HARTFORD, Conn., May 18 (UPI) -- An anonymous letter that led to the firing Alan Plofsky as the state of Connecticut's ethics chief has been determined to be a fraud, court papers show.
There has long been suspicion that the anonymous page of allegations attributed to a state "parking lot attendant" was a fabrication -- perhaps written by someone connected with supporters of Gov. John G. Rowland, whom Plofsky had helped force out of office -- The Hartford Courant reported Sunday.
Court papers show the letter -- accusing Plofsky office staff of working irregular hours and suggesting staff members took unearned time off -- was drafted by Maureen Duggan, a staff lawyer who worked for Plofsky. She currently works as a staff lawyer at the state Department of Children and Families for $105,180 a year.
Duggan admitted during a Jan. 15 deposition that she had written the letter and said her husband at the time, lawyer Steven Regula, mailed the letter, the newspaper reported.
Duggan said she told Regula she "couldn't go through with" sending the letter but he "took that to mean ... that I couldn't do it and I needed his help. So he sent the letter."
Plofsky has a federal lawsuit pending over his firing. Duggan's admission was in documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, Conn.
