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Former Conn. Gov. John Rowland guilty of new charges

John Rowland, convicted again on federal charges, was Connecticut's youngest governor and the first to do time in prison.

By Frances Burns
In better days, then-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, R, chats with then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during a governors' meeting at the White House. Rowland was convicted Friday for a second time of federal charges. mk/Michael Kleinfeld/UPI
In better days, then-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, R, chats with then-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during a governors' meeting at the White House. Rowland was convicted Friday for a second time of federal charges. mk/Michael Kleinfeld/UPI | License Photo

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Former Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, forced out of office a decade ago by a corruption conviction, was found guilty Friday of new charges.

A jury in federal court in New Haven deliberated for five hours before finding that Rowland took secret payments for working as a consultant to Republican Lisa Wilson-Foley's losing 2012 congressional campaign. Prosecutors said the payments were laundered through Apple Rehab, a nursing home company owned by Wilson-Foley's husband in violation of campaign financing laws.

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Rowland was elected to the state legislature at the age of 23 and became the youngest governor in Connecticut history when he won office in 1993 at the age of 37. He later became the first Republican to win a second term since 1950 and was elected to an unprecedented third in 2002.

But his political career was derailed in 2004 by allegations that he had work done on his vacation home at no cost by state contractors and got kickbacks from businesses. He resigned under threat of impeachment in June and pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in December, becoming the first Connecticut governor to serve time in prison.

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During the trial, Rowland's lawyer argued that Brian Foley was trying to involve Rowland in his business. But a federal prosecutor showed that Rowland spent far more time communicating with Wilson-Foley's campaign than with her husband.

Rowland is to be sentenced in December.

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