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Former CMEEC Chair Sentenced to Prison
James Sullivan, 56, the former chairperson of the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Corporation (CMEEC) Board of Directors, has been sentenced to six months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for misusing CMEEC funds.
Sullivan was found guilty of one count of theft concerning a program receiving federal funds, along with Drew Rankin, the former chief executive officer of CMEEC, and John Bilda, the former City of Norwich representative on the CMEEC Board of Directors. The three defendants had planned, organized, and directed lavish trips outside of Connecticut, including trips to the Kentucky Derby in 2015 and 2016, and to a luxury golf resort in West Virginia in 2015.
The trips, which totaled more than $800,000, were intended to personally benefit, compensate and reward Rankin, Sullivan, CMEEC Board members, their family members, friends, and associates. Costs for the trips included travel expenses, private chartered airfare, first-class hotel accommodations, meals, tickets to sporting events, golf fees, souvenirs and gifts.
Sullivan was also found to have underreported the costs of the trips, omitted the names of attendees who were not CMEEC employees or board members, and made other false statements related to how the trips were funded. CMEEC canceled a reservation it had made for the 2017 Kentucky Derby, and was refunded only approximately $90,000 of the $298,960 it had prepaid for the trip in May 2016.
The investigation into the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Energy. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara.
Sullivan is required to report to prison on July 12. Restitution will be determined after additional court proceedings. Judge Meyer sentenced Rankin to 12 months of imprisonment, and Bilda is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow.
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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