Connecticut Gov. Admits Pals Fixed Up House

Gov. John G. Rowland admitted Friday that a major state contractor paid for work on his summer home ranging from gutters to a hot tub.

Rowland’s written statement came 10 days after he insisted that he alone had paid for the improvements on the lakeside vacation house.

Under state ethics laws, it is illegal for the governor to take any gifts of more than $10 in value from people doing or seeking to do business with the governor’s office.

The Republican governor said that while he paid for more than $30,000 in improvements to the cottage in Litchfield, friends, contractors and subcontractors paid for some of the work.

He said none of them received any benefit from the state in exchange.

Rowland’s admission led to strong reactions from some Democratic lawmakers.

“The governor’s latest statement ... raises the real question of whether John Rowland is in the position to govern our state any longer,” said Connecticut House Majority Leader James Amann.

The Day of New London, the Journal Inquirer of Manchester and The Herald of New Britain published editorials in today’s editions calling on the governor to resign.

State Republican Party Chairman Herb Shepardson, however, said Rowland will be able to put the matter behind him.

At least one of the contractors involved, the Tomasso Group, has had more than $100 million in contracts with the state. The company has been subpoenaed as part of a corruption investigation involving Lawrence Alibozek, Rowland’s former deputy chief of staff.

Alibozek pleaded guilty to accepting cash and gold in exchange for steering state contracts to certain companies.

Rowland’s former chief of staff, Peter Ellef, also under investigation, paid for improvements at the cottage, including a water heater, Rowland said.