Lawyer Involved in Connecticut Treasurer’s Office Scandal Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that CHARLES B. SPADONI, 63, of West Chester, Pennsylvania, formerly of Connecticut, was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge Ellen Bree Burns in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. Judge Burns also ordered SPADONI to pay a fine in the amount of $50,000.

According to the evidence presented during a trial in this matter, SPADONI was the general counsel of Triumph Capital Group Inc. (“Triumph Capital”). In November 1998, shortly after former Connecticut State Treasurer Paul J. Silvester had lost his bid for re-election, SPADONI, Silvester and others engaged in a scheme through which two of Silvester’s close associates received from Triumph Capital sham “consulting contracts” worth $1 million each in return for the investment of $200 million of state pension assets in a Triumph Capital-related investment fund, Triumph Connecticut-II.

In 1999, federal investigators began looking into investments that Silvester had handled at the end of his term as treasurer. After a federal grand jury subpoena was served on a Triumph-related fund looking for documents related to the Connecticut investment, SPADONI used a file-erasing program called Destroy-It! and began to delete computer files to prevent them from being obtained by subsequent grand jury subpoenas. SPADONI continued to use Destroy-It! as Triumph Capital employees were called before the grand jury and additional subpoenas were issued.

On July 16, 2003, a federal jury convicted SPADONI for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act, RICO conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, and obstruction of justice. On October 25, 2006, Judge Burns sentenced SPADONI to 36 months of imprisonment, five years of supervised release and a $50,000 fine. SPADONI appealed his conviction and, on September 25, 2008, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the conviction on the obstruction of justice count, but ordered a new trial on the remaining counts of conviction. The government will not retry SPADONI on the remaining counts of conviction.

Today, SPADONI requested that he be allowed to remain released on bond while he appeals an issue related to his conviction. Judge Burns will decide this matter after the government submits a response to SPADONI’s motion, which was filed today.

On September 23, 1999, Silvester pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Statute and one count of money laundering. On November 20, 2003, he was sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John H. Durham and Sandra S. Glover.