The small world of Connecticut government will be felt in any deliberations the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) undertakes to determine the fate of beleaguered Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo. CJC member Robert Berke represents New Canaan resident Christopher Paladino in his action against two Norwalk police officers for allegedly arresting him on false charges.

Paladino alleges Norwalk police officers Anthony Del Pino and Ronald Roncinske obtained an arrest warrant for him based on false information arising from a September 30, 2018, incident that involved a small amount of marijuana and a dispute over whether Paladino possessed a valid permit to carry a weapon in a motor vehicle.

The criminal charges against Paladino were dismissed on October 24, 2018. Berke filed Paladino’s lawsuit in February 2020. According to Federal District Court records, two counts have been dismissed. The remaining counts are the subject of the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

The plaintiff has responded to that summary judgment motion with an affidavit. It’s from the state’s attorney in the Stamford Norwalk district at the time of Mr. Paladino’s arrest. He states, “At about 2:46 p.m. on October 23, 2018, I had a telephone conversation with Norwalk Police Department Deputy Chief James Walsh and advised him to have his department ‘stand down’, and not arrest Christopher Paladino because he had a valid CT pistol permit.”

Richard Colangelo continues in his affidavit for the plaintiff, “I was later advised that the Norwalk Police Department ignored my direct order and arrested Christopher Paladino for the unlawful possession of a pistol on his person and in a vehicle.”

Colangelo signed the affidavit under oath in Rocky Hill on January 18, 2022. In addition to serving on the CJC, Berke has served on the Town of Woodbridge Board of Ethics. He will understand better than most that this is an unfortunate intersection of interests and positions at a crucial moment in Connecticut’s public life.

Published February 4, 2022.

A vivid moment from former U.S. Attorney Stanley Twardy’s report on Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo’s hiring of then-deputy budget director Kostantinos Diamantis’s daughter as an executive assistant in Colangelo’s office. An official at the Department of Administrative Services (DAS), where Diamantis worked as the head of the state’s school construction grants program, recalled a startling autumn 2018 incident in the men’s restroom at DAS.

The DAS official, according to Twardy’s report, recalled Diamantis saying “in his ear, ‘When are you going to hire my daughter?’ The DAS official described Mr. Diamantis’s persistence and repeated inquiries over a period of a few months about hiring Anastasia [Diamantis] at DAS.”

Colangelo hiring Ms. Diamantis was not enough. Diamantis pere had to spike the ball after his daughter snagged a $40,000 a year raise when Colangelo hired her. “The official described that after the [Criminal Justice] Division hired Anastasia in 2020, Mr. Diamantis made several comments to him along the lines of, ‘you couldn’t get it done, but she’s got a better job anyways.'”

“Mr. Diamantis,” the report notes, “denied pressuring any DAS or other state official to hire Anastasia.”

It’s called a restroom for a reason. It ought to be a no-go zone for that sort of ugly business, especially violating someone’s space by getting in his ear in the narrow confines of a restroom. These are the small universal rules that are required to sustain a civilized society.

Published February 4, 2022.

It is a curious workplace in which people take so many detailed notes of their daily encounters with one another. The Office of the Chief State’s Attorney turns out to be such a place. One office Boswell recorded the reactions in the top tier of the Division of Criminal Justice to the October 1st Hartford Courant column breaking the tawdry tale of a hire-for-influence scandal.

The Dear Diary entry discloses the conversation in an office meeting to discuss that column about Chief State’s Attorney Richard Colangelo’s hiring of deputy state budget director Kostantinos Diamantis’s daughter Anastasia to a $99,000 a year job of unclear responsibilities in his office. Colangelo was wounded that the raises for himself and his top colleagues that he’d been requesting for months would not be granted. An injustice, according to the handwritten notes provided to investigator Stanley Twardy.

The scrivener reveals he and a colleague say the raises do not “look right” and should be dropped. Colangelo spokesperson Alaine Griffin backed her boss, according to the notes. “Not real news, opinion……” The incident reveals how quickly former reporters and editors can lose their sense of news when they go to work for the establishment.

Or perhaps she was just joking.

On November 24th, Colangelo refers to fireworks of the day before. I had requested emails between Colangelo and Kostantinos Diamantis. “Nothing there,” according to Colangelo. That would depend on your definitions of “nothing” and “there.” A critical email revealed a frantic Colangelo telling Diamantis he needed the raises so the state’s attorneys would not oppose his approaching reappointment. That was more than nothing. That email, however, was not included in the DCJ’s response to that FOI request. It was found elsewhere. So, in the narrowest sense, there was nothing there, but it did exist.

Five months before, a colleague was “raising concerns about Anastasia’s role in grants in an email.” Colangelo, according to the notes, replied, “That job has gotten us a lot of stuff!” There’s more stuff coming, but not what Colangelo anticipated. Our diarist “will attempt to smooth it over w/Gail.” Blessed are the peacemakers, but essential are the notetakers.

Why Richard, it profit a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. . . but for Kostantinos Diamantis!

Governor Ned Lamont said Thursday he’d fire Colangelo if he could.

The story continues.

Published February 3, 2022.

Litchfield Republican state Representative David Wilson announced Tuesday he will don’t run for a fourth term in the House. Wilson made his announcement and added an endorsement of his preferred successor.

Wilson supports Woodbury Board of Selectman member Karen Reddington-Hughes for the Republican nomination in the district that includes Bethlehem, Litchfield, Morris, Warren and Woodbury.

Reddington-Hughes may face a hometown hurdle on the way to the party’s nomination. Woodbury has become contested turf between establishment Republicans and party members cleaving to Donald Trump’s brand of political nihilism. The establishment wing prevailed in a close-run primary for first selectman last September.

On March 1st, enrolled party members will have the opportunity to vote in a town committee primary that could accelerate divisions. There is nothing like a town committee primary to inflict wounds that last for a generation. The winning town committee candidates will select delegates to the May legislative convention. They may prefer someone other than their own Reddington-Hughes.

The district has traditionally elected Republicans but Litchfield County has seen Democrats gaining strength.

Published February 2, 2022.

Salt Lake City is a funny ol’ place to launch a campaign for a Connecticut seat in the U.S. Senate but these are not ordinary times.

Levy told supporters this week that she has been overwhelmed by the number of well wishers urging her to consider a bid against Democrat Richard Blumenthal.

The Greenwich Republican is an enthusiastic Trump supporter. Who won the 2020 election may be the trickiest question Republican Senate candidates face. Former House Republican leader Themis Klarides and Fairfield Republican Peter Lumaj have entered the race. The party nominating convention is in May, a primary could follow in September if any challenger to the endorsed candidate qualifies.

Published February 1, 2022.

From: WestportElectricCar Club <westportevclub@gmail.com>

Date: January 30, 2022 at 1:33:00 PM EST

To: WestportElectricCar Club <westportevclub@gmail.com>

Subject: Political Fund Raiser to Support Direct Sales

Dear Member:

We have been asked to support a Democratic State Senate Victory Fund. We have been told that given that direct sales fell one vote short in the Senate last year, this will provide leverage for leadership to move fence-sitters into our column. [Emphasis added.]

We have never done something like this before and generally think of ourselves as pro-EV, pro-environmentalism, but partisan, not so much. However, there were zero Republican votes last year, which is kind of shocking for a party that purports to have a free-market ideology. So we’re supporting this and ask that you help out to the extent you can.

There is a fund-raising event being held in Westport on Sunday, Feb. 6th at 1:00 PM. It is fine to contribute online without going to the event as Westport is not convenient for everyone. This kind of event legally has to be held before the start of the legislative session, which is Feb. 9th.

The details are in the flyer below. For those who can attend, it will be good to see you. The suggested contribution is $250. The legal maximum is $2,000. Contributions in any amount are greatly appreciated. The URL in the flyer is not linkable but the website is live. You will be asked to fill out a disclosure form. I have asked for, and received, assurances that emails or phone numbers will not be used for ANYTHING. No spam here.

The Tesla club is supporting us and there is a fair amount of overlap between our organizations. If you receive two solicitations, it doesn’t matter which one you respond to. Rivian and Lucid are also helping us reach out to their reservation-holders. Of course, you don’t need to own a Tesla, Rivian, or Lucid to support this measure which will accelerate EV adoption.

Senators Haskell and Duff will be present.

We hope everyone came through the storm safely. Thank you for your consideration.

The mask has fallen away. Candidates will take million in public financing for their campaigns this year but it is only an expensive supplement. The Westport Electric Car Club reveals how it works in a January 30th fundraising solicitation posted above. The boldness of the approach recalls the Roll Your Own scandal of a decade ago.

The February 6th event at the United Feed and Commercial Workers Union building is intended to use money to influence votes to enact an exception to the state’s automobile dealer franchise act. There is nothing subtle in the message. “We have been told” that raising money for the Senate Democratic campaign committee will move votes.

The solicitation may attract the attention of Attorney General William Tong for cramming so many falsehoods into one fundraising message. The Tesla bill did not lose by one vote in the Senate last year. A vote was never held.

The transportation committee did vote on the bill. It passed 25-10. Some Republicans were among the 25, some Democrats among the 10.

It is for others to inquire who told the Westport Electric Car Club that money “will provide leverage to move fence-sitters into our column”? This is a raw attempt at buying votes, chilling in its conviction that members of the Senate Democratic caucus are for sale.

Senator Will Haskell (D-Westport) is a special guest at the event. He’s the author of a recently published book, 100,000 Bosses, on his experience in politics as a 22 year old. It did not take Haskell, who is not seeking a third term, long to become a practitioner of the seamy side of politics. His sequel could be called First $100,000 Bosses.

Published February 1, 2022.

Josh Geballe, Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) and the state’s Chief Operating Officer, is leaving state government, Daily Ructions can reveal. An announcement is expected Tuesday.

Geballe was tapped by Lamont to lead DAS and its diverse portfolio of state government functions at the start of the administration. Lamont charged Geballe with modernizing state technology. At the end of Lamont’s first difficult year he added to Geballe’s portfolio by making the Guilford Democrat his COO.

Geballe emerged as the essential force in state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic when it arrived in Connecticut in early 2020. Geballe, who enjoyed a successful business career before joining state government, was often the administration’s knowledgeable voice in those uncertain weeks.

Capitol insiders will lament Geballe’s departure. He was a source of a reliable information in an administration that many continue to find bewildering in its execution of policy.

Published February 1, 2022.

Former state Representative Themis Klarides will announce her candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Dennis House’s This Week in Connecticut on WTNH. Klarides texted this unedited message to lobbyists, supporters and others Saturday afternoon:

“Hello my friend ! I have made the decision to run for US Senate against Blumenthal . Take a look at Dennis house show tomorrow at 10 am I’m on!”

Sunday’s announcement is most notable for the unsinkable Dennis House extending his reign as the television host to whom candidates disclose their plans.

Here’s Thursday’s Daily Ructions story breaking the news of Klarides’s candidacy.

Klarides had spent $400,000 of her own money ratcheting up a bid for the Republican nomination for governor to little effect. A 2021 gambit to convince rival Bob Stefanowski to make the former House minority leader his running mate failed. Klarides’s connection to Eversource through her marriage to top company executive Greg Butler threatened to doom the ticket.

Klarides will face Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. The 75 year old Greenwich Democrat is seeking his third term. Republicans are hoping angry Connecticut voters will express their discontent with President Joe Biden by defeating traditionally popular Democrats.

Fairfield Republican Peter Lumaj has so far proved immune to Klarides’s cajoling to abandon his bid for the party’s Senate nomination. Greenwich Republican Leora Levy, who cast Connecticut’s “28 spicy votes” for Donald Trump at the party’s 2020 nominating convention, continued to examine her options on Saturday.

Published January 29, 2022.

Join Daniela Altimari, Andrew Brown, Clare Dignan, Jenifer Frank, Kasturi Panajady, and me Monday at 7 p.m. for 90 minutes of tales of stories behind the stories. Leslie Mayes of NBC Connecticut is the moderator, so you know the program will flow and have a polished sound.

Daily Ructions readers love an inside look at the news, which is why they read the site where Connecticut’s news begins. The program is free, but contributions to the sponsor, Connecticut Foundation for Open Government appreciates contributions.

Sign up at ctfog.org for the Zoom link. Maybe one of the participants will provide a diverting moment when a member of the domestic staff slips into the background. It does happen.

Audience members will have an opportunity to submit questions.

This takes the cake. Late Thursday changes in state Republican maneuvering for party nominations. Themis Klarides, chased out of the race for governor, will retreat to challenging U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. An announcement will come this weekend. The Democrat is seeking his third term. Klarides served as a state representative from Derby for 22 years. She is married to Republican activist Greg Butler, an executive at Eversource, the state’s unpopular electric utility. Expect Blumenthal to revive his interest in Connecticut’s onerous business and consumer power rates.

A Klarides-Blumenthal race may have some uncomfortable moments for the states junior senator, Democrat Chris Murphy. He’s Blumenthal’s loyal Democratic colleague but Murphy and Klarides formed a close friendship when they served together in the state legislature. Both were elected to the House as freshmen in 1998.

Greenwich Republican Leora Levy, who had been contemplating a Senate bid, may run against U.S. Representative Jim Himes. Levy, who was Donald Trump’s nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Chile, has cultivated national Republican donors as Connecticut’s party committeewoman. Republicans expect Levy, who has a compelling family story of flight from the island prison of Cuba, to provide a chunk of her considerable wealth to fund her campaign against Himes, a former Goldman Sachs investment banker. Levy suffered a stinging defeat last summer when she failed to win the Republican nomination for the Greenwich-centered state senate seat in an August special election. The vacancy occurred when Democrat Alex Kasser abandoned the seat to fight her epically contentious divorce over the marital millions. That trial grows near.

The changes in the Republican fight card should help Bob Stefanowski avoid an expensive battle for the Republican nomination for governor. He will be able to concentrate the $10 million of his fortune on Governor Ned Lamont in their rematch.

Lamont has announced he will fund his re-election campaign, his fourth bid for statewide office. Blumenthal is one of the Senate’s wealthiest members and spent $2 million of his family fortune against wrestling mogul Linda McMahon in their 2010 campaign.

There is a theme well-planted in 21st century top tier Connecticut politics. The price of admission is far beyond most people’s ability to pay.

Posted January 27, 2022.