Newly released attendee lists for the 2013 and 2014 trips to the Kentucky Derby hosted by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative included the same local utilities officials who attended trips the past two years, as well as a sitting congresswoman and the founder and principal of a solar energy company that now has contracts with the cooperative for projects in the region.

Officials from Norwich Public Utilities, Groton Utilities and Jewett City Department of Utilities, who served as CMEEC board members attended the trips, along with their spouses.

Former Norwich utilities commission Chairman James Sullivan attended in 2013 and 2014 and in both years he was accompanied by his wife, Linda Sanchez, a sitting congresswoman from California. Sanchez also accompanied Sullivan in 2015, his final year as chairman of both Norwich utilities commission and CMEEC board of directors.

After her name was disclosed on the 2015 Kentucky Derby attendance list, Sanchez released a statement from her office saying she had cleared the trip through congressional ethics officials.

“Congresswoman Sánchez attended the event in her personal capacity as the spouse of a board member, which is expressly allowed under House rules,” a spokesman for Sanchez's Washington office said in the statement. “Although she was not required to do so, out of an abundance of caution she did seek the advice of the House Ethics Committee prior to attending, and the Committee confirmed that she could attend.”

NPU General Manager John Bilda, NPU Division Manager Steve Sinko and current Norwich utilities commission chairwoman Dee Boisclair all attended the trips in each of the four years, along with their spouses. All three were found in violation of the Norwich ethics ordinance after complaints were filed regarding their participation in the 2016 Kentucky Derby trip. Norwich Mayor Deberey Hinchey also attended in 2016 and was found in violation of the ethics code.

Groton Utilities commission member Edward DeMuzzio — one of three 2016 derby trip participants facing ethics complaints in Groton City — also attended the CMEEC trips in 2013 and 2014.

Jewett City Utilities Director Kenneth Sullivan, now the CMEEC board chairman, also attended the Kentucky Derby trips in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Jewett City utilities commission member Louis Demicco and his wife, Amy, attended in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and Amy Demicco also attended in 2016. Jewett City utilities commission member Richard Throwe and his wife, Carol, attended the derby trips all four years.

The controversial trips, called strategic retreats by the energy cooperative owned by six municipal utilities, have sparked ethics complaints in Norwich and Groton and proposed law changes in Hartford calling for greater transparency. The FBI also is investigating CMEEC and its member utilities on undisclosed matters.

On Friday, CMEEC responded to an FOI request and complaint seeking the attendee list for the 2013 and 2014 trips to the Kentucky Derby. CMEEC started the annual retreats for its board of directors, staff and guests in 2013 in what Executive Director Drew Rankin said was an effort to promote better working relations among board members.

The list shows 24 attendees on the inaugural 2013 trip and 33 in 2014. Attendee lists released in October showed 27 participants in 2015, but that list did not include Richard and Margaret Bilda, the NPU general manager's parents, who joined the group from Florida with expenses paid by CMEEC. The 2016 list showed 44 participants.

Additional financial information released to The Day by CMEEC also showed a higher total for the 2013 trip of $159,640, nearly $14,000 higher than originally reported. The combined cost for the four years of Kentucky Derby retreats totaled $1.02 million.

In 2014, John and Rachel Hanselman were listed among the Kentucky Derby trip participants. Hanselman is principal and founder of Brightfields Development LLC, a solar energy firm that has partnered with SolarCity in contracts with CMEEC starting in summer of 2014 to build large solar power generating facilities in Norwich, Groton and Bozrah — all CMEEC member municipalities.

James Sullivan, the former NPU commission and former CMEEC board chairman, also is principal of JMS Consulting, a federally registered lobbying firm. Sullivan's lobbying clients include Brightfields Development LLC, which paid Sullivan's firm $90,000 from 2013 through 2016.

c.bessette@theday.com

2013 participants in Kentucky Derby trip hosted by CMEEC:

Debra Bilda, John Bilda, Dee Boisclair, Richard Boisclair, Jeff Celuch, Amy Demicco, Louis Demicco, Edward DeMuzzio, Michael Huntwork, Carolyn Pryor, Edward Pryor, Drew Rankin, Linda Sanchez, Paula Sinko, Steve Sinko, James Smith, Jessica Smith, Kathleen Solano, James Sullivan, Kenneth Sullivan, Nancy Sullivan, Terry Thompson-Cannon, Carol Throwe, Richard Throwe.

2014 participants:

Debra Bilda, John Bilda, Nancy Black, Randy Black, Leslie Blew, Dee Boisclair, Richard Boisclair, Justin Connell, Amy Demicco, Louis Demicco, Edward DeMuzzio, David Giroux, Lisa Giroux, John Hanselman, Rachel Hanselman, Ellen Kachmar, Carolyn Pryor, Edward Pryor, Michael Rall, Nicole Rall, Drew Rankin, Linda Sanchez, Paula Sinko, Steve Sinko, James Smith, Jessica Smith, Kathleen Solano, Cara Stellato, James Sullivan, Kenneth Sullivan, Nancy Sullivan, Carol Throwe, Richard Throwe.