“Character Counts”? Tell It To The Judge

When John Rowland pleads for his freedom for a second time in New Haven’s U.S. District Court, he has an old speech to dust off if he chooses — about the ​“six pillars” that make ​“character count.”

In light of Rowland’s actions since he gave that speech, though, it may not help his cause.

The former governor was scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Janet Bond Arterton in the Church Street courthouse Wednesday for his sentencing on a host of corruption offenses including racketeering, obstruction of justice and election fraud, crimes and misdemeanors that leave him exposed to years behind bars. The judge Monday agreed to postpone the sentencing at the request of Rowland’s attorneys.

Some millennials with long memories may have trouble squaring the man who is back in federal court with the one who addressed them 17 years ago, as part of a state-funded program called ​“Character Counts.”

Back then, serving as a role model, Rowland, in his first term as governor, asked an auditorium in Southington packed with 740 elementary schoolchildren, their families and staff to reflect on questions including, ​“What do you do when your teacher’s back is turned, or when he or she is out of the room for one reason or another? Do you act up or do you behave?”

“It’s been said that character is what you do when you know no one is watching you,” he advised the crowd, according to a copy of his talking points that day. ​“Good citizens play by the rules, obey the laws, respect authority, and protect the environment when no one is watching them.”

In His Prime

The speaking engagement arose out of a request that Karen L. Smith, then-principal of Walter A. Derynoski Elementary School, sent the governor in November 1997, according to a review of official documents. The request came close to three years after Rowland began the first of three terms in the governor’s mansion, the last of which ended when he abruptly resigned in disgrace in 2004.

In her letter, Smith asked the then-up-and-coming Republican to serve as the kick-off speaker for a six-month-long program her school was designing aimed at teaching children that ​“Character Counts.”

“We realize you receive many requests to speak with the public but we are most hopeful that you might be able to help us with this most worthwhile school initiative,” she wrote.

Southington’s interest in the topic stemmed in no small part from a $3,000 grant the school district had been awarded to promote ​“character education” by none other than the Rowland administration. Smith told a local paper just before the assembly that she had written the governor ​“on a whim” and was ​“shocked and happy” when he accepted.

True to his word, Rowland appeared at the school on Dec. 5, to much fanfare. The governor spelled out for the children ​“the six pillars of character” – citizenship, responsibility, caring, respect, fairness and trustworthiness – as being ​“the essence of what Character Counts is all about,” according to his talking points.

​“I want you all to try to be good citizens every day, not just today,’’ he urged them, according to his notes. ​“Do it for your community, do it for your families, and above all, do it for yourself.”

Do As I Say

Betty Lutz, the now-retired assistant principal of the school, said Monday that her charges found the governor to be ​“charismatic and believable” that day when he urged them to ​“be honest, be respectful, have good character and you’ll succeed in life.”

She heard him give a similar pitch some years later at another school, where she was principal, and almost cannot fathom his later conduct. ​“Make a mistake, once, OK,’’ she said. ​“Make a mistake twice, and it’s not a mistake anymore.”

The former governor, indeed, had trouble following his own advice, or as Lutz put it, ​“he did not live his words.” Twice, he has been convicted of violating federal laws at the heart of our citizen-based, democratic system of government.

In 2004, he resigned in disgrace midway through his third term as governor and pleaded guilty to one count of public corruption, which involved his conspiring to accept illegal favors and cheat the government out of taxes. He served ten months in prison.

Barely ten years later, in September, playing out in the same federal courthouse in New Haven in a second case captioned U.S.A. vs. John G. Rowland, he was convicted by a federal jury on seven additional counts.
 
The latest charges stem from actions he took to conceal political support and advice he was providing or wanted to provide, for a fee, to 2010 and 2012 Republican candidates for Congress. At trial, Rowland’s lawyers characterized his actions as ​“politics as usual.” Prosecutors contended that Rowland and his co-conspirators unlawfully deprived voters and regulators of information they were entitled to have as part of a fair election, and the jury returned a guilty verdict less than a day after getting the case.

According to prosecutors, the criminal activity in question began mere months after Rowland completed his period of federal probation in 2009. A high-powered legal team, led this time around by Washington’s Reid H. Weingarten, urged Judge Arterton to consider their client’s ​“exemplary character” to fashion a sentence that ​“permits him to continue to help others and contribute to society.”

They are seeking a sentence of 18 months or less. The government is asking for 37 to 46 months. The judge is not bound to follow either recommendation.

In a last-minute gambit on Friday, Rowland’s lawyers also accused prosecutors in a motion of withholding information to which they were entitled. They asked to have Wednesday’s sentencing pushed back. Arterton agreed to suspend the sentencing indefinitely while she considers their arguments.

Whenever the sentencing occurs, Rowland may not find the time right to make another speech about character. He’s counting on others to make the case: His lawyers have submitted 90 letters from friends and supporters attesting to their client’s ​“concern for society’s most vulnerable populations and his dedication to promoting diversity.”

Contact Alison Leigh Cowan .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow her on Twitter at @cowannyt.