversies in which Rowland had to pay fines for violating state ethics codes.
Yesterday’s subpoena, however, was the first time that any of Rowland’s personal records had been sought by federal investigators.
And before I forget, State Rep. Robert Peters this week became the latest Republican in Connecticut to call on Rowland to resign.
We could start a pool to see how much longer he lasts in office, but I don’t think it’ll be very long.