| John G. Rowland |
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John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24 , 1957 ) was the Governor Of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004 . He is married to Patty Rowland , his second wife, and the couple have five children between them. In 2004, Rowland pleaded guilty to corruption charges. He served time in a federal prison until February 10 , 2006 . He is now under House Arrest at his home in West Hartford, Connecticut until June. His lieutenant governor was M. Jodi Rell , now the governor of Connecticut. POLITICAL FACTS A member of the Republican Party , Rowland's political career began in 1980 when, at age 23, he was elected to the Connecticut State House Of Representatives . He held his seat until 1984 , when he was elected to represent Connecticut's 5th Congressional District in the United States House Of Representatives , where he served three consecutive terms. After losing the gubernatorial race to Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. , Rowland worked as a Consultant for United Technologies Corp. He was later elected governor in 1994 at age 37 (the youngest governor in Connecticut history), and later defeated Democratic challengers former US Congresswoman Barbara Bailey Kennelly 63%-35% in 1998 , and former State Comptroller Bill Curry , 54%-46% in 2002 . Rowland resigned as Governor of Connecticut effective July 1 , 2004. Lieutenant Governor M. Jodi Rell is serving out the remainder of his term. Rowland is the only Connecticut governor to ever face impeachment and he is the only Connecticut governor to serve prison time. SPOUSAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS Rowland's first wife divorced him before he was elected governor in 1994 and filed a spousal abuse charge in June 1995 , but Rowland has never been charged or arrested for Domestic Violence . There was a request filed under the FOIA which is available at the state website . Police reports not resulting in arrest are not required to be released. CORRUPTION AS GOVERNOR Impeachment process and Federal case In the first year of Rowland's third term, Rumors began circulating that contractors doing business with the state paid for and made improvements to his weekend cottage, that he benefited improperly from the sale of a condominium in Washington, D.C. at an inflated price, that he took gifts from subordinates in state government, and that he took partial ownership in businesses immediately before they were granted state contracts. These eventually led to federal investigations and then Indictment s of some of Rowland's close aides, who then cooperated with federal investigators. Rumors continued that the investigation was building a case against Rowland himself; Rowland publicly denied the allegations. However, in December 2003 , Rowland abruptly appeared on television and admitted that work had been done by contractors on his cottage at no charge, and that his earlier statements to the contrary were untrue. Matters were exacerbated when his wife, Patty Rowland, wrote a caustic/sarcastic/satiric poem deriding the media for investigating her husband's admitted wrongdoing. He claimed that since the work was done he had paid the contractors in full, but in January 2004 , an official investigation began into charges of corruption, and whether he should face Impeachment . On April 30 , a special investigation panel started the impeachment process. On June 18 , the Connecticut Supreme Court required Rowland to appear before the investigative panel seeking his testimony, which could have resulted in him giving evidence against himself in the ongoing criminal investigation. On June 21 , Rowland's lawyers announced that he would resign. The resignation went into effect at noon on July 1 . On December 24 , 2004, Rowland entered a plea of guilty to Stealing Honest Service . The Hartford ''Courant'' reported that the plea came after the assistant U.S. Attorney Nora Dannehy was planning to convene a Grand Jury to investigate Racketeering and conspiracy charges against him. His Plea Bargain included granting his choice of the judge who would impose his sentence. Rowland was sentenced on March 18 , 2005 , in New Haven, Connecticut to one year and one day in prison, four months house arrest, three years probation and community service. On April 1 he entered the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania . His Federal inmate number is 15623-014. On February 10 , 2006 , Rowland was released from federal prison with the stipulation that he serve four months house arrest with an electronic ankle bracelet monitor. Further investigations Investigations by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and by a state legislative committee concerning several separate possible improprieties by him and associates, ensued after Rowland's resignation:
Mainstream journalists, but ( As Of May, 2005 ) not official investigators, have publicly noted that Harry Gray was
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