Corruption Trial Testimony, FBI Tapes, Draw in Big State Political Names

By Ronald DeRosa

Robert Braddock Jr., a former aide in a failed 2012 Congressional campaign, may be the man on trial this week in federal court in a high profile bribery case.

But if you’ve only been catching snippets of his trial that began on Monday, you probably wouldn’t even know he’s the one in the hot seat. 

That’s because since testimony began the news coverage and attention has shifted away from Braddock and toward just about everyone else involved in the story of a scheme to allegedly exchange $27,000 in illegal campaign donor cash for a move to kill legislation at the state Capitol in Hartford.

First, there's the person these campaign contributions were intended to influence: former House Speaker Chris Donovan, who was in the running for a fifth district seat last year.

"I didn't kill the bill. I worked on legislation. I did what was right," Donovan is heard saying to FBI informant Harry "Ray" Soucy in a concealed video regarding an alleged tobacco-related piece of legislation. 

And then there's Senate Majority Leader Larry Cafero, who also met with Soucy on a separate occasion in an exchange regarding the tobacco bill that was also captured on a concealed camera.

So, who are the rest of the players in this story? Here’s a breakdown, starting from the top:

Chris Donovan — The former speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives who was a frontrunner in the bid for the Fifth Congressional seat in 2012, but lost after his campaign became embroiled in a scandal in which staff members were arrested for allegedly funneling campaign cash from illicit donors.

Robert Braddock Jr. — Donovan’s former finance aide, who is one of eight people arrested in the federal indictment but is the only one to plead not guilty. The 33-year-old Meriden resident is accused of concealing the source of $27,000 in campaign cash from a series of roll-your-own tobacco smoke shops in Waterbury.

Harry “Ray” Soucy — A former corrections officer from Naugatuck and union representative who court officials say engineered a scheme to garner donations for Donovan’s campaign in exchange for the defeat of a bill that aimed to impose higher taxes on smoke shops.

Larry Cafero — The Republican state Senate minority leader from Norwalk, and a leading contender to go against Gov. Dannel Malloy next year for the job as governor, was caught on an FBI video meeting with Soucy. According to news reports, Soucy came to Cafero to talk to him about the bill he wanted defeated. Cafero denies wrongdoing in the case.

Joe Aresimowicz — The Democratic state House majority leader from Berlin who Soucy also spoke to in person and in text about the tobacco-related legislation. The conversation shows the two spoke about “killing” the bill, although Aresimowicz voted in favor of the tobacco tax bill in the end. He also denies wrongdoing in the case.

Josh Nassi — Donovan’s campaign manager, who was fired after the scandal broke last year and later arrested by federal officials in connection to the scheme. He has pleaded guilty in the case. In a concealed video released during the trial, Nassi is seen taking thousands of dollars in donations from Soucy.

The Smoke Shop Guys — There are six of them and they all pleaded guilty for attempting to funnel the campaign cash through Soucy to the Donovan camp. 

Chris Murphy — Connecticut's junior senator has found his name brought up in remarks from Soucy. Soucy was caught on tape saying "Chris Murphy will do anything in the f------ world for me because he remembers that I was the first one to believe in and invest in him," Soucy said, according to The Connecticut Post.

Gov. Dannel Malloy — Gov. Malloy is not part of any testimony in the case, however, his name also came up during coverage of the trial. Soucy apparently felt annoyed that Malloy snubbed him during a 2011 dinner and he went on to leave a frustrated voice message with one of Malloy’s aides, as reported by CTMirror.org. The governor’s response: “Doesn’t he know I’m the F------ governor?”