Darnell Crosland, the attorney representing Ernie Newton, told OIB this morning he’ll be filing a federal civil rights complaint against the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission including its ex-chairman Stephen Cashman for harassment and selective prosecution following state charges accusing Newton of falsifying $500 in campaign donations to receive roughly $80,000 in public funds for his 2012 State Senate primary campaign won by Andres Ayala.
Crosland says from the start the state selectively targeted Newton for prosecution after Cashman had cast a surprise vote against authorizing public funds for Newton while other commissioners voted in support. Nothing in state law, Crosland says, allowed Cashman to cast a no vote after EEC staff recommended approval. Crosland says Cashman’s action triggered a bias against Newton to nitpick all aspects of Newton’s campaign finance reports “down to the dollar” in an effort to qualify for the state’s Citizen Election Program of publicly financed races. Cashman had announced at the meeting authorizing public funds for Newton that he could not see how he could vote yes in light of Newton’s prior conviction on federal corruption charges.
Newton appeared in court today with his attorney to enter a not guilty plea. The judge in the case has set a March court date to establish a timetable for the state to turn over its evidence against Newton. Meanwhile, Crosland says he will be filing a motion to dismiss the case, claiming the state’s case is flawed and statutorily incorrect in how it leveled charges against Newton.
Crosland says he’ll be issuing a statement today about the state’s case and timetable for filing the civil rights violation.
This is Elective Prosecution! Why wasn’t Senator Joe Crisco put in the can for his forgery of checks from his state-financed campaign in ’08? Why did Bill Beccaro et al. get a free pass out of jail?
Was Crisco every convicted of political corruption and incarcerated in the past? Frankly, I think Crisco is a real slippery character.
Bill Finch, Adam Wood. Just to name a few.
Ernie needs to realize he was targeted not because he was black, but because he’s a scumbag criminal.
Imagine that. A no vote triggered an investigation which resulted in the identification of corrupt practices which led to an indictment. This schmuck thinks he’s being picked on because he is black. I think he was indicted because he is as corrupt now as he was last time. You know Ernie, you are violating my civil rights.
The man tampered with a witness. That’s not a tort, it’s a felony. Anyone, white, black or brown, who is convicted of witness tampering goes to jail. An effective smoke screen perhaps, but ultimately a futile gesture.
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Is it Mexican food? Bridgeport has a lot of great Mexican Restaurants. Cactus Rose Cafe is a great name for a restaurant. Good luck and success to your buddy.
Will the charges be they did their job?
No Jennifer Buchanan, if they did their job correctly Bill Finch would be in jail with Adam Wood and Willy Beccaro. Finch, Wood and Beccaro will be just one of Newton’s case studies.
“I am pleased that the Commission has found no wrongdoing on my part, or on the part of my wife, Sonya, Adam Wood or Kerry Wood,” Finch said. “I have always held myself to the highest ethical standards and I will continue to do so.”
It’s let’s get Newton time! The SEEC has failed us again.
Read more: www .ctpost.com/news/article/Panel-PAC-that-aided-Finch-misused-funds-3332968.php
Ernie is really cocky. When the judged asked him weeks ago if he had anything to say, Ernie responded “I like the Cowboys.” This is disrespectful to the court and to the judge and is simply brazen. He also refers to himself as the Black Moses. When someone acts like this they draw attention to themselves. So it’s hard to distinguish if he is being singled out or if he singles himself out. You can’t behave this cavalierly and then claim to be the victim. And by the way, in the Bible Moses never made it to the Promised Land.
Ernie’s the Teflon Moses!
*** If you make shaky SEEC rules that are not clear or leave areas of doubt, then who’s really to blame in the end? *** TARGET THE BROTHER ***