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Is there a lack of accountability in our government? Is there corruption in our government? Is there a lack of any acuity, honesty, and purposeful government in Connecticut?
These are realistic questions that are continually avoided by our elected officials and are never genuinely investigated by our state run media. Moreover, when a crisis occurs, it is the usual parade of useless hearings, unaccountability, and circular finger pointing instead of responsibility being taken by the person/agency/commission responsible for it followed by restitution and (where justified), criminal charges. Because we have been told for many years that real accountability is not the “Connecticut Way,” a “Way” that has led to failure, financial ruin, bulbous deficits, a failed educational system, and ruined cities for five decades.
But there is always that “official” attempt to make one think Connecticut is on the job. Believe it or not, Connecticut has a "Government Fraud Section" apparently led by Democrat Attorney General William Tong. Its mission statement is:
"The Government Fraud Section protects Connecticut tax dollars from fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption. The Section investigates and litigates civil matters under the Connecticut False Claims Act and other laws. The Section develops cases independently and in conjunction with other state and federal law enforcement agencies and with state agencies that pay, directly or indirectly, for goods and services with Connecticut tax dollars. The Section investigates whistleblower complaints concerning state departments, state agencies, quasi-public agencies, and large state contracts. The Section also enforces Connecticut’s pension revocation or reduction laws when any public official or state or municipal employee is convicted of or pleads guilty or nolo contendere to any crime related to state or municipal office. The Section includes the Health Care Advocacy Unit, which provides advisory assistance to consumers who have health care related problems, particularly those that involve health insurance and managed care coverage denials. In addition, this Section also supports and advises the CT Long Term Care Ombudsman Program, which is an independent state body that advocates for residents of long-term care facilities."
Kindly bear in mind that this is the same William Tong who has advocated for prima-facie tax, employment, and Federal law evasion in his embrace of illegal immigration. After reading this statement I wonder if Democrat Attorney General William Tong should turn himself in his self-appointed mission to both not cooperate with Federal officials to remove illegal immigrants in the state and failure to fully disclose the actual costs to Connecticut Taxpayers since his stated mission is to work with "federal law enforcement agencies and with state agencies that pay, directly or indirectly, for goods and services with Connecticut tax dollars"?
Keeping in the spirit of “The Connecticut Way,” this same commission was ostensibly omissive with the recent state audit of Connecticut's State Colleges and University, as performed by the Auditors of Public Accounts. As one example, Central Connecticut State University Chancellor Terrence Cheng, was reported in the audit to have been using his state credit card, being a Procurement card (“P-Card”), in the following manner: "Between July 1, 2021 and Oct. 24, 2024, Cheng charged $27,125 to his P-Card, with 70% of those for meals designated as business meetings...ordered a driving service on three occasions despite having a state-owned car and then later renegotiated his contract to get a vehicle stipend."
But why stop there?
The report also found that "Charter Oak State College President Ed Kolonski used his card to pay for $497,062." Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who in my opinion has limited abilities/experience in this political position decried these findings in his 18-page report. Chancellor Terrence Cheng, who is a Connecticut state employee, earns a salary of $442,187 a year along with a nearly $2,100 a month housing allowance and $48,759 in non-retirement fringe benefits, apparently does not even live in Connecticut but rather in New York.
As found in the prior audit report: "The Chancellor lives in New York State and commutes to his office in Hartford. In 2021, he was provided with a state vehicle. In 2024, he returned that state vehicle and will instead receive a $24,000 annual car allowance." "The Chancellor had the use of a state vehicle from July 2021, through August 2024. In June of 2024, CSCU self-reported to the Auditors of Public Accounts for the State of Connecticut that discrepancies were found in the mileage reporting for the Chancellor’s assigned vehicle (page 11). Also even though he had a state vehicle for his use and a mileage expense the Chancellor, "There was one charge for a car/driver service made on the Chancellor’s assigned P-Card. The charge was $490, including tip on November 20, 2022, for a trip from South Salem, NY to Stamford, CT. Additionally, a general review of transportation charges over $500 found two similar charges made to the President’s Office P-Card. On September 19, 2023, there was a trip from South Salem, NY with three stops in Hartford, a stop in Stamford, and drop off in South Salem, NY, totaling $1,263.00. On October 25, 2023, there was a trip from Hartford, CT, with stops in New Britain, Killingly, and drop off in Hartford totaling $784.00." (page 12).
The salaries and benefits of the Chancellor and top ranking University officials are astronomical on top of being a huge, upraised middle finger to the hardworking legitimate citizens of Connecticut. Was there no one with any similar skills and abilities who could have been hired in the Non-Job as CCSU Chancellor who was a state resident? And why at that salary was he also afforded this kind of travel expense? Keep in mind that Connecticut public colleges have been cutting courses and raising tuition for years. But there is no desire whatsoever at the rotted top of the institutions to cut costs. Moreover, I wonder as an educator how these excessively high salaries and benefits benefit the college student in his or her education?
But if you have not had enough, I have some more.
As my friend and colleague Tony De Angelo often says, if you like Peanut Butter, you will love Skippy! The skill-lacking Comptroller Sean Scanlon’s office lacked ‘sufficient’ controls and led to mistakes in life insurance payments. Now understanding all these egregious failures of governance, if not failures in basic decency, why are there not fines, liens, charges, and calls for restitution of tax dollars? But honest accountability does not all speak of the “Connecticut Way” Spend ill-gotten resources, tax more, spend more, get a wrist slap (if that), promise to do better, get reassigned, and/or retire prematurely with full pension and benefits paid by the taxpayers. (THAT is the “Connecticut Way”).
And would it not be a wonderful world if every state legislator had to read, understand, and be quizzed on these state audits prior to being seated for the term and receiving their first paycheck? (But that is not the “Connecticut Way,” either).
But in any organization, the arrows of accountability always point to the top. So, to the rescue of us all springs Democrat Governor King Ned Lamont "The Unaccountable" who now calls for yet another taxpayer-paid audit and apparent "accountability" while telling the state vassals the Chancellor seems to be confused by his actions and “will do better next time.”
Why in a rational world should there even BE a next time? If Mr. Cheng were in private industry he would have been fired and had liens placed on his property for amounts owed and possibly criminally charged, but since Connecticut Taxpayers must pay for his errors, he has smooth sailing for his incredibly high and costly state pension.
And just to remind Connecticut Taxpayers, we still have no answers to Ned Lamont's family hedge fund (Oak HC/FT Partners) and its involvement in state government, nor to their associated companies relating to the Covid-19 crisis, including "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Infomatics", "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", and "VillageMD," to name some as to the amount of profits they received via Connecticut taxpayers.
Nor do we have no disclosure of how many of the Governor's politically connected hacks have been getting no interest, no-payback loans and grants funded by your tax dollars or 2% “sweetheart” loans for upwards of $15,000,000 given to Sema4 on the way to its “pump and dump” and colossal taxpayer-paid, failure. But we are always certain to see that the wayward and unaccountable apples in the Kingdom of The Unaccountable do not fall far from the Royal Tree and he will not exact on others what he never exacts upon his own malfeasance.
Maybe there is at least one ray of hope! The Connecticut State Legislature was seated this past week. A group of people! Elected by the people. To do the people’s work. To ferret out fraud, waste, and abuse. To craft legislation to deal with the aforementioned abuses and draft severe penalties for noncompliance. To call for hearings with live public input and consequence. But it does not appear that this is the direction it is headed.
All this haze of unaccountable euphoria can be summed up in the words of 51st District State Representative Chris Stewart, a Republican and newly-elected member of the state legislature who said that he liked what he heard to kick off this legislative session.
“Governor Lamont did a really good job,” Representative Stewart said. “One thing I’ve always admired about him is he tries to be levelheaded and makes sure he addresses the concerns and the issues from both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans.”
That comment, Ladies, and Gentlemen, sadly speaks for itself.
