Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland (R), who served 10 months in prison after being forced from office in 2004, was indicted Thursday on new charges related to two congressional campaigns, according to The Hartford Courant.
In both campaigns, Rowland is accused of approaching candidates for Congress and offering to act as a secret paid consultant. One candidate, Lisa Wilson-Foley, allegedly paid Rowland $35,000 via a sham contract. The second candidate, Mark Greenberg, has said he rejected Rowland’s offer.
A grand jury spent two years investigating the allegations. Rowland now faces a seven-count indictment, including a conspiracy charge.
“I’m not as unpopular as your campaign manager would lead you to believe!! especially, in the 5th district,” Rowland wrote in a 2010 email to Greenberg, according to the indictment. “I can get you elected … If you are interested.”
Greenberg made an unsuccessful bid for a House seat in the state’s 5th district in 2010, ran again in 2012, and is running again this year. Greenberg and Wilson-Foley, like Rowland, are Republicans.
Earlier this year, Wilson-Foley and her husband, Brian Foley, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring with Rowland to violate campaign finance laws.
The charges against Rowland carry a maximum sentence of 57 years in prison, according to the Courant.
