Groton — The Groton City Board of Ethics will meet on Monday to discuss new information about three complaints connected to Groton Utilities and the controversial Kentucky Derby retreats hosted by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative.

Ethics Board Chairman Robert Zuliani said the board recently received the information and will brief its members in executive session at its 5 p.m. meeting in the Municipal Building. The board is not expected to take action following the discussion but may act at its next meeting, he said.

The energy cooperative has hosted expensive trips to the Kentucky Derby for the past four years, with dozens of board members, staff, municipal officials and invited guests. While the trips were described as strategic retreats, schedules of the activities included no business meetings, workshops or presentations.

In March, the board found probable cause that three Groton Utilities officials violated the ethics code by participating in the trips. The commission then received three additional complaints.

All of the complaints involve the same three individuals: Groton Utilities Director Ronald Gaudet, Groton Utilities General Manager of Utility Finance David Collard and Groton Utilities Commission member Edward DeMuzzio.

"As I see it, with this additional information, it may require one more meeting; there's another source we might want to look into," Zuliani said. "The four of us have to agree on how to proceed. Hopefully, this meeting or the next meeting we will have a final recommendation to the council."

Zuliani said the ethics board was almost ready two months ago to make a final recommendation to the City Council, but it received additional complaints. Ethics members also have been on vacation, which has delayed a decision, he said.

The board's investigation has included review of financial documents and interviews with at least seven people, he said.

The board lost one of its five members earlier this year. Mary Kelly, an ethics board member and former member of the Groton Board of Education, died on Jan. 21. Zuliani said former Groton City Mayor Marian Galbraith decided not to fill Kelly's seat until after the current investigation was completed because adding a new member during the process could delay it.

Even with the vacancy, it has the minimum required membership to make a finding under its rules and procedures.

“The delays are unfortunate due to the investigation part of this whole thing and the additional complaints that have followed up since then,” he said. “Also the board has tried to completely stay independent of any outside source in making its findings and coming to a conclusion.”

The ethics board is advisory only. It makes recommendations to the City Council, which then decides on action. The board's recommendation could range from a finding of no violation to a recommendation for penalty, including payment to a nonprofit organization as recognition of fault.

d.straszheim@theday.com