Feds Raid Waterbury Regional Chamber

Federal investigators visited the Greater Waterbury Chamber of commerce office Thursday armed with a subpeona demanding to see all records related to former Gov. John Rowland's tenure as an economic development consultant for the city.

It appears to be the latest twist in a federal investigation into Rowland that began when he was discovered to be working with the  while being paid by her husband Brian Foley’s company, Apple Rehab. Rowland was reportedly paid $30,000 over six months to perform consulting work for the nursing home.

Polical blogger Kevin Rennie, an attorney and former state senator and representative from South Windsor, posted on his personal blog Tuesday that federal investigators had "raided" the Bank Street offices of the chamber, which is affiliated with the . A portion of the money raised through the annual , held every June in Naugatuck, helps to pay for services the Borough receives from the Greater Waterbury Chamber. 

According to the Waterbury Republican-American, the federal investigators who visited the Waterbury offices Thursday were from U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service.

Rowland, a Middlebury resident, worked for Waterbury as an economic development consultant between 2008 and 2011. His $95,000-a-year salary was paid by the city though its funding of the Chamber. Rowland landed that position two years after he spent 10 months in prison for gifts he received as governor. 

Detailed information about the former governor’s activities as an economic development consultant in Waterbury have not been made public, though various news outlets have requested that information from the City of Waterbury by citing the Freedom of Information Act.