John G. Rowland | |
---|---|
86th Governor of Connecticut | |
In office January 4, 1995 – July 1, 2004 | |
Lieutenant | Jodi Rell |
Preceded by | Lowell Weicker |
Succeeded by | Jodi Rell |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 5th district | |
In office January 3, 1985 – January 3, 1991 | |
Preceded by | William R. Ratchford |
Succeeded by | Gary Franks |
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 73rd district | |
In office January 7, 1981 – January 3, 1985 | |
Preceded by | Natalie Rapoport |
Succeeded by | Joan Hartley |
Personal details | |
Born | John Grosvenor Rowland May 24, 1957 Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | |
Children | 5 |
Education | Holy Cross High School (1975) Villanova University (BS) (1979) |
John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) is an American former politician, author, and radio host who served as the 86th governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004.
Rowland served three terms representing Connecticut's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1985 to 1991.[1][2] A Republican, he was the first Connecticut governor to be elected to more than two terms since Wilbur Cross, who was elected to four consecutive terms in the 1930s. In July 2004, Rowland resigned from office amid a corruption investigation, and later pleaded guilty in federal court to a one-count indictment for conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, mail fraud and tax fraud.[3] His lieutenant governor, Jodi Rell, replaced him as governor. Rowland served ten months in a federal prison until February 2006, followed by four months' house arrest at his home in West Hartford until June 2006.
In 2014, Rowland was indicted on seven counts for his role in an election fraud case where former congressional candidate Lisa Wilson-Foley, current vice chair of the Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts and her husband, Brian Foley, pleaded guilty in federal court on March 31, 2014, to illegally paying Rowland $35,000 in campaign consulting fees.[4] He was charged with two counts of falsifying records in a federal investigation, one count of conspiracy, two counts of causing false statements to be made to the FEC, and two counts of causing illegal campaign contributions.[5] He was convicted on all seven counts in September 2014,[6] and was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2015.[7] He was released in 2018.