Montville — The Montville Republican Town Committee received an excessive and unreported contribution through the free use of office space as campaign headquarters in 2017, according to the State Elections Enforcement Commission.

In a consent order issued earlier this month, the SEEC said the MRTC headquartered rent-free at 1031 Route 32 for two months during the 2017 election season. With monthly rent of the property valued at $1,700, the SEEC said the free headquarters amounted to an in-kind contribution of $3,400 — $1,400 more than the $2,000 maximum an individual can give to a town committee, according to state campaign finance law.

The MRTC — which reported in financial statements that it paid for utilities at the headquarters — offered to forfeit $1,000 to resolve the matter, which the SEEC accepted as reasonable.

The SEEC's investigation began after a complaint by Joe Jaskiewicz, a Democrat on the Montville Town Council.

The SEEC also concluded that MRTC Treasurer Joseph Rogulski failed to report the in-kind donation as required on January 2018 financial statements. Rogulski told the SEEC "that he did not know how to report the free use of the property as headquarters and was willing to do so as part of this investigation," according to the consent order.

The SEEC imposed a civil penalty of $500 against Rogulski, calling it a reasonable settlement given Rogulski's cooperation throughout the investigation and "his amendment of all relevant MRTC financial statements to reflect the accurate receipt of an in-kind contribution."

In an interview Wednesday, Rogulski said he'd only been treasurer at the time for a few months and "it was totally new territory for me."

"It's definitely something that was an oversight and a misunderstanding," he said, noting he found the personal civil penalty "a little excessive." Rogulski, who sits on the Town Council, noted the SEEC initially discussed costlier penalties but took into consideration that the MRTC only used one of four rooms in an otherwise vacant retail space.

Town Council Chairman Tom McNally, who was MRTC chairman at the time of the violation, called "the whole thing ridiculous" and said the complaint appeared driven by politics.

"It was an oversight, totally accidental," McNally said Wednesday, noting the committee had corrected its mistakes. "The state should say you did something wrong, OK, give you a $100 fine and tell you not to do it again. The fine is very punitive and overkill."

Jaskiewicz said he was satisfied with the state's order and argued the complaint was not about party politics.

"It's not a tit for tat. The bottom line is you've got to do things right. That's why we have the rules," Jaskiewicz said.

The storefront property is owned by John D'Amato of Stonington. The SEEC said it found no evidence that D'Amato knew his donation of the vacant space was considered a campaign contribution at the time it was offered. D'Amato told the SEEC that he believed he did not make an excessive contribution based on the MRTC's use of just one of four rooms and the regular business practice of discounting unoccupied commercial space for short-term use.

The SEEC issued no fine for D'Amato, saying his agreement to comply with campaign finance statutes served as an appropriate settlement. D'Amato did not immediately respond to a message left with a listing for him Wednesday afternoon.

b.kail@theday.com