March 18, 2005
Rowland Sentenced To One Year
The Associated Press reports that John Rowland, Connecticut’s former Governor, was sentenced today to a year in prison.
Rowland was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey after Rowland pleaded guilty to a corruption charge in December:
Dorsey sentenced Rowland to a year plus one day in prison, four months of home confinement and three years of supervised release. He ordered Rowland to report to prison on April 1 in Fort Devens, Mass.
"Officials are expected to serve not his own interest or the interest of his friends, but the highest interest of the community," Dorsey said. "Gratuities were accepted as if they were his due."
New London's The Day reports that Federal prosecutors accused Rowland of violating the terms of his plea agreement by hiding a $417,000 retirement account from his probation officer, and would seek a longer prison term.
According to the Associated Press, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy urged Dorsey to give Rowland a harsher sentence:
If that person, John Rowland, is not held accountable, than the people's trust simply isn't that important." Honest government matters, it has to matter. Send that message, send it loud and clear. Without that rule of law, we are all lost.
What a shameful end to a public service career.
Posted by Dan Spencer at March 18, 2005 04:56 PMAnd Tom Delay should be following Rowland.
Entitlement to public funds, tax dollars, and special consideration is becoming a Republican hallmark. One only need to follow the DeLay scandal and his responses to it, or Republican legislation like the tort reform, banrutpcy reform, and tax subsidies to realize it is true.
Posted by: David R. Remer at March 18, 2005 06:15 PMIf you play, you must pay. Come on, you both know that politicians learn the ropes quickly in the beltway. Most are attorneys, nearly all leave service rich. Think about it. If you can stand the heat, get elected and serve one term, you will be “set” for the rest of your life.
Maybe I will run!
Posted by: stivdi at March 18, 2005 07:23 PMI contacted the DOJ asking that Rowland, the former Police Commissioner, and the CT Atty General be investigated under the RICO statutes in this post:
http://www.freespeech.com/index.php?/a_doj_request/
They should be hung.
Steven G. Erickson aka Vikingas
FreeSpeech.com
David:
Innocent until proven guilty. Has he gone to court yet? If not, let justice prevail.
To listen to you, we should just get a rope & hang him.
If you don’t like the laws that pass congress, then contact your reps. That is what we did when Clinton was in & Dems controlled both houses.
Posted by: Blaine at March 19, 2005 09:04 AMI don’t know the whole story.
What happened to the people who did the bribing? Was it that Rowland made the offer?
‘If you give me that, I’ll do this?’
I am all for nailing corrupt politicians but what of those who do the bribing?
Politicians need to be ‘bankrolled’ to make it into office to begin with.
What if ALL contributions had to be anonymous to the candidate?
The favors will never stop. People have to be held accountable on both sides of the ‘bribe’.
At least he isn’t appealing.
Posted by: dawn at March 19, 2005 10:39 AMI suppose this has little relevance, but in South Dakota Bill Janklow ran over a man. The man died. Janklow has a looong history of speeding. His defense? Low blood sugar. What did he get sentenced with? 90 days? And now he wants the South Dakota taxpayers to foot the bill for him because he was “on state business” when he hit the poor man. 90 days for a life, and this guy gets a year for skimming. Wow. Does our court system have a skewed perspective on things or is it me? Sorry, I think the guy deserves the year in jail, but if he really tried he could probably dodge it, and make money on the deal. So give the guy credit for taking it like a man with a little sense of right and wrong.
Posted by: Shawn Osborne at March 20, 2005 10:08 PM‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.’
Soooo…True.
Yes our system is skewed.
We don’t want mandatory sentences? We want judges to decide on a case by case?
Picking the judge is the first thing that should be stopped. Name in a hat.
These ‘leaders’ of ours should know better. These ‘leaders’ should get the maximum sentences because they were supposed to be setting a good example for the rest of us.
This message is what needs to be sent.
No ‘free rides’ for Politicians.
