Feds oppose bond for Rowland during his appeal

Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland leaves federal court in New Haven, Wednesday, March 18, 2015, in New Haven, Conn. Rowland was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a political consulting scheme on Wednesday, exactly one decade after he was ordered behind bars in an earlier scandal that forced him from office.

Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland leaves federal court in New Haven, Wednesday, March 18, 2015, in New Haven, Conn. Rowland was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in a political consulting scheme on Wednesday, exactly one decade after he was ordered behind bars in an earlier scandal that forced him from office.

The prosecution in the campaign fraud case of former Gov. John G. Rowland has played its latest card: go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

In a 28-page motion filed Friday in New Haven federal court, the government raised objections to Rowland’s request to remain free while his appeal of his latest 30-month prison sentence is heard.

Rowland’s bid for what is known as an appeal bond is nothing more than a stall tactic, according to prosecutors, who say that the disgraced politician stands no chance of overturning his conviction for working as a shadow political operative on the failed 2012 congressional campaign of fellow Republican Lisa Wilson-Foley.

The is Rowland’s second time running afoul of the law. In 2004, he resigned from office and served 10 months in prison for accepting bribes from state contractors.

“The defendant’s motion fails to establish that the appeal raises substantial issues of law or fact that will likely result in a new trial,” prosecutors wrote.

Andrew Fish, a New York City-based white collar criminal defense lawyer and former assistant U.S. attorney who was hired by Rowland for his appeal, declined to comment Wednesday.

Rowland, 57, must surrender to authorities June 16 and report to federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., if his motion for bond is denied. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton, who handed down Rowland’s sentence in New Haven in March, will decide Rowland’s fate. Arteron already granted a request from Rowland to remain free for his stepson’s wedding in April. The terms of Rowland’s sentence will require him to serve a minimum of 25.5 months in prison.

The youngest governor in Connecticut history who was elected to three terms, Rowland was found guilty of trying to hide his role as a political consultant to Wilson-Foley, who was sentenced in March to five months in federal prison.

Through a nursing home business owned by Wilson-Foley’s husband, Brian Foley, the couple funneled $35,000 in payments to Rowland. They did not want to be tainted by having Rowland on the campaign payroll, but admitted that he still had influence in the 5th Congressional District and Rowland’s home city of Waterbury. The district stretches from Danbury to the Farmington Valley and includes Litchfield County, Meriden and New Britain.

Prosecutors say Rowland pitched a similar sham to GOP congressional candidate Mark Greenberg in 2010, but was rebuffed by the Litchfield businessman.

The basis of Rowland’s appeal is expected to be that prosecutors suppressed key evidence on the contract between Rowland and Wilson-Foley, which Rowland’s lawyers have said was for legitimate work at the Apple Rehab nursing home chain.

Neil Vigdor