Ex-Conn. Ex-Con GOP Governor Reflects

From the Washington Post

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He was the governor, and he was living large. Visiting the White House as an honored guest of George and Laura Bush, he slept in the Lincoln Bedroom. Observers talked about a possible Cabinet appointment. He played cards with Bush, who called him "Johnny R" -- which John Rowland loved for its coolness and the hint of a swagger.

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Early in his third term, his troubles began. He accepted a $2,800 hot tub as a gift from an aide, then lied that he had purchased the tub on his own. He claimed he had taken out loans to pay for sprucing up his lakeside summer cottage, then was forced to admit that aides, acquaintances, and contractors doing business with the state had paid for kitchen renovations and a new heating system there. Over the years, he had taken whatever anyone wanted to give him -- cigars and champagne, clothes and a canoe. He vacationed rent-free at the resort homes of a construction contractor doing business with the state and accepted chartered trips to Las Vegas from him, then looked the other way as aides steered more business toward the man.

Stealthy malfeasance rotted his administration. His co-chief and deputy chief of staff, both destined for prison, took bribes of cash and gold coins; the deputy's booty was later found buried in his back yard. Connecticut reporters broke new stories of corruption; Democrats began talking impeachment. Old political friends began publicly distancing themselves. By the summer of that year, Rowland had lost the support of his Republican base in Connecticut and, finally, his job.

He had to break the news to his three children

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