Reporter Claire Bessette, who has covered the federal corruption cases of area utility officials from the beginning of the investigation through last week’s sentencing dates, was interviewed earlier today for a segment scheduled to air Tuesday afternoon on WNPR’s All Things Considered.

Bessette’s interview with John Henry Smith is expected to air today at 4:44 p.m. or 5:44 p.m. on WNPR, which can be accessed at 89.1 FM in southeastern Connecticut.

John Bilda, former Norwich Public Utilities general manager, former Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative CMEEC and Norwich utilities commission chairman James Sullivan, and former CMEEC CEO Drew Rankin each were convicted of theft from a program receiving federal funds for the 2015 trips to the Kentucky Derby and The Greenbrier golf resort in West Virginia. All three were sentenced last week to prison time.

The trips were funded with CMEEC revenues intended to be returned to the member municipal utilities to stabilize electric rates.