Norwich – The law firm of Murtha Cullina has submitted legal bills totaling almost $53,000 to the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative to cover legal expenses from October through January related to ethics issues in an ongoing controversy over lavish retreats the cooperative hosted to the Kentucky Derby and other locations.

The Day received 11 invoices the Hartford law firm sent to CMEEC in response to a Freedom of Information request filed after Norwich Public Utilities officials said in January that Murtha Cullina attorney Paul McCary representing four NPU officials involved in ethics complaints was being paid by CMEEC.

Four invoices labeled “Response to Ethics Commission” pertained to the Norwich ethics complaints, CMEEC officials said. On the invoices, CMEEC officials blacked out the names of the individual clients – NPU General Manager John Bilda, NPU Division Manager Steve Sinko, Norwich utilities commission Chairwoman Dee Boisclair and Vice Chairman Robert Groner – as well as the attorney’s name.

The four invoices in the Norwich ethics cases totaled a combined $40,403 and covered expenses listed as professional services, travel expenses, courier services and shipping charges, from October through January. Individual invoices ranged from $3,500 to $15,304.63.

All four NPU officials involved in the ethics complaints are members of the CMEEC board and participated in the controversial trip to the Kentucky Derby hosted by CMEEC last May. The 2016 trip, the fourth annual trip, cost CMEEC $342,330 for 44 participants and prompted ethics complaints in Norwich against the four NPU officials and Mayor Deberey Hinchey, who attended as a guest. Hinchey has paid for her own attorney in her response to the ethics complaints.

On Feb. 13, the Norwich Ethics Commission found all five Norwich city officials violated the city’s ethics code and recommended they reimburse the city all or a portion of the value of the trip into a fund that would help struggling Norwich families.

CMEEC is paying the legal fees according to its bylaws that state board members “shall be indemnified and held harmless by CMEEC against all costs and expenses, including reasonable attorney fees and/or defense of suit, actually incurred by them in connection with the defense of any claim, action, suit or proceeding in which they may be involved or to which they may be made a party by reason of their being or having been such Member Representative or Officer.”

The provision lists exceptions to the coverage for “willful or wanton negligence or misconduct in the performance of duty.”

But Norwich resident Scott Harrington filed a new ethics complaint in February now under investigation claiming among other things that the attorney fees paid by CMEEC to defend the Norwich utilities officials amount to another gift valued at more than $50, prohibited in the city ethics code. The Norwich Ethics Commission is expected to discuss the complaint at its 5 p.m. meeting Monday at Norwich City Hall.

In addition to the Norwich legal expense invoices, three other invoices obtained by The Day from CMEEC labeled “Ethics Analysis” totaled $2,500 and four additional invoices labeled “Response to Ethics Board” totaled $10,038.50. CMEEC officials said those bills are not connected to the Norwich ethics cases. Those bills also covered periods from October through January. Those invoices also blacked out client and attorney names.

The Groton City Ethics Board also is investigating a complaint against three Groton Utilities officials who attended the 2016 Kentucky Derby trip – GU Director Ron Gaudet, who attended for one day, GU General Manager of Utilities Finances David Collard and utilities commission member Edward DeMuzzio. All three are members of the CMEEC board.

CMEEC officials did not respond to a question on whether any of those seven invoices specifically pertain to Groton CMEEC board members.

c.bessette@theday.com