State Senator Arrested In Mob Threat Plot

Senate Minority Leader Louis DeLuca was arrested Friday on charges that he asked a businessman at the center of a federal racketeering probe to threaten someone the senator believed had abused a relative.

State and federal authorities said DeLuca in 2005 sought help from James Galante, a Danbury trash hauler who first caught DeLuca's eye by making a large charitable contribution. Galante is currently awaiting trial on 72 counts of tax fraud, racketeering, threatening and extortion.

"When you approach someone who is alleged to be a member of organized crime or affiliated with organized crime and you ask for this help, and you slip a note to them in a diner as opposed to even having a conversation, I think it's fair to draw an inference that you don't exactly have the best of intentions," U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor said Friday.

DeLuca, 73, a Republican who represents Woodbury and nine other towns, was booked on a misdemeanor charge Friday of second-degree conspiracy to commit threatening. He then returned to the state Capitol, where the General Assembly concludes its session next week.

DeLuca is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Waterbury Superior Court.

"I tried to protect a family member who was vulnerable, who was in a physically abusive domestic relationship and who needed help," DeLuca said in a written statement. "My family and I went to the police three times to get help for my relative, but the police said that they couldn't help because the victim wouldn't file a complaint."

DeLuca said he was frustrated by the situation and discussed it with Galante. Authorities said the conversation occurred in April 2005 in a Woodbury diner, where Galante passed DeLuca a note that asked, "Do you want me to have someone pay him a visit?"

Authorities said DeLuca told Galante "yes" and gave Galante the name and address of the alleged abuser.

The assault never happened. Prosecutors, who recovered the note in a search of Galante's home, said they stopped the assault by parking a police car in front of the associate's house.

"I did not want violence, or for the perpetrator to get hurt. I just wanted the physical abuse of my relative to stop. The meeting with the abuser never occurred, and the perpetrator of the abuse was never threatened or injured," DeLuca said. "Nonetheless, it was a terrible decision on my part to seek Mr. Galante's involvement."

Federal authorities broadened their investigation of DeLuca, looking for more evidence of criminal activity. An undercover agent posing as a Galante associate offered the lawmaker a $5,000 bribe, but he turned it down, according a law enforcement arrest affidavit.

Authorities also said DeLuca promised an undercover agent that he would use his influence to discover anything that could hurt Galante, and "blunt it as best I can."

DeLuca, who does not face any influence peddling charges, criticized authorities for offering him a bribe.

"There was no reason for the federal government to try to have an undercover agent try to bribe me," DeLuca said. "The fact that I immediately rejected the bribe shows my real character. The tragic personal issue that my family was dealing with had nothing to do with my elected office."

The misdemeanor charge filed against DeLuca has a statute of limitation of one year, with a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $2,000. Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane would not say if a plea agreement was in place, and said it would be up to DeLuca to invoke the statute of limitations in his defense.

Hugh Keefe, Galante's attorney, said the charge seemed "like much ado about nothing."

"I hope (DeLuca) takes it to trial and wins, because it sounds like a stretch to me," Keefe said of the case against the senator.

Authorities said DeLuca and Galante met in 2001 when Galante made a large contribution to a charitable cause sponsored by DeLuca. That same year, DeLuca had Galante named Italian-American of the year by the Italian-American legislative caucus.

Lawmakers on Friday were stunned by DeLuca's arrest.

"My first reaction was to be astonished that anybody in his position would do such a stupid thing," said Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, a longtime DeLuca foe who called the Republican leader "a disgrace to his party" and said he should resign.

"What did he think, just because he's a senator he can get away with things that are illegal? I don't think so," she said.

But Rep. William Dyson, D-New Haven, had both empathy and praise for DeLuca.

"I can't think of a guy who's more straight and honest and above board than Lou DeLuca," he said. "I can't help but believe that in the final analysis of whatever has taken place there would be a resolution on it and I think he will be vindicated."