Rowland's $53,000 Pension Unaffected by Conviction

Former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland's state pension of nearly $53,000 a year will not be affected by his second felony conviction.

A spokeswoman for Attorney General George Jepsen said he has no legal basis to revoke or reduce the 57-year-old Rowland's pension because the former governor was acting as a private citizen at the time of the offense.

"Mr. Rowland's conviction does not subject his pension to revocation or reduction under Connecticut's pension revocation law. By its terms, that statute only applies when an individual is convicted of crime relating to his or her state or municipal office," explained Jaclyn M. Falkowski, director of communications for the Office of the Attorney General.

"Mr. Rowland was convicted of conduct undertaken in his private capacity, and his crimes do not, under the statute’s definitions, relate to his former public office. Therefore, under the terms of the revocation statute, there is no legal basis for the Office of the Attorney General to seek revocation or reduction of Mr. Rowland's pension," Falkowski said.

State law in 2008 targeted public officials convicted of a crime by preventing them from collecting a pension. Rowland, whose first conviction was in 2004, was unaffected by the new law because it was not applied retroactively. He resigned.

Rowland was convicted on Sept. 19 in federal court on charges he conspired to be paid for work on political campaigns while disguising the payments in business deals.

He's due to be sentenced Jan. 7.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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