Rowland Trial: ‘Lisa Did Not Want to be Seen in Public With Mr. Rowland,' Brian Foley Says

Attorneys for former Gov. John Rowland spent Tuesday morning cross-examining Brian Foley in a federal corruption trial for a case alleging Rowland's involvement in illegal campaign activities.

Rowland is accused of taking $35,000 in unreported payments to advise Foley's wife, Lisa-Wilson Foley's 5th District Congressional campaign and offering to do the same for Republican candidate Mark Greenberg in the past.

The clear goal based on their line of questioning was to get Foley to prove that Roland was hired legitimately and that his work for his wife's campaign was secondary.

On several occasions Foley told defense attorney Reid Weingarten that “I would not have hired Rowland if I didn’t think it would be primarily beneficial to the campaign.”

But throughout Foley's Tuesday morning testimony, he said that Rowland did a great deal of legitimate work.

"It was real deal," Foley told defense attorneys.

The work included Rowland hiring former Connecticut House Speaker Tom Ritter as a lobbyist to help the nursing home business, Apple Health Care, that Foley owned. Apple Healthcare is the parent company for Apple Rehab facilities.

Rowland provided Foley's company with a report about the possible closure of nursing home in Connecticut at one point and spoke directly with Apple Rehab executives in his consulting efforts related to nursing homes.

Foley even commended Rowland for his work helping the company and said he did a lot of work for the company in 2011.

Foley also conceded that it was his attorney's idea to not mention the political work that Rowland would contribute to Foley's wife's campaign, and the contract was even struck with Foley's attorney's office directly. However, he also said he never told his attorney that he hired Rowland as a way to get him involved in the campaign and said that he gave him misleading information.

"I wasn't telling the whole story," Foley said in court.

He said that he transferred $100,000 checks once a month in September 2011 to his wife.

"I wasn't trying to hide this," he said.

Foley admitted to using Apple Rehab resources to support his wife's bid for Congress and said he asked Apple Rehab employees to help the campaign and attend debates. Of his 5,000 employees , Foley said that 12 donated to Wilson-Foley's campaign or came to debates.

When the information about Rowland's work for Apple Health Care and consulting on Wilson-Foley's campaing, Foley said he was "concerned."

On Rowland's work for the campaign, Foley admitted that "Lisa did not want to be seen in public with Mr. Rowland." Foley also said that Rowland advised against putting Wilson-Foley on Apple Rehab TV ads to avoid breaking election laws.

Foley admitted that his $500,000 contribution to his wife's campaign was done in secret and that he didn't even consult the campaign's Washington-based firm that handled some of their campaign finance dealings.

He also said that same firm, Patton & Boggs, advised that there was no issue with hiring Rowland as a consultant for Apple even if he did some volunteer campaign work on the side.

Foley said that months after the election in question, Rowland called him asking to do more work and Foley was surprised because an investigation was already under way.

Foley said that he and Wilson-Foley struck a deal with the federal government and that he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor so that his maximum prison sentance was 1 year.

"I think it'll be the same whether he's convicted or aquitted," Foley said. "I think it'll be the same way. That's from my heart."

The initial deal provided that his wife wouldn't be charged, but he said that changed. Foley said his "hope is to get as little" jailtime as possible.

"It's like being found guilty of stealing a lobster from a lobster pot," he said describing his reduced misdemeanor plea.

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