Stamford Advocate - July 24, 2007
By Brian Lockhart
Staff Writer
New state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, and state Senate President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, are struggling with the difficult issue of investigating a colleague's possible mob ties.
And while Williams said they are forming a bipartisan committee, McKinney is reluctant to discuss the process.
State Sen. Louis DeLuca, R-Woodbury, stepped down last month as Senate minority leader after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor threat charge for asking an alleged Danbury mob boss to threaten a man he thought was abusing his granddaughter.
DeLuca, 73, has said he will not leave office, prompting calls for the Senate to censure or expel him.
McKinney is cautious in describing his discussions with Williams and what he has agreed to do.
"I think we both understand it's an important issue and it's not something that should be dragged on, endlessly. And we're trying to see if we can agree on the right way to address it," he said yesterday. "But I have not, or will not characterize how close we are and specific details. Until we have a final agreement, we don't have any agreement."
But McKinney said he also recognizes that, as DeLuca's replacement, his handling of the situation is important.
"Do I think people will have eyes closely watching me? Yeah, I do," McKinney said.
State Sen. John Nickerson, R-Greenwich, said McKinney's handling of the DeLuca issue is "one of the important and challenging decisions he'll make early in his term as leader."
State Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, who praised McKinney after he was elected Senate minority leader in mid-June, agreed.
"There's no doubt he found himself in a very difficult position and assumed power in a manner that certainly wasn't of his choosing," McDonald said. "How he navigates through that and demonstrates his unique style is going to be very important for him and the future of his caucus."
DeLuca, in his ninth term, appears to be well-liked by his GOP colleagues and, despite his conservative politics, also by many Democrats. While many lawmakers were quick to condemn his actions after his arrest in early June, they also expressed sympathy and understanding.
"As far as I'm concerned, what he's been charged with and pleaded guilty to has little to do with (his) legislative abilities," House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said at the time. "It was a matter of the heart."
After becoming minority leader, McKinney said his predecessor "paid a pretty stiff penalty in pleading guilty to a misdemeanor and resigning leadership."
McKinney also stripped DeLuca of any leadership titles.
But in late June, Williams said the Senate's Democratic majority wanted "to explore if further action needs to be taken." He and McKinney have since had two meetings and some phone conversations about DeLuca.
Asked yesterday if he believes DeLuca deserves to be punished further, McKinney said, "I think the legislature as a whole needs to establish a process and a set of standards for dealing with this, (and) show a willingness to apply it."
That, according to a Senate insider familiar with the McKinney and Williams talks, is what they are spending so much time deliberating. The insider noted both sides are taking the idea of expelling a legislator seriously, because such an action takes power from the targeted lawmaker's constituents.
"Impeachment or expulsion disenfranchises voters," the source said.
The state Senate has never censured or reprimanded members. And as Republicans like McKinney note, the Democrats have not been aggressive in policing their own, like former Sen. Ernest Newton or Rep. Charles D. Clemons Jr., both Bridgeport Democrats.
Newton, who is serving five years in jail, was the target of a federal corruption investigation and Clemons testified he witnessed Newton apparently soliciting a payoff.
"Most editorial writings and some articles mention Sen. DeLuca was offered a bribe, turned it down, but failed to disclose that bribe to federal authorities and waited about a week to tell them," McKinney said. "Rep. Clemons sat in a room . . . when Sen. Newton offered to get a state project passed in exchange for a bribe. Rep. Clemons did not disclose that bribe for over a year until brought forward to a federal grand jury."
Clemons remains in office.
"We have a poor record, as a legislature, of dealing with these situations," McKinney said, noting for several years he has unsuccessfully called on the General Assembly to establish an Office of Inspector General to investigate waste, abuse and fraud in state and municipal government. "I think for the public to trust government again, we need to do a better job. But we also need to make sure we're fair and consistent. And we need to be bipartisan. It can't be partisan."
McKinney said one of the biggest challenges is establishing a process for investigating a senator in the midst of the DeLuca situation.
"Do you create the standards first and then see which cases apply? Or do you pick a case, and from that establish a process?" McKinney said. "There is a difference there and that's one of the issues we're working our way through."
Tom Swan, whose 30,000-member Connecticut Citizen Action Group recently called on the Senate to launch a bipartisan inquiry into the DeLuca issue, said he believes McKinney and Williams can set a precedent for handling future scandals.
He also believes McKinney does not want to have the DeLuca issue hanging over his head.
Asked if he has urged DeLuca to resign, McKinney declined "to talk about any private discussions" with his predecessor.
"That's an issue for him, and his conscience and his district."
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
