With the abdication of Benjamin Bycel, the Office of State Ethics is now leaderless. That’s probably for the best, as the notion of ethics in state government presupposes some standards of shame, responsibility and accountability. No police department can function if the citizenry simply refuses to obey the law, and Connecticut’s elected officials just don’t seem to realize that there is such a thing as ethics.
State Sen. Lou DeLuca is an avuncular fellow, but he’s fully admitted to asking a couple of thugs to rough up an in-law. He’s even plead guilty to the charge in court. This does not fall under the rubric of “ethical behavior.” Nor was this an accidental gaffe. DeLuca sought out reputed mobsters for a favor. A little clubbing, a little brass-knuckle persuasion, just snap a bone here or there, please, and throw in a contusion or two, if you would. We are not even in the stage where the word “alleged” precedes all that. DeLuca says simply: “Yup.”
And yet, his Senate colleagues are unclear if the admitted law breaker should remain a law maker. DeLuca has no remorse for what he did, sees no ethical breach to induce the shame necessary to step aside. Now, his Senate colleagues intend to hold three months of hearings to see if they can gather enough evidence to conclude what DeLuca did was wrong.
It is telling that, with the facts lying naked before them, they still can’t take a principled stand.
Of course, the legislature has a vapid history when it comes to such things. Of late, Democrat State Rep. Charles Clemmons of Bridgeport saw state Sen. Ernest Newton take a bribe, yet didn’t even think the incident worth reporting. State Rep. Kevin Ryan, D-Montville, was arrested multiple times for driving under the influence. The politician – who sat, ironically, on the Public Safety committee – wound up in jail, and even issued a press release that he believed he would be able to continue serving his constituents while behind bars. He never resigned, and when he was released he was rewarded by then-Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan with the chairmanship of the labor and public employees committee.
And while House Speaker James Amman was rebuked for pressuring lobbyists to donate to his employer, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, state Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford, is hiring them to go generate money directly for himself. Fonfara is a one-man billboard company. To bring in business, he’s hired lobbyists to convince Norwich and East Hartford to turn over lucrative billboard contracts to him. The same lobbyists then turn around and lobby Fonfara as chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee. But, of course, no one at the capitol sees anything unethical in that.
Bycel was no saint. But his departure, and the ineffectiveness of his office, hardly causes a ripple. Shouldn’t that be scaring us? Or have we all forgotten how to follow an ethical compass?
