Follow the money.
A former candidate for state treasurer may have taken the old adage a bit too literally.
Unseemly new details are starting to emerge about the level of hostilities between Tim Herbst and Bob Eick, one-time adversaries for the Republican nomination for state treasurer.
Eick is believed to have hired a private eye to tail Herbst before Eick ceded the GOP nomination to Herbst last week, according to multiple sources who spoke to Hearst Connecticut Media on the condition of anonymity.
Those sources are not affiliated with the campaign of Herbst, who is in his third term as Trumbull’s first selectman and is the presumptive nominee to challenge Democratic incumbent Denise Nappier in November.
A female private detective was said to have staked out Herbst’s home and is believed to have trailed Herbst to Washington, D.C., for a January conclave of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and possibly to New York City when he attended a Knicks game, sources said.
“There were two instances where I had a car parked out in front of my house,” Herbst said. “I thought it was odd. I thought it was peculiar. In politics, nothing surprises me. Look you go into this with your eyes wide open and you understand that, unfortunately, in our political system things sometimes take an ugly turn.”
Eick, who earned enough votes at the state GOP convention to primary Herbst but suspended his campaign, scoffed at claims that he conducted surveillance on Herbst.
“God no, I didn’t hire a private investigator,” Eick, laughing over the phone, told Hearst. “I think this gets funnier. Hiring a private investigator to follow Tim Herbst? I have a lot better things to do with my money than that.”
A person familiar with the arrangement identified the private investigator at Lexanne Kroll of Shelton.
Reached by Hearst, Kroll said she volunteered passing out campaign materials for Eick but was that was the extent of her involvement.
“I worked on Bob Eick’s campaign,” Kroll said. “I wasn’t hired to do any investigative work.”
Kroll said she was introduced to Eick through Chris DePino, a former business associate of hers and former state GOP chairman who backed Eick.
“I don’t want to be involved in politics,” Kroll said.
Campaign expenditure forms filed with the state Elections Enforcement Commission by Eick, a movie financier and investment executive, show no disbursements to any private investigators.
It’s not uncommon for campaigns to hire what are known in the business as trackers — usually college interns or entry-level staffers — to record video footage of political opponents on the campaign trail in hopes of witnessing them flub.
Most campaigns conduct opposition research.
Hiring a private eye is a bold new realm, however.
“There are people that will go to great lengths to win elections,” Herbst said, adding that he has nothing to hide.