Groton City to schedule public hearing on ethics complaints
Groton — The Groton City Board of Ethics voted Tuesday to schedule a public hearing to question the three officials connected to Groton Utilities and the controversial Kentucky Derby retreats hosted by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative.
“It’s the quickest way to go forward,” ethics board Chairman Robert Zuliani said after the meeting. “This allows them to bring any information that they themselves want to be heard publicly.”
The ethics board met for an hour in executive session on Tuesday, then voted unanimously to direct the city attorney to schedule the hearing. All necessary witnesses would be notified of the hearing, the board decided.
The ethics complaints focus on three people: Groton Utilities Director Ronald Gaudet, Groton Utilities General Manager of Utility Finance David Collard and Groton Utilities Commission member Edward DeMuzzio. All three attended a 2016 trip to the Kentucky Derby, though Gaudet only for one day. The board voted in March that there is probable cause to investigate the complaint.
The energy cooperative hosted expensive trips to the Kentucky Derby for the past four years, with dozens of board members, staff, municipal officials and invited guests. The trips were described as strategic retreats, but schedules of the activities included no business meetings, workshops or presentations.
In March, the board found probable cause that the three Groton Utilities officials violated the ethics code by participating in the trips.
The commission then received additional complaints. One was filed against Groton participants in another cooperative-hosted retreat to The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia in October 2015. A second complaint was filed against Groton participants in a cooperative 2015 trip to the Kentucky Derby. A third ethics complaint involved "free" Thames Valley Cable service, according to the ethics board agenda.
Zuliani said the upcoming hearing would allow the board to hear from and question witnesses in open session. The board would then discuss the information and issue a recommendation to the City Council at a later time. The City Council then would take action it deems appropriate based on the board's recommendation.
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