Evan Vitale Consulting: Rowland's defense promotes consulting legitimacy

Monday, September 15, 2014

Rowland's defense promotes consulting legitimacy – CT Post

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NEW HAVEN — On the ninth day, it was former Gov. John G. Rowland’s turn to present his story, through his defense team.

The former governor, who had spent two weeks at his trial taking notes, nervously twirling his glasses and often conferring with his wife, Patty, spied 16 jurors as Brian Bedard, the chief executive officer of Apple Rehab, told them Rowland did consulting work for the nursing home group by offering “substantive” advice on labor relations, Medicaid reimbursements and more.

“Did it ever occur to you that this was a pretext — that this was a show providing cover for campaign work?” Reid Weingarten, Rowland’s attorney, asked Bedard.

“No. Absolutely not,” said Bedard who confirmed at least six meetings involving Rowland.

“Our meetings were very informal, but there was always a healthy exchange of ideas,” Bedard said.

His testimony marked the first inroads the defense made into the prosecution’s claim that Rowland was working primarily for Lisa Wilson-Foley’s 5th Congressional District Republican campaign while actually being paid through Apple Rehab, a conglomerate of 26 nursing homes owned by her husband, Brian Foley.

Foley has testified that he devised a plan to pay Rowland through his business to avoid negative publicity that would have come if the ex-governor’s salary and position were listed in Federal Election Commission reports. In 2004, Rowland resigned as governor and pleaded guilty to a federal charge of accepting gifts from state contractors. The following year, he was sentenced to 366 days in prison.

Phone, email records tell their story

Foley’s claim of a cover-up led to him and his wife pleading guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge of conspiring to falsify federal election campaign contributions. Their pleas led to this trial of Rowland in U.S. District Court on seven charges of violating federal elections laws.

“Did you know Mr. Rowland also was working for Lisa on her campaign?” Weingarten asked Bedard.

“I was aware at some point, but just actually what he was doing, I don’t know,” the witness replied.

The prosecution claims Rowland was working primarily for the campaign, being paid $5,000 a month and using the Apple job as a cover.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Liam Brennan began Monday by lifting a nearly 9-inch-thick, three-ring binder and plopping it in front of Mark Borofsky, a retired U.S. Postal Service inspector.

Brennan also placed several stapled stacks of paper, each hardly reaching an inch in thickness, in front of the witness.

Borofsky said the binder contained emails Rowland received or wrote between Oct. 1, 2011, and April 30, 2012, detailing the ex-governor’s work on Wilson-Foley’s 2012 campaign.

The emails numbered 787, said Borofsky, now working as an investigative analyst for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The smaller stacks detailed 63 emails between Rowland and Apple Rehab and 20 emails involving Rowland’s contract as a consultant for the company.

Brennan then turned to phone calls made and received by Rowland in that time period.

Borofsky said Rowland was involved in 65 calls with Chris Healy, a former state Republican chairman working as a consultant for Wilson-Foley’s campaign; 45 with Chris Syrek, Wilson-Foley’s campaign manager; and eight with Wilson-Foley — compared to just nine with Bedard.

The prosecution is banking on those numbers, along with other evidence, to convince the jury of Rowland’s guilt.

Objections by both sides, and a `show’

Bedard will continue testifying Tuesday under Weingarten’s questioning, in front of the jury and U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton. The defense’s second witness is expected to be Mark Hambley, Apple’s former chief financial officer, who is also expected to testify that Rowland did legitimate work for the company.

Before Bedard took the witness stand, the prosecution urged Arterton to re-advise him of his constitutional rights and warn him about the penalties for perjury. That request brought an objection from Weingarten and from Hugh Keefe, Bedard’s lawyer, who was seated in the audience.

“I resent the government asking the court to advise Mr. Bedard of his rights,” Keefe said. “They are trying to intimidate and threaten this man.”

Keefe also objected to a prosecution reference to Bedard as “an unindicted co-conspirator” in this case.

Keefe’s soliloquy brought Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Mattei to his feet, objecting to “the show Mr. Keefe is putting on.”

Arterton cut the debate short, declining to further advise Bedard on his rights.

Instead, the judge chose to advise Rowland he had the right to testify — or not to testify — in this case.

Should Rowland testify, the judge told him, “the pitfalls are many. You open yourself to cross-examination in many areas, not the least of which is your 2004 conviction.”

Rowland said he understood. His lawyers have not disclosed whether the former governor will testify this week.

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