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William A. DiBella

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William A. DiBella
Member of the Connecticut State Senate
from the 1st district
In office
February 18, 1981 – January 8, 1997
Preceded byJoseph J. Fauliso
Succeeded byJohn Fonfara
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
from the 1st district
In office
January 7, 1981 – February 18, 1981
Preceded byMary Ellen D. Flynn
Succeeded byFelix G. Karsky
Personal details
BornMay 17, 1943 (age 80)
Hartford, Connecticut U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseDonna DiBella
ChildrenMarc DiBella
ResidenceHartford

William A. DiBella (born May 17, 1943) is a Connecticut politician and businessman who has served as chairman of the board at the Metropolitan District Commission of Connecticut since 2002, a post he previously held from 1977 to 1981.[1] DiBella is currently a lobbyist, and a Principal at CMD Ventures LLC., a company which specializes in real estate management and property development.[2]

Personal life

William DiBella was born in the city of Hartford, Connecticut in 1943.[3] He is married to Donna DiBella and together they have a son named Marc who is also a politician and lobbyist in Hartford.[4] William DiBella resides with his wife in Old Saybrook and with his son at his son's apartment in Hartford's iconic, I.M. Pei designed, Bushnell Tower; but for political reasons he maintains legal residency in Hartford.[5]

Political career

Local

DiBella's political career got its start when he was elected as a member of the Hartford City Council, a position he would hold from 1971 to 1979.[2] He was also Deputy Mayor of Hartford from 1975 to 1977, serving under Mayor George A. Athanson.

State

In 1980 DiBella ran for the State Representative in Connecticut's 1st assembly district defeating Republican challenger Anthonye S. Esposito 75.1% to 24.9%.[6] This district consists of Southeastern Bloomfield and Northwestern Hartford, he served as Representative from 1981 to 1983.[7] In 1983 he was elected to the Connecticut State Senate representing Connecticut's 1st Senate District which includes the southern half of Hartford and northern half of Wethersfield, he stayed in the Senate until 1996. William A. DiBella served as the Majority Leader of the Connecticut Senate from 1992 to 1994.

MDC

The Metropolitan District Commission of Connecticut is a public municipal corporation empowered by a 1929 Charter from the Connecticut State Assembly, as the water and sewage supplier for much of Metro Hartford the MDC has immense power. It operates with an exceptional level of autonomy and even has its own police force.[8] DiBella was first appointed to the MDC Board of Directors in 1977 and served until 1981. He was appointed a second time to the Board in 2002.

Scandals

Residency

In 2016 a complaint was made that DiBella did not meet the legal residency standards of a Hartford resident.[9] The complaint was made that DiBella lived in Old Saybrook, Connecticut with his wife while claiming to live in Hartford even though he owned no property there. DiBella claimed that he was living with his son Marc when in Hartford and had his own bedroom in their apartment. The State of Connecticut Election Enforcement Commission investigated the claim and found in DiBella's favor in part because he kept a toothbrush and other minor toiletries at his son's apartment and he also received mail there.[10][11]

Involvement in Corruption and Racketeering

In 2008 a Federal Court ordered William A. DiBella to pay a penalty of $795,000 for his role in a fraudulent investment scheme.[12] It was alleged that DiBella was involved in a scheme with former Treasurer of the State of Connecticut Paul J. Silvester in which they received kickbacks from Thayer Capital Partners in return for steering $75 million in State Retirement and Trust Fund business to them. DiBella used his career as a lobbyist to cover up the illegal income.[13] The US Securities and Exchange Commission became interested in DiBella during the course of a bribery investigation into Silvester, Thayer Capital, and Thayer Executive Fred Malek.[14] The relationship between DiBella and Malek went beyond Malek's relationship with Silverster; DiBella testified in federal court that Fred Malek told him "I need you for the new treasurer,” the incoming Denise Nappier. DiBella's contract also required him to assist Malek personally with "ongoing investor relations."[15]

The scheme moved much of the State Retirement and Trust Fund into high-risk, long term, non-liquid private equity funds that unbalanced the investment plan, increasing the risk of a long term failure. DiBella co-conspirator Silvester served 79 months in prison for his leading role in the racketeering and corruption.[16] This was one in a long series of court cases in the 1990s and 2000s involving corrupt Connecticut politicians, political corruption was rampant at the highest level in Connecticut during and before this time with a number of Connecticut Politicians serving federal time in the coming years, including Governor John G. Rowland, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez.

MDC

DiBellas position as MDC Chairman was not affected by his fraudulent and corrupt undertaking, even though there have been widespread calls for him to step down.[17] The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations has added DiBella to their “Hall of Shame” of politicians who grossly betray the public's trust.[18] Fellow MDC Commissioner Mark Pappa stated that “If this was a publicly traded company this conversation wouldn't even happen because there's no question Mr. DiBella would not be sitting here.”[19]

Press

His relationship with the press has been contentious, a New York Times article claims that his nickname among the press is "the Ken doll from hell.” [20] a nickname that makes light of his trademark hair and flashy style.

References

  1. ^ "Board Members". MDC. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b "William A. DiBella". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  3. ^ "February 7, 1993". www.newspapers.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  4. ^ "Marc A. DiBella Interview". HartfordBusiness.com. Hartford Business. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  5. ^ Lender, John. "'Toiletries' Help MDC's DiBella Withstand Probe". Courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  6. ^ https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=961501
  7. ^ "Election results". CT.gov. Office of the Secretary of State.
  8. ^ "Reservoirs". themdc.org. The Metropolitan District Commission of Connecticut. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Questions Raised on Whether DiBella Meets the Residence Standards to Head the MDC". courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  10. ^ "File No.2016-106" (PDF). seec.ct.gov. The State of Connecticut Election Enforcement Commission. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  11. ^ Lender, John. "DiBella Residency". courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  12. ^ "Litigation Release No. 21517 / May 5, 2010 Securities and Exchange Commission v. William A. DiBella, Civil Action No. 3:04-CV-1342 (EBB) (D. Conn.) SEC Announces Distribution of DiBella Fair Fund to Connecticut Retirement and Trust Funds". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Litigation Release No. 20498 / March 14, 2008 SEC v. William A. DiBella, et al, Civil Action No. 3:04 CV 1342 (EBB) (D. Conn.) Court Orders William DiBella, Former Majority Leader of the Connecticut State Senate, to Pay Over $791,000 in Connection with Fraud Relating to State Pension Fund". sec.gov. U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  14. ^ ZIELBAUER, PAUL. "Insiders Squirm as Corruption Case Slowly Unfolds". nyt.com. New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  15. ^ Mahony, Edmund H. "DiBella A Stingy Witness: Testimony Adds Little In SEC Suit". sip-trunking.tmcnet.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  16. ^ Mahony, Edmund H. "Silvester To Spend 28 More Months In Jail". courant.com. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  17. ^ Quinion, Alison. "Letter to the Editor: Has William DiBella Become a Liability to the MDC?". we-ha.com. we-ha.com. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  18. ^ "Hall of Shame". tact.org. Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  19. ^ Stuart, Christine. "DiBella Survives Ouster Attempt". ctnewsjunkie.com. ct news junkie. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  20. ^ McEnroe, Colin. "Who Are We? Nuts and Bolts; No Sunbeams". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
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