HARTFORD, Conn. _ The U.S. attorney's office on Tuesday blasted former Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland's efforts to reduce the federal probation imposed after his last felony conviction _ a reduction the former governor claims he needs and deserves in order to continue the "life of serving others" he has embraced since joining Prison Ministries, a charity that ministers to inmates.
"There is no question that Prison Fellowship is doing meaningful work helping prisoners better themselves and prepare for life after incarceration," federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing Tuesday. "However, the defendant is not a volunteer in advancing those goals. Rather, he is paid a low six-figure salary for his principal marketable assets _ his name recognition and his well-honed fundraising skills _ on behalf of an organization situated to take advantage of his status as a recently incarcerated offender."
A month ago, Rowland's lawyers went to U.S. District Court to ask that his three-year term of supervised release _ a probationary period imposed in 2015 after his second conviction and imprisonment for political crimes _ be cut in half because his probationary status prevents him from escorting donors and volunteers into prison systems in some states.
His employer offers Bible study, as well as educational, substance abuse and other programs to inmates and support for former inmates and their families. Rowland ministered to fellow inmates during his second prison stretch. He is now Northeast region development director _ chief fundraiser _ for Prison Fellowship, created 42 years ago by Chuck Colson, an aide to President Richard Nixon.
The ministry's president and CEO told the prosecutors that since May 18, Rowland has raised millions of dollars from major donors in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey _ far more than his predecessor _ through "his background as well as donors' interest in meeting him."
Rowland's lawyers argue that his record of public service, his "exceptional" behavior as an inmate and since his release, his altruism and the inconvenience his probation creates for the ministry all argue for a reduction. The prosecutors attack each assertion.
"Indeed, the defendant's invocation of his prior public service as evidence of this supposed commitment lacks credibility given his history of putting his own interests above those of society, the prosecutors argue.
