Norwich – The Norwich Ethics Commission dismissed one ethics complaint and voted to create a subcommittee to investigate three others received recently that are thought to involve the controversial lavish trips hosted by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative to the Kentucky Derby for the past four years.

Ethics complaints remain confidential unless the commission determines there is probable cause to investigate. But at least some of the complaints have been confirmed to pertain to the Derby trip which included dozens of invitees including Norwich city and public utilities officials.

The 2016 Derby trip cost $342,330 for 44 invitees, including Norwich Mayor Deberey Hinchey, Norwich Public Utilities General Manager John Bilda and Division Manager Steve Sinko and commission Chairwoman Dee Boisclair and Vice Chairman Robert Groner.

In total, the four trips cost just over $1 million. CMEEC is owned by six member public utilities, including NPU, Jewett City Utilities and Groton Utilities, which also owns Bozrah Light & Power.

After discussing the complaints for more than an hour behind closed doors, the Ethics Commission returned to open session and voted unanimously to set up a four-member subcommittee to investigate whether there is probable cause to hold public hearings on the three complaints. If the commission finds probable cause, the complaint would be made public. The subcommittee is expected to report its findings to the full commission on Dec. 12.

In addition to ethics complaints in both Norwich and Groton City, CMEEC, NPU and Jewett City Utilities officials last week confirmed that the FBI has made inquiries for unspecified information.

Groton Utilities Director Ron Gaudet did not return several phone calls last week and Monday on whether that utility also has received FBI inquiries. But in an email to all NPU employees on Thursday, NPU administrators informed employees that “an employee” from the FBI came to the NPU office at 16 S. Golden St. “to inquire about activities involving NPU, CMEEC and its members.”

Several residents told the Ethics Commission at the start of Monday's meeting that public officials involved in the Derby trips should be “removed from office,” be made to pay back the value of the trips and should be ordered to make full disclosure about the trips and their participation.

Attorney Paul McCary of the Hartford firm Murtha-Cullina addressed the commission Monday, saying he represented two individuals involved in the complaints. McCary later declined to identify the individuals. At the Oct. 25 Norwich Board of Public Utilities Commissioners meeting, McCary represented NPU in addressing the commission, saying the Derby trip did not present an ethics violation issue.

“Just because people are troubled and upset,” McCary said Monday, “doesn't mean there's a violation of the ethics code.”

Former Mayor Peter Nystrom presented the commission with copies of Ethics Commission meeting minutes from 2010, when he sought an advisory opinion from the commission regarding an invitation Nystrom received to accompany a delegation of Chinese business and government representatives to China. Nystrom did not go on the trip to China.

Nystrom said he was mayor when the CMEEC trips started in 2013, but he said he did not know about the trips, which disturbed him. Nystrom said restitution should be made to Norwich Public Utilities ratepayers.

Resident David Burley questioned whether the two utilities commission members' participation in the trip influenced their votes just a few weeks later to approve substantial rate hikes for NPU water and sewer customers. He suggested the two might not challenge NPU administrators, especially Bilda, who proposed the rate hikes to the commission.

Nicholas Macko told the commission his wife often goes to distant conferences for professional training, and she attends day-long conferences and pays her own meals. The Derby trips featured no conferences, professional presentations or workshops.

“It's very disturbing,” Macko said. “If we had done the same thing, we would have been fired, especially since it went on for four years.”

c.bessette@theday.com