The Return of Rowland?

The Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce soon may have a new employee — former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland, who served a federal prison sentence for accepting more than $100,000 in gifts and services from businessmen while he was governor.

Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura recommended Rowland for a newly created economic development coordinator position, and the local Chamber of Commerce appointed him, said Jarjura chief of staff Joe Geary. The group was scheduled to vote on the appointment on Friday, though phone calls were not returned by press time as to the outcome.

Rowland, who served as governor from 1995 to 2004, resigned from office in 2004 during a corruption investigation. He later pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to collect $107,000 in gifts and services from businessmen who got lucrative contracts and tax breaks from his administration. Rowland served 10 months in federal prison, followed by four months of house arrest.

If Rowland is approved, he would work to help bring companies and jobs to Waterbury. Given his past, there has been some controversy about the appointment.

“We are well aware that there’s going to be opinions on both sides of this,” Geary said. Still, he said that they were excited to have Rowland fill the position in Waterbury, a city Roland himself dubbed the “center of the universe.”

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