The Hartford Courant reports that former Governor John Rowland pleaded guilty to a single conspiracy charge in a plea bargain that is expected to send him to prison.
In U.S. District Court a judge asked Rowland:
What is your plea?
"Guilty," Rowland answered, quietly.
According to the Courant, prosecutors have agreed to seek a federal prison term of 15 to 21 months and a fine of up to $40,000. Sentencing is tentatively scheduled for March 11.
California Yankee posted in July that Rowland was considering a deal that would be require him to plead guilty to an unspecified criminal charge and agree to a sentence of at least several months in a federal prison.
The Courant reports:
With his guilty plea, Rowland admitted to being part of a conspiracy, as Dorsey explained it, "to deprive Connecticut citizens of the honest services of its officials" - including the governor. The conspiracy also impeded "the lawful government functions of the Internal Revenue Service," prosecutors said in court papers.
"Lawful government functions of the Internal Revenue Service" sounds like a very fancy name for tax evasion. California Yankee first posted that Rowland could fall because of income tax evasion nearly a year ago.
Unfortunately, Connecticut's status as "Corrupt-icut" is not yet over. Other alleged participants in the conspiracy to "to deprive Connecticut citizens of the honest services of its officials" have not yet been brought to justice.
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