Lakeside community offers no shelter from corruption probe

[Judi Lynn]

Lakeside community offers no shelter from corruption probe

By MATT APUZZO
Associated Press Writer

May 30, 2004, 9:27 AM EDT


LITCHFIELD, Conn. -- By the time Van Winkle Road nudges its bumpy way to Gov. John G. Rowland's summer hideaway, grass has begun to reclaim parts of the road and a canopy of leaves and ferns obscures the view.
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That works for fellow Litchfield County residents Michael J. Fox, Mia Farrow and Henry Kissinger, but Rowland's modest cottage on the shore of Bantam Lake offers him no shelter from the federal corruption probe and impeachment inquiry that have besieged him for the past year.

In fact, the cottage _ an unassuming ranch house with dark brown siding that faces Bantam Lake _ is at the center of many of Rowland's problems. Impeachment investigators want to know whether the cathedral ceiling, hot tub, electrical work and landscaping at the house are evidence of contract steering and favoritism.

FBI agents have subpoenaed Rowland's personal records regarding the cottage. His friends have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury about whether his poker games were designed for state contractors to funnel him money; whether his business and real estate ventures were above board; about whether vacations and gifts were really bribes.
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Has Gov. Rowland wielded his last pair of giant scissors?