Connecticut Local Politics

Lou DeLuca is back, and although he says he doesn’t miss being a state senator, he sure seems to enjoy giving press conferences and blaming other people for his problems.
“I believe this was political from the first day on,” former state Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca, said Wednesday at a press conference in the Legislative [...]

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Tom Monahan, lobbing softball questions for 13 minutes, interviews the former State Senator for NBC 30. The video (which I can’t embed) is telling. DeLuca still doesn’t seem to understand what he did wrong. Also, it’s all the Hartford Courant’s fault! Seriously, he mentions the paper at least five times.
See the [...]

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Some quick thoughts on Lou DeLuca’s resignation:
1. What took so long? If what was on those tapes and transcripts was so terrible, why wait? He had to know it would come out eventually. Also, resigning was the right thing to do–that should have been obvious as soon as he plead guilty.
2. Bravo to the Bipartisan [...]

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The Courant is reporting that Sen. Lou DeLuca will resign.
According to the Courant, an announcement will be made this afternoon.
…Whatever was on those tapes must have been very bad, indeed.
Update: DeLuca’s resignation is effective November 30th.
Another Update Mark Pazniokas posts Sen. Williams’s response to criticism of the Senate’s slow, slow handling of the matter:
Williams [...]

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The Senate today is voting on whether to grant the commission investigating Sen. DeLuca subpoena power. If they approve, DeLuca could find himself slapped with a subpoena as early as this afternoon. Meanwhile, DeLuca and his grandson-in-law continue their public feud.
Two things I want to say about the DeLuca mess:
1. This “investigation” is taking a [...]

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The Courant’s Chris Keating asked some CT elected officials whether or not Senator DeLuca should resign.
Senate Minority Leader John McKinney:

When asked if he had asked DeLuca to resign, McKinney said: “I’d rather not answer that question.”

Governor Jodi Rell:

“The senator, and the senator alone, and his family, will be the decision-makers on whether or not he [...]

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The Hartford Courant also calls for Lou DeLuca to be expelled.
Meanwhile Colin McEnroe has lost his patience with the Special Committee tasked with deciding DeLuca’s fate.

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From CK at Capitol Watch:

Now, Colella says he’s ready for a contest over who is telling the truth.
“Let’s all swear under oath. Let’s do it,” Colella said in an interview Thursday. “If he takes a lie-detector test, I’ll take a lie-detector test. I’ve got nothing to hide. It’s war. The gloves are off.”

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This cartoon from the Courant’s Bob Englehart sums up DeLuca-gate perfectly.
In his blog, Englehart expands on the cartoon.
Emphasis mine:

What a story. Now, DeLuca refuses to testify under oath because the FBI is taking notes. Just when you think it can’t get any more bizarre. DeLuca has brought dishonor to the legislature and continues to [...]

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I believe this may be the first editorial directly calling on the Senate Investigation Committee to expel Lou DeLuca from the CT Senate. The Day’s editorial outlines DeLuca’s behavior, calls him on being corrupt, and bluntly gives instructions to the committee saying: “The Senate should therefore expel him.”
Oh, and they don’t appreciate DeLuca’s refusal [...]

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And some of his testimony was under oath too. Such bravery!
From the Courant:

Much of Monday’s daylong hearing focused on whether DeLuca would testify under oath before the Bipartisan Committee of Review. Craig Raabe, the senator’s attorney, surprised the six senators when he told them that DeLuca would provide a two-page sworn affidavit that included [...]

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After much back and forth, Senator DeLuca has agreed to testify in front of the panel. He is also asking that Waterbury Police Chief Neil O’Leary be interviewed. (Wait didn’t that already happen?) The Courant’s Chris Keating has details.
Keating also has more from DeLuca’s Grandson-in-law Mark Collella over at Capitol Watch. [...]

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h/t to Spartan_881.
The committee had to ask, but Senator DeLuca did give permission to let them review an FBI report on an interview he had with them. No dice in the actual secret recordings though.
From the Courant:

On Monday, DeLuca’s lawyer, Craig Raabe said the report DeLuca is agreeing to release “covers a nearly three-hour [...]

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I have a great idea for a CTGOP fundraiser, inspired by Chris Keating’s latest post at Capitol Watch. Read the passage and see if you can figure out where I’m going with this.
Quotage emphasis mine:

Known for his outspoken statements, Colella wants to travel to the state Capitol to tell his side of the story.
“I’ll [...]

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Via Dean Pagani’s Media Attache, the six members of the bipartisan investigative committee are:
Sen. Martin Looney (D)
Sen. Andrea Stillman (D)
Sen. Don DeFronzo (D)
Sen. Bill Nickerson (R)
Sen. Tony Guglielmo (R)
Sen. Andrew Roraback (R)
Pagani has a lot more analysis of the choices over on his site. Bottom line: tough crowd for DeLuca.

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CT News Junkie has the details. The committee’s hearings will be open. The committee can recommend one of four possible actions: no action, reprimand, censure or expulsion to the full Senate.
The committee members will most likely be named tomorrow.

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The State Senate meets tomorrow today to debate and vote on the Bipartisan Committee to investigate Senator DeLuca. According to the Courant it’s expected to pass overwhelmingly, possibly even unanimously. The committee could be in place as early as Thursday.
Will DeLuca see this to the bitter end or will he resign?
Pazniokas, Mark. [...]

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The Courant’s Christopher Keating has written a lengthy profile of Mark Colella, the grandson-in-law of Lou DeLuca. It turns out Colella is still really upset about the whole being targeted by the mob thing. To be honest Colella doesn’t do himself any favors.

Two months after DeLuca’s guilty plea, Colella is still angry about [...]

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“There have been calls for my resignation, and I would like this opportunity to say, once again, that I am not resigning.”
-Lou DeLuca, quoted on Capitol Watch

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Today, Connecticut Citizen Action Group sent a letter to Senate President Don Williams and Minority Leader John McKinney calling for a bi-partisan Committee of Inquiry to investigate questions about DeLuca’s involvement with James Galante and guilty plea that remain unanswered. Here is the entire text of the letter sent by Tom Swan, CCAG’s Executive [...]

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